Dare to Submit Your Horror Work?

My team will perform a séance to see what happens next.

In all seriousness, I have a contingency plan in place. If anything ever happens to me, the projects will still move forward. I’ve made sure the anthologies will be completed, edited, and published whether I’m here or haunting from the other side.

You’re right to ask, but I’ve never done this alone. My projects involve editors, proofreaders, cover designers, and assistants. Christina Escamilla Publishing has always been a DBA representing a small, collaborative team. I’ve learned a lot since my first anthology nearly a decade ago, and I continue to strive to create memorable, meaningful works.

My background is in marketing, with nearly twenty years of experience overall and about eight specializing in SEO and SEM. I promote each anthology through organic search strategies, targeted outreach, and occasional paid ads. I don’t promise viral success, but I do make sure every book is discoverable and represented with care.

It usually comes down to fit, tone, and balance within the anthology. I receive far more submissions than I can include, and each book has a strict budget and word count cap. If your piece wasn’t selected, it’s not necessarily a reflection of quality. My advice is to keep writing and try again. Many authors return stronger the next round.

Not unless you can fool me. I work with SEO and language models daily and can usually spot AI-written work. Repetitive phrasing, flat tone, or overly polished rhythm gives it away. I’m looking for stories that have a human voice. Besides, you owe it to yourself to tell your story, not an algorithm’s.

You retain all copyright ownership. If your story is accepted, you grant Christina Escamilla Publishing permission to include it in the anthology in all formats, print, ebook, hardcover, and audiobook, and to use excerpts for promotional purposes. Rights then revert to you after the publication period stated in your contract.

Yes! Every accepted author receives a contributor package that includes a hardcover copy and a few fun goodies. I believe in celebrating contributors properly because it’s a big deal to have your work published.

Yes. You can submit one story to each of my open calls during the same submission window. However, please send only one story per anthology at a time. This keeps the process fair for everyone and helps my team manage submissions efficiently.

The beauty of horror is that it means something different to everyone. There are three of us reading through submissions, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say we want stories that make us pause and whisper, “Wow.” Emotional depth is everything. Shock and gore are fine if they serve that purpose.

Payments are made through PayPal within 30 days of signing the contract. Original fiction pays six cents per word, reprints two cents per word, and essays eight cents per word.