I need LOTS more bondage erotica for my new anthology

I almost titled this post, "Where has all the bondage erotica gone?" because save for a handful of short story submissions, the inbox for my Cleis Press anthology Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 call has been quite empty. I'm offering $75 and two copies of the book. The deadline to submit is coming up this Sunday, July 1, 2018. It could be that it's the summer and people are busy or it could be I've failed in my job as an editor to spread the word to enough writing communities. While that's bad news for me as I struggle not to bite my nails over this situation, it's good news for anyone submitting because your chances go way up when I have fewer submissions to choose from. Yes, I could always extend the call if I don't have the stories I need by July 2, but that feels like admitting editorial defeat and is something I avoid if I can help it. If you know of any websites, groups, mailing lists, etc., that might have writers of bondage stories, feel free to pass it on or let me know at bestbondageseries at gmail.com where to submit this call (or the next one, should I get asked to edit another volume).

I'm especially looking for submissions that surprise me with their plotlines and creative types of bondage, stories that feature people of color and stories by authors I've never worked with before, but I'm open to any and all unpublished stories that meet the writing guidelines. So if you know anyone who has a bondage story they've been wanting to get published or can write one in the next few days, please pass along the call for submissions. This graphic is just a way to get people's attention, not a suggestion of the types of bondage I want for this book. Instead, I want people of all genders restrained. I want mental and physical bondage. I want newbies and very experienced bondage players and everything in between. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing that there will be a big influx of submissions over the weekend, but if not, I wanted to spread the word to anyone who might have missed this call or perhaps seeing this post sparks a story idea.



And then August 1, 2018 is the Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 call for submissions deadline. Looking forward to reading all your stories!

If you're wondering why it takes so long to hear back, see my Medium post about the timing. In my forties, I'm trying to work smarter so that I can create better books with less stress and fewer errors. Hence, instead of setting the deadline in October or November, which would give me very minimal time to actually edit and select pieces, I've made these deadlines so I can give my copyeditor more time, consult with authors in case I have revisions, and have a manuscript in to my publisher well before they need catalog copy (the blurb you see on the back cover of the book that's also listed in a publisher's catalog and disseminated to retailers 8-12 months in advance of the book release).