We currently have 7 Yearly Subscribers, and their support is making this first step possible.

Below I’m going to outline how this will all work but first, I want to thank the paid subscribers we have right now, without whom this definitely wouldn’t be possible. A TiF Original is exactly what it sounds like and I hope it serves the community in carrying on the TiF mission of a place where fiction lives.

So, in an effort to keep this as simple as possible, here’s the proposed breakdown and how it will work for the second half of 2026 and all of 2027:

💰 Payment

• The payout to a writer will be $50.

• This amount may increase (or decrease) over time, depending on subscriber support.

• A collaborative story of two writers is accepted. And the payout amount will be split between the writers.

• Once a writer’s story has been selected they will be ineligible to submit a story in future calls for submissions. This is to ensure we are giving everyone an opportunity to be paid for their work. This policy will change as we add more months of exclusive stories to our present rotation.

✍️ Story Length & Content Guidelines

• Maximum length: 1,500 words.

• Top in Fiction welcomes stories from almost every genre, provided they’re suitable for a broad audience. What may get your story disqualified is if it includes the following:

  • Explicit sexual content (smut)

  • Excessive profanity

  • Extreme graphic violence

  • Political satire

  • Content that would generally require a trigger warning

My goal is for any reader to enjoy every story we offer.

📅 Publication Schedule

• Exclusive stories will initially be published four times per year:

  • March

  • June

  • September

  • December

Since we’re already halfway through the year, there will be two submission opportunities this year. August 1st and November 1st the doors will open for story submissions with a 2-week window to submit.

ALL WRITERS will be notified of the decision in the last week of August and November respectively.

📖 Exclusive Rights

To be eligible, stories must:

• Be previously unpublished anywhere, including your own Substack, blog, website, anthology, collection, or other platform/medium.

• Remain exclusive to Top in Fiction for a period of three months after publication.

Once that exclusivity period ends, you’re free to republish the story wherever/however you’d like.

Only the story chosen must adhere to the exclusive rights. All stories not chosen will not be required to follow the exclusive rights rules.

🚫 AI Policy

Top in Fiction is committed to publishing work created entirely by human writers.

AI may not be used in any part of the writing process, including drafting, editing, rewriting, or assisting with the creation of a submission.

If AI use is discovered before or after publication—including after payment has been issued—the story will be withdrawn, and the writer will be permanently ineligible to participate in future Top in Fiction and TiF Press projects.

❤️ Want to Help Us Publish More Stories?

If we can add 3 more Yearly Subscribers or 5 Monthly Subscribers, we’ll be able to add to our Fiction on TiF commitment beginning in 2027.

Instead of publishing 4 exclusive stories each year, we’ll publish 6, releasing a new exclusive story every other month—and, more importantly, paying two additional writers for their work.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Top in Fiction and helped us reach this milestone. I genuinely couldn’t do this without you.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments! I’ll be in there to answer as many as honestly as possible.

Upgrade to Paid

A “TiF ORIGINAL” CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

In the future this Call for Submissions will be sent under the TiF Notifications Section and won’t include so much intro. It’ll look a lot more like what you see here and nothing more:

• Any genre except:

  • Explicit sexual content (smut)

  • Excessive profanity

  • Extreme graphic violence

  • Political satire

  • Content that would generally require a trigger warning

• Word count cap: 1,500 words

• Deadline: Friday, August 14th

Be a TiF Original