Content rules

No extreme fetish – this includes bestiality, coprophilia, necrophilia, blood play, breath play and any form of sex act that involves non-consent. If in doubt, check.

We do not publish rape fantasies or stories containing sexual harassment or underage sex.

Power play (eg female submission) and any play that involves fear, pain or restraint is fine as long as you make it clear from the outset that all parties are consenting and that the receiver knows s/he can stop play at any time (mentioning safe words is often a good idea). However, bearing in mind the mass-market audience, it’s best to stick to the milder forms.

Try not to mention precise penis size unless its utterly relevant.

Lube should always be used in anal sex.

Condom use must be explicit where penetrative sex takes place, unless the characters are very clearly in a long-term, monogamous relationship. At Scarlet, we aim to promote a safer sex message through eroticised condom use, so try to make the act of putting on a condom sexy in itself. Use evocative language that invites the reader to be aroused: the crisp, enticing tear of the condom packet, the naughty, sharp twang of rubber. Don’t gloss over it – enjoy it.

We do not publish erotic poetry or flash fiction.

How to write good Cliterature

Your writing should be arousing, not just sensual – women should be able to masturbate to your story. If you’re having problems, try writing about what you’re into sexually. If it’s turning you on, it’ll probably turn other people on too.

True Confessions must have the ring of truth. We turn down many because they’re obviously made up, maybe because they don’t sound like someone telling us a story, or because the events fit together too neatly or the ending’s too clever. If you’re making it up, it’s usually obvious to the reader, so stick to things that really happened (even if you embellish them!).

Good characters equal good stories. Two randoms inserting Tab A into Slot B is a lot less interesting than two real people having sex for particular reasons and finding that they’re different afterwards.

Stories should have satisfying endings. You could achieve this through a clever payoff line. Or maybe your heroine resolves a personal dilemma. A common method is to use some form of twist… but please try to avoid the clichés! The top three would be: It was her husband/partner all along; She was being watched the whole time; Whoops, turns out she’s a lesbian!

Writing is sexy when the reader understands why the characters are so turned on. It may be that they’re passionately in love, or they’re trying something new, or they’re indulging in a kink that really works for them. But the reader will only feel the excitement if you explain why the act’s so sexy. For example, if you’re writing about a woman who loves latex, you know the majority of your readers won’t have latex fetishes. But if you write about the slipperiness of the fabric, the feeling of heat and restraint she gets from being trapped inside it, then you’ll press readers’ buttons.

We love fresh vanilla. Cliterature is roughly 50 percent vanilla – ie no-kink sex between heterosexual couples. Making vanilla sex fresh and exciting is a great challenge and we encourage you to have a go. Ideas for writing good vanilla stories include:
- choosing a heroine with a strong personality to drive the action along
- trying unusual settings (not cliché ones)
- giving the heroine a dilemma and using the sex to help her work it out
- using props, toys or equipment – try taking ordinary objects and turning them into things the characters use in their sex lives.
- focusing on the relationship between the two people –what makes it special or unusual? What problems are they having? How is their relationship different at the end of the story from how it was at the beginning?
NB: Do not automatically assume the addition of a policeman, delivery boy or doctor to the mix will help. We’re not saying don’t ever write stories with these scenarios – they’re common for a reason – but it’s quite possibly harder to reinvigorate an old cliché than it is to just think up something original in the first place.

Use original language when describing the sex act. Try to avoid the easy clichés and find new ways to talk about what sex feels like. Explosions, pistons, the earth moving… these metaphors are so old they no longer have meaning. What does it feel like to you?

Please check your story for spelling and grammar. The odd mistake is fine, but if your piece is littered with glaring errors it’ll be binned after the first few paragraphs.

Accidentally switching between past and present tense is a common mistake, so keep a clear idea of whether your story is happening now or happened in the past.

We strongly suggest you read through several issues of the magazine to get a feel for the kind of stories we publish.

We do not publish stories that have been published elsewhere, including on the web (although in some cases we may publish stories that were previously online if they’ve been taken down).

Don’t send us part of a story – we only read stories submitted in full.

Don’t send us serials. We publish just two serials a year, usually written by regulars, and brand new writers are unlikely to be commissioned to write a serial until they’ve had a few stories published first.

Don’t send us lots of emails demanding to know when your story’s going to be used – it won’t speed up the process. We get literally hundreds a year and sometimes there’s a backlog. As soon as we know whether we can use your story the first person we’ll tell will be you.

Format

We like Arial 12pt, lines single-spaced.

Only one space after a full stop.

Par breaks indicated by lines between paragraphs, not indents.

Itals like .

No underlining or caps except in heads/sells.

Double quotes for speech, with single quotes for speech-within-speech.

Nothing in the header or footer, not even page numbers.

Try to break up long stories (more than 1,200 words) with subheads.

If you do this, we will love you.