Submission Guidelines
Status: OPEN — Accepting submissions year-round
Factory Settings welcomes unsolicited pitches and original work from writers, journalists, critics, artists, photographers, and other independent creators. Submissions are open on a rolling basis, with no general deadline or geographic restrictions. Emerging and established contributors are equally welcome.
What We Publish
Our editorial interests span art, design, fashion, media, technology, entertainment, contemporary culture, and the peculiarities of modern life. We're particularly interested in work that investigates overlooked subjects, makes unexpected connections, or offers a distinctive perspective on something familiar.
We're currently accepting:
Nonfiction: Cultural criticism, essays, commentary, reported features, interviews, profiles, cultural analysis, archival investigations, and other original nonfiction.
Visual Art & Photography: Original photography, illustration, graphic narratives of shorter formats, mixed-media work, and visual essays.
Multimedia & Experimental Formats: Audio, video, and interdisciplinary editorial projects. These are considered individually, alongside our primary nonfiction and visual-art submissions.
We're open to work that crosses disciplines or doesn't fit neatly into a particular category. We generally prioritize nonfiction and visual editorial work rather than poetry, fiction, or other literary forms.
Both completed pieces and pitches for work in development are welcome. Length and format are flexible; we consider what best serves the material.
How to Submit
Send your submission to editor@factorysettingsmag.com with the subject line PITCH: [your topic] or SUBMISSION: [title of work], as appropriate.
For pitches, please include:
A short paragraph describing your proposed subject, central question, or argument, and why you think it's worth exploring.
A brief explanation of how you'd approach the piece and what you envision producing.
A sentence or two introducing yourself, including any relevant experience or particular connection to the subject.
For completed work, please include:
The work itself, as a document, accessible link, or appropriate file attachment.
A brief introduction to the piece and why you think it belongs in Factory Settings.
Your name, preferred byline, and any relevant portfolio or previously published work, if available.
For photography, illustration, and other visual submissions, please include a link to the work or a small selection of representative images, along with any necessary context.
No formal cover letter, previous publication credits, or professional credentials are required.
Eligibility & Previously Published Work
Submissions are welcome from anywhere in the world. We accept work in English and are interested in contributors across experience levels, disciplines, and backgrounds.
We prioritize original, previously unpublished work, but also consider previously published material on a case-by-case basis, including work from personal websites, blogs, social media, magazines, anthologies, and print publications.
If your work has appeared elsewhere, please identify the original publication, date, and any relevant links. You must retain or have secured the rights necessary to authorize republication. Previously published work is considered under separate reprint terms rather than first-publication rights.
We accept submissions directly from their creators. Submitted work must be your own or material you are authorized to submit. We do not accept plagiarism, unauthorized derivative works, fabricated reporting, or material that infringes another creator's rights.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If another publication accepts or publishes work currently under consideration, please let us know promptly.
Timing, Payment & Editorial Review
Reading period: Open year-round
General deadline: None
Submission fees: None
Publication fees or required purchases: None
Compensation: Currently unpaid
Response time: We aim to respond to pitches and submissions within approximately two weeks, although more involved proposals may require additional consideration.
Factory Settings is an independently operated publication published by Studio Dream Factory, LLC, based in Los Angeles, California.
All editorial decisions are made by our human editorial team. Submissions are reviewed for quality, originality, editorial relevance, research, and strength of perspective. We curate submissions selectively and cannot guarantee acceptance or publication.
Accepted contributors receive appropriate byline or creator credit, collaborative editorial support, and publication through relevant Factory Settings channels. Additional opportunities for promotion, print publication, recurring contributions, and participation in editorial or community programming may be available depending on the project.
Publication does not require purchasing copies, recruiting subscribers, promoting the magazine, or performing unrelated work for Factory Settings or Studio Dream Factory.
Publication Rights & Contributor Agreement
Contributors retain copyright in their original work.
Submitting work for consideration does not transfer ownership, grant publication rights, or establish exclusivity. Submissions are reviewed privately by our editorial team.
If we'd like to publish your work, we'll contact you to discuss acceptance, any necessary revisions, and the applicable publication terms. Publication rights are granted only after you affirmatively agree to those terms in writing, including by email or another documented form of agreement.
For previously unpublished work, our standard arrangement is a nonexclusive publication license. First publication in Factory Settings may be intended but is not required or guaranteed. Contributors remain free to submit, publish, distribute, or license their work elsewhere at any time, without a waiting period.
Previously published work is considered under a nonexclusive republication license, subject to any existing third-party rights or restrictions.
Our contributor agreement also addresses archival use, promotional excerpts, print publication, attribution, and republication. We do not sell or license contributors' work to unrelated third parties without separate written permission.
Please review our full Contributor Terms before submitting.
AI & Editorial Standards
Factory Settings values original thinking, independent research, and distinctive human perspectives. Submissions must reflect the contributor's own intellectual and creative work.
AI tools may be used for brainstorming, research assistance, transcription, organization, and editorial refinement. However, we do not accept articles, essays, criticism, or other submissions partially or wholly generated by AI. The central ideas, arguments, analysis, reporting, and language must originate with the contributor.
All factual claims, quotations, citations, and sources must be independently verified. AI-generated references, fabricated quotations, invented reporting, and misrepresented firsthand experiences are strictly prohibited. Contributors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work.
Any substantive use of generative AI in developing a submission must be disclosed to the editorial team. AI-generated or substantially AI-altered visual material is not accepted.
Factory Settings reserves the right to request clarification regarding AI use and to decline or withdraw work that does not meet these standards.
Our editorial priority is work that offers something genuinely original: a perspective, observation, investigation, or argument that could only have come from the person submitting it.
Editorial Selection
All submissions are evaluated by human editors. We do not use AI or automated systems to score, rank, recommend, accept, or reject submissions, or otherwise determine editorial outcomes. Editorial selection decisions are made exclusively by our editorial team.
Questions?
For questions about submissions, publication rights, editorial fit, or an idea you're unsure how to pitch, contact editor@factorysettingsmag.com.
We welcome thoughtful proposals, unusual expertise, and work that takes our editorial interests somewhere unexpected.