FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do submit my work?

Send all submissions to Submissions@CloudOrchid.com

Please also read our Submissions Page http://cloudorchidmagazine.com/submissions

Please download and submit our Cloud Orchid Submission Release with your submission. If we do not receive this release we will not run your submission.

I was published in a Cloud Orchid Publishing art book.  Do I get a free copy?

Our art books typically only include one guest contributor at a time.  We do provide one free copy of the book at our expense.  Extra copies must be purchase via Amazon.

I’m an author published by Cloud Orchid Publishing, what payout or royalties will I receive?

As we are a small, independent publishing house, we cannot offer an upfront payout for large works.  We do provide royalties for our authors as per below:

First 1,000 copies 18%
1,001-5,000 copies 20%

We do provide and guarantee advertising and marketing to our fanbase via social media to ensure copies are sold.  We also ask that the author and guest contributors do their part in helping advertise the book on their own.

I was published in the L’Art D’Obscurite magazine.  Why can’t I get a free copy?

This magazine is printed through Amazon, a print on demand company.  The selling price is determined by this production cost.  We cannot offer free copies because even the editors do not receive free copies.  Large magazine companies, like Vogue, are able to distribute free copies because they do press runs of thousands of copies.  Our publishing house is small, and cannot afford to invest in doing our own print runs at the moment.  We hope to get to this point sometime in the future.

What is the level of print quality forL’Art D’Obscurite?

We pride ourselves in selecting the highest option of quality that Amazon offers.  Pages are printed on glossy, heavyweight paper.  Our magazine is held with “perfect” binding to give better structure and longevity to each copy.  The layout is minimalist and utilizes a more artistic approach with negative space and unique image and text placement.  Our layout artist strives to give full impact to each image, and keep an enticing flow as the reader turns each page.

Does L’Art D’Obscurite pay for the content used in the magazines?

Our publications are submission driven.  We do not run advertisements in our publications at this time.  While we would welcome relevant advertisers to our future issues.  Each issue is a combination of in-house editorials, and contributed art and fashion stories.  Our publications have a large reach, and a growing fanbase.  By contributing to the magazine, your team will be seen by an international audience. The commission is the chance to advertise, not a payout.

I was published in the Cloud Orchid Magazine magazine.  Why can’t I get a free copy?

This magazine is printed through MagCloud (owned by Hewlett Packard), a print on demand company.  MagCloud charges by the page, and the selling price is determined by this production cost.  We cannot offer free copies because even the editors do not receive free copies.  Large magazine companies, like Vogue, are able to distribute free copies because they do press runs of thousands of copies.  Our publishing house is small, and cannot afford to invest in doing our own print runs at the moment.  We hope to get to this point sometime in the future.

What is the level of print quality for Cloud Orchid Magazine?

We pride ourselves in selecting the highest option of quality that MagCloud offers.  Pages are printed on glossy, heavyweight paper.  Our magazine is held with “perfect” binding to give better structure and longevity to each copy.  The layout is minimalist and utilizes a more artistic approach with negative space and unique image and text placement.  Our layout artist strives to give full impact to each image, and keep an enticing flow as the reader turns each page.

Does Cloud Orchid Magazine pay for the content used in the magazines?

Our publications are submission driven.  We do not run advertisements in our publications at this time.  While we would welcome relevant advertisers to our future issues.  Each issue is a combination of in-house editorials, and contributed art and fashion stories.  Our publications have a large reach, and a growing fanbase.  By contributing to the magazine, your team will be seen by an international audience. The commission is the chance to advertise, not a payout.

 Why do I need to submit to DropBox?

Facebook sized images are low resolution, and unsuitable for print.  The digital files need to be at 300 dpi to meet our quality standards.  This is considered “high res” size.  For initial submissions, we prefer 72 dpi (Facebook size) via email.  Once your submission has been accepted, we will request the high res files to be sent to DropBox for inclusion in the issue.  DropBox is a free website that allows for mass upload of large files.  These are easier for the contributors to send, and easier for our editors to open and download.  Emails have a max file size, and forces the editor to open and download each file individually.  Our editors will ignore any and all attempts to submit through Facebook, as these files are too small for high res.  Get your free DropBox account here: https://db.tt/TCPBWZLN

What size should my images be for the print magazine?

If we accept your submission we will need it to be sent at 300 dpi. Keep in mind the L’Art D’Obscurite Magazine is 8.5 x 11, and for horizontal images 11 x 17 for full bleed images.  We allow for more “creative” crops for the Cloud Orchid Publishing art books.

We do not normally run full bleed images unless it is a double page spread. So there is no need to crop vertically formatted images to 8.5 x 11. We can run unusual aspect rations and even square formatted images.

However, if you want to submit a 2 page spread, please keep in mind that if you place the subject in the center of the image, then it will end up in the gutter of the magazine and not be visible.

However, we reserve the right to crop and place on the page(s) as we feel it best fits the overall story and theme of the magazine and editorial. Adobe Lightroom can help you with cropping and visualizing how your image will look on and 8.5 x 11 page. When exporting final images AFTER setting the crop/aspect ratio, setting the long edge to 11″ at 300 DPI will make our job easier, or 17” for landscape formatted images.

What do I need to include in the Drop Box for my submission?

Your art/ image files, in the correct size for print, and your artists release. Also your text file, this can be in a Word Document or any other kind of text file. This should have your name, the issue you are submitting to: month and theme, your submission title (unless the title is your name). Titles of your art, credits for your models, designers and other members of your creative team, (if this applies). Your bio and/or artist statement or interview questions. Any links to websites or current shows that you want added to the Miroir website.

Do I retain the copyright to my work?

All artists/photographers retain their copyright.  We ask our contributors to sign a release that gives our publication the right to use your images.  This is a limited usage right for printing in the magazine, posting on our social media, and using to promote the issue and publishing house.  To see a copy of the release, please contact us.

How do I sign and return the Submission Release Form?

There are several options, you can print it, fill it out, sign it, scan it again, and send to us by email. Submissions@CloudOrchid.com

You can mail it physically to: Cloud Orchid Publishing  • 340 S Lemon Ave #2833  • Walnut, CA 91789

Please keep in mind that in order to print your work in the magazine we need the release, even if we have your art in time, if we do not have the release your submission will be pulled. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, however the release is also for your protection.

Why are model releases required?

Model releases are necessary for any photographer to obtain from their models to ensure that the photographer is not held liable.  The same goes for our publication.  We require that the photographer has obtained releases from each and every model on their team.  If a photographer has failed to obtain their model releases, our publication will not be held responsible for liability.  All liability falls to the photographer.

What are requirements for submitted editorials?

In addition to the Cloud Orchid Publishing art books, we have two magazine publications- Cloud Orchid Magazine and L’Art D’Obscurite.  Each has separate requirements.  These can be found on our official website: http://cloudorchidmagazine.com/submissions/

The general requirements are alternative fashion, and dark art.  Fashion editorials must feature a designer, and art submissions must be original content (non-fanart).  Our publishing house is all about featuring unique works and supporting those who have a touch of darkness.

Who needs to be credited in an editorial?

Everyone.  Every member of your crew involved in the creation of the fashion story or the art piece MUST be credited.  No matter how small their contribution.  This means photographers, models, stylists, designers, artists, assistants, whatever.  We do not accept submissions that fail to credit crew members.

When are the deadlines for submissions?

Deadlines are also announced on the official Facebook pages.  We ask that our contributors be mindful, and submit their work on time.  Late submissions will simply not be included in the current issue or art book.  In some cases our editors take work for future issues.  This will be discussed privately through email.

What are the requirements for submitting a cover image?

There are no “requirements” for a cover image.  All submitted images have a chance to possibly be chosen for the cover.  Some covers are in-house, but some are from contributors.  The editors select the cover image based on their personal preferences, and goals for the current issue.  Notification on earning a cover will be discussed privately through email.

Why was my submission pulled after acceptance?

There are various reasons why an image set will dropped.  The most common reason is the editors will discover the content has been published in a competing publication.

It also may no longer fit into the current issue and how developed as all submissions came together to complete the issue.

What are the requirements for contributor interviews?

Upon submission acceptance, you may be sent interview questions.  In the event that you are sent an interview form, please answer any and all questions to the best of your abilities.  Premade interviews will not be accepted.  Canned interviews do not always include the content that is relevant to the issue.  All interviews will be examined, and possibly rewritten, by the in-house writer.  This is to insure that the interview meshes with the theme of the issue, and the overall voice of the publication.  Contributors are given the chance to make corrections, and provide feedback on rewritten articles.  Our in-house writer strives to maintain the integrity of the contributor, while still providing the magazine with familiar text.

Do you only accept exclusive work?

Our publication prefers exclusive work.  When work is spread all over social media, it loses its punch.  The issues strive to bring original, fresh content to the table.  Our editors will make exceptions for well known contributors.  Exceptions will also be made depending on the location of the published content.  The best way to ensure your submission is accepted is not to post the work on social media, and not to send previously published works.  Image sets have been pulled upon discovery of simultaneous submissions.  This means that the contributor submitted to our publication, and another publication, at the same time.  Please be respectful of our publication and only submit if you can commit.

Will you crop my art in the magazine?

Normally no, as we do not publish full bleed images unless they are two page spreads we do not crop images. If you do not submit the correct aspect ratio for a 2 page spread we will fit as much as possible on the two pages, some material may fall outside of the edge of the pages and be lost.

If we need to crop something severely we will contact you prior to running it, however we reserve the right to fit your submission to our pages and our design criteria.

Do you accept landscape images?

Our publication does run landscape images, as both half pages and full spreads.  Please note that there are a limited number of pages for each issue, and only so many can be taken up by double page spreads.  We prefer the bulk of submissions to be portrait, rather than landscape.  This offers more flexibility with our page count, and gives the contributor more opportunities for accepted images.  When submitting a landscape image, please keep in mind that if the editors do choose to run it as a two page spread, rather than a half page, that there will be a gutter down the center of the image.  This means that we are more likely to drop images that feature the subject matter in the center.  Off-setting the subject to one side is preferable.

Do you accept text or titles with images?

The editors prefer to create titles for the image sets.  However, if a contributor feels strongly about a name for their image set, the editors will consider including it.  Please submit titles in text form with the credits.  Do not superimpose the title over the image.  Images with text placed over them will be rejected.  (This does not apply to art images where text is a part of the actual art piece)

Contact us if you have further questions at

Submissions@CloudOrchid.com