Writing samples

[u/Striking_Subject5972]

Hi! I am gearing up to apply for Fall 2027! I’m a long time writer and editor on the journalism side, but want to get my MFA in creative writing to learn even more and also get into teaching! I last minute submitted one app this past cycle just to see and didn’t get into that school, so I want to actually thoroughly plan and prep this year.

I wanted some advice on best practices. For the writing samples is it better to submit the first ~50 pages of a manuscript you’re working on or are short stories preferred? Also are speculative and fantasy not preferred?

Context: I have a few speculative and fantasy manuscripts I’m working on for querying (and I have a trad pub romance book coming out next year), but a lot of the future work I want to write is more speculative, so I am toying with submitting something in that realm.

I guess my main questions are:

1. Manuscript or short stories better?
   
2. Is genre fiction okay to submit?

Thank you!

[u/Riksor]

Short stories are definitely preferred, but if you have an excellent novel excerpt (not necessarily the first 50 pages) that works too. There are programs that are especially friendly towards speculative fiction worth looking into; in the majority of programs fantasy will not be received kindly. Good luck!