Ms. Forever Icon is an independent publisher of Forever Holidays, a monthly entertaining newsletter celebrating fun national holidays. Our newsletter features poems, flash fiction, headlines and more! Visit us at www.msforevericon.com

Flash Fiction Submission Guidelines

If you're planning to submit holiday flash fiction to Ms. Forever Icon’s Forever Holidays newsletter, please read the following guidelines. Guidelines are subject to change with or without notice.

HOW TO SUBMIT HOLIDAY FLASH FICTION STORIES

Forever Holidays newsletter is an entertaining monthly digital newsletter that celebrates national holidays such as national pet month, national margarita month and etc. This newsletter is fun & unique because we combine poetry, short stories, recent news headlines, recipes and more into one publication!

All holiday flash fiction story submissions should be made through our online submission form. This helps us keep track of the submissions we receive as efficiently as possible. Please don't post us anything, as it won't reach the right people. Only work submitted through our Submittable page will be considered.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We are dedicated to discovering and publishing the finest flash fiction stories. We are open for holiday flash fiction submissions every month with an open and close date. We will also announce future open submissions dates in the newsletter. Every month there will be a new theme/subject. Please only send submissions related to the below themes/subjects. (*all themes are subject to change at anytime)

Honey or Bees: To be published in September 2020 newsletter

Cookbook or Cooking: To be published in October 2020 newsletter

Banana or Banana Pudding: To be published in November 2020 newsletter

Ties or Bow ties: To be published in December 2020 newsletter

Oatmeal: To be published in January 2021 newsletter

Cherries: To be published in February 2021 newsletter

Umbrella: To be published in March 2021 newsletter

Soft Pretzel: To be published in April 2021 newsletter

Eggs or Tennis: To be published in May 2021 newsletter

Ms. Forever Icon will accept a range of unpublished flash fiction stories from both new and emerging authors/writers. You must be 18 years of age or older. All unpublished submissions must be written in English. Literary submissions should be a 12-point font size, single spaced with paragraphs flush left and a single empty line between each paragraph (if necessary). (no indents on first line of paragraph.) Please include the title of the holiday story and the theme/subject at the top of the page.

We are seeking holiday flash fiction stories that have never been published in print, online, website and etc. One other thing to note is that we're looking for holiday flash fiction stories about people, places, experiences and etc. The genre of stories include: horror, romance, humor, thrillers, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi. We value great storytelling, humor, vivid characters, context, and perspective. Please note, at this time, we do not consider novel excerpts, or anything with illustrations or photographs.

WORD COUNT

We are able to consider holiday flash fiction stories that are between 100 and 300 words in length; please do not send anything longer or shorter than this. Submissions that are not within the word count, will not be considered.

HOW MUCH WE PAY

We pay $50.00 for each holiday flash fiction story that is published in Forever Holidays newsletter, if you are a free subscriber. However, if you are a paid subscriber of the newsletter, we pay $100.00 if your holiday story is published. Forever Icon LLC/Ms. Forever Icon and/or anyone affiliated, employed and etc is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged checks that are sent through US postal service or electronic funds sent via Paypal to the wrong account due to an incorrect email address. Forever Icon LLC/Ms. Forever Icon will not reissue any forms of payments. It is the submitter’s responsibility to supply Forever Icon LLC/Ms. Forever Icon with a valid home address and/or email address regarding payment within 3 business days of Forever Icon LLC/Ms. Forever Icon notifying the submitter that their story will be published. We will not send any form of payment to a P.O. Box. The check will be made out to the submitter only.

DEADLINES AND WHEN TO SUBMIT

We are now open for holiday flash fiction submissions until November 10, 2020 or until we reach our submission limit. Regardless of the deadline date, once we meet our limit, no more submissions will be allowed until the next submission period. All submissions are read. It may not be the decision that you expected, but it is final. However, we may contact you in the distant future if we decide to publish work or re-consider.

INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSIONS AND TRANSLATIONS

Unfortunately, we only accept holiday flash fiction submissions from US based authors that currently live in the United States.

RIGHTS

We ask for first serial rights (print, digital and online) on any story we publish. This means that the story should not have appeared anywhere else, either in print or online. (This includes publication on an author's own website.) When we publish a story, we ask for a brief period of exclusivity (twelve months from the date that the short story was published), and the right to keep the story in print as part of future projects. We don't ask for website/online rights, or place any limits on what you can do with your story after the exclusivity period.

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

The contents of Forever Holidays will NOT be submitted for copyright protection to the U.S. Copyright Office. Contributors who wish to secure copyright protection for their work are responsible for filing for such copyright before submitting their work. Neither the staff, volunteers of Ms. Forever Icon nor Forever Holidays assume any responsibility for loss or damages to individual authors for copyright infringement of literary or artistic work displayed in the newsletter. If you submit any work, you certify that this is an original piece of literary work, and accompanying photography or artwork created by you.

FILE FORMATS

If possible, please submit your holiday flash fiction story only in MS WORD (doc or docx).

SUBMISSION FEE

Even though, we have limited staff and resources, at this time we do NOT require a submission fee. However, we do offer a free and paid newsletter version. It is required to subscribe to the “FREE” version of our Forever Holidays monthly newsletter and follow us on Instagram @msforevericon and Facebook as part of the submission guidelines. Ms. Forever Icon is independent and rely on all necessary funding to continue to provide a great digital publication. If you are interested in the paid version (optional), the newsletter subscription is $21.00 annually in advance or $2.50 per month. There is no guarantee that your holiday story will be published regardless if you subscribed as a free or paid subscriber. Selection of all holiday stories are based on creativity and the writing itself. If you decide to become a free or paid subscriber, please make sure to use the same email address to submit your fiction and to subscribe to the newsletter. At the time of selection, you must still be an active subscriber and social media follower before payment is sent, if selected and published. We appreciate your support and welcome you to refer Ms. Forever Icon to other emerging writers.

LIABILITY

We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your submission of any work that you submit to Ms. Forever Icon/Forever Holidays. We assume your work is written by you and is copyrighted. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy of your submission and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any submission. We are not liable for any harm and/or damages related to the submission or use of any content that is submitted by you, or any other materials.

MULTIPLE AND SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS

We do not accept multiple submissions from authors during the submission period. We ask that you send us only one story during the submission period. We do understand if you want to submit your short story to another publication or literary magazine. However, please let us know if a story you've submitted to us has been accepted elsewhere!

OUR RESPONSE TIMES

We aim to reply to all submissions within six months of submission date, although we will sometimes go slightly over this during busy periods or holidays. You will be contact via Submittable.

IF YOUR SUBMISSION IS SELECTED

 If your holiday flash fiction story is selected to be featured in our Forever Holidays newsletter, your first and last name, title of story and story will be published. Also, we will link your name to your Instagram or Facebook page. In addition, we may request a photo and/or permission to re-post a photo of you and a short 3-sentence bio on our social media pages, but not guaranteed. A snippet (1 or 2 sentences) of your flash fiction story may be posted on our social media pages, but not guaranteed. We also encourage you to promote Forever Holidays newsletter so your friends, family members and supporters can read your published work. Depending on your subscription, the $50.00 or $100.00 payment will be made to you via check or Paypal to the email address that you used to submit through Submittable. Payment will be sent via Paypal or check within 7 to 14 business days of notifying you of accepting your flash fiction story. If we send by check, it will be sent via US Postal Service.