The Slush Pile

Finally: Slush Pile Completed

2010-12-03T11:21:00.002-06:00

It took much, much longer than anticipated even given our two-month extension, but I finally emailed the last author a few minutes ago. All authors have been notified of their submissions' status, whether it be accepted or rejected. So if you submitted a story to us prior to August 31, 2010 and have not heard back, please query at info@wingedhalo.com

We received 388 submissions for the S/F/H issue and narrowed it down to 5. Keep your eye out for the issue, debuting online New Year's Eve!

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Flash Me Magazine NEWS!

2010-10-07T01:23:00.004-05:00

After much debate, we have decided to postpone our October 31st issue. It's our final issue before our indefinite hiatus, and we want to take the time to do a proper send-off. As we are still knee-deep in submissions, we thought the best decision would be to publish it on December 31st, giving us two months to finish the issue. That will allow us to keep providing the editorial feedback we're famous for, without sacrificing quality.

So, our new deadlines are as follows:

We should finish reading through the slush by November 15th. Final voting on held submissions will be completed by November 19th so that we can have all final notifications emailed out before the U.S.'s Thanksgiving Day.

We will then have a full month for contracts and formatting, and be able to offer both readers and authors the highest quality issue.

Our staff will begin sending notification emails to all authors awaiting a reply from us. If you do not receive an email by October 15th, please query.

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

***TO CLARIFY: We will be sending notifications of the publication date change over the next week and if you have a story still in our slush pile and do not receive this special notification email by October 15th, please query. That may mean that your original submission has been misplaced, or that you should have received a rejection letter from us already. These special notification emails will only be sent to stories we are holding for voting and stories we have not previously rejected. That way all authors are notified of the new publication date and understand that we are still considering their stories.***

A Quick Update

2010-09-27T18:19:00.003-05:00

We are still hip-deep in submissions, so our original response date of September 25th has been pushed back now to October 10th. We still have 120 submissions left in our inbox to review.

Please bear with us...

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

SFH Slush Pile Update

2010-09-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a while since we've updated the blog, and that's partially because we've been overwhelmed with submissions. The submission deadline was August 31, 2010, and we are now officially on hiatus and no longer accepting any submissions for future issues.

I don't have any final tallies for the SFH issue because we've had to ask a few authors to send us corrected submissions. We're giving them a few days to get back to us. Here are the stats I do know:

We have received and logged 387 official submissions so far, but that number may go up before we're through. We have held 10 stories for voting and rejected 150. The editors are currently reviewing 11 submissions right now, with submissions received between June 18 and July 8. We have 216 submissions sitting in our inbox. We will work our way through them by the end of the month.

We hope to do final voting on or before October 5th, so if you're one of the lucky authors who has a story held for voting, we'll let you know as soon as we've made a decision. We have to get through the entire slush pile first.

That's all for now...
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Unfortunate News

2010-07-30T04:01:00.001-05:00

After our October Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror issue, Flash Me Magazine will be taking an indefinite hiatus.

As the Editor-in-Chief and publisher, I am responsible for making sure each issue is published and our authors are paid. In 2011, I will be relocating overseas for three years, and I fear all of my traveling would affect the publication schedule. I would rather close things down while I am away than let the magazine’s quality suffer.

Our final issue will be October 31, 2010, and we are still accepting submissions for that special S/F/H issue until August 30th. Until then, we will be contacting all authors with submissions in our slush pile for the January 2011 issue, which will no longer be published. Those stories have not been reviewed yet, and may now be sent to other markets. We will no longer be accepting new subscription purchases, and we will contact current subscribers regarding their options.

If you have any questions or concerns about how this hiatus affects you, your work, or your subscription, please contact me at info@wingedhalo.com with the word QUERY in your subject line and I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.

This was a very hard decision for me, but I believe it’s in the magazine’s best interests. We hope you enjoy our final two issues.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

July Issue Online Early

2010-07-30T03:58:00.003-05:00

I will be out of town tonight, so I put the July issue online a day early.

It contains stories by Igor Teper, Keri Clark, Rabia Gale
and Catherine Russell, with bonus stories by Sarahlyn S. Bruck, Michael Guillebeau, and Stephen V. Ramey. We hope you enjoy.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Finally finished

2010-06-17T23:20:00.002-05:00

We are finally finished wading through the July slush pile. We still have to do final voting in a few weeks, but I'm giving the staff a much needed break until then.

The stats:

2 accepted, 7 held for voting, 14 sent for rewrites, 2 wihdrawn, and 330 rejected. We will choose 4-6 stories for the issue and will notify authors and send out final contracts on or before July 10th.

All authors who submitted something for the regular issue between March 2nd and June 5th should have heard something from us by now. If not, please query.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Almost Done!

2010-06-17T00:01:00.003-05:00

We are almost done with the July Submissions:

We have accepted 2 submissions so far, held 7 for voting, sent 13 back for rewrites, and had 2 withdrawn. We have 24 submissions before the editors right now, have rejected 306 as of today, and have 1 left in our inbox.

We are currently reviewing the last of the submissions.

If you submitted a story for the July issue before May 30th and have not heard from us, please query asap.

We will return to S/F/H submissions after July 15th. This July issue took far longer than anticipated due to an overwhelming amount of last-minute submissions.

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

July Slush Pile

2010-06-14T17:40:00.001-05:00

As we work our way through the last of the submissions for the July issue, I'll be posting more frequent updates.

We have accepted 2 submissions so far, held 4 for voting, sent 12 back for rewrites, and had 2 withdrawn. We have 13 submissions before the editors right now, have rejected 261 as of today, and have 61 left in our inbox.

We are currently reviewing stories received between May 15th and May 21st.

If you submitted a story before May 14th and have not heard from us, please query asap.

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Corrected July Slush Pile Stats

2010-06-13T10:56:00.003-05:00

The Editor-in-Chief is back in charge after a month-long absence.

I left things in the hands of my very capable Senior Managing Editor, Elizabeth Hull, and though we had a few minor snafus, over all things went smoothly during my absense.

We had a few staff absences while I was away, most notably our admins, and our inboxes and logs got a bit mixed up. I've gone through them all, straightened everything out, and am pleased to announce that though the submission numbers posted here on the blog were inaccurate during my absence, we seem to have all submissions accounted for. I don't think we've misplaced any.

The quarter ended at midnight on June 1st, but due to a bit of miscommunication, a few slipped in after the deadline and we've decided to keep them. Check your receipt email to verify which issue your story is being considered for.

We received a total of 355 submissions for the July issue:

We have accepted 2 submissions so far, held 3 for voting, sent 11 back for rewrites, and had 2 withdrawn. We have 21 submissions before the editors right now, have rejected 234 as of today, and have 82 left in our inbox. We hope to finish those this coming week. We have all staff on hand and are looking for more editors, as well.

We are currently reviewing stories received between May 4th and May 16th.

If you submitted a story before May 4th and have not heard from us, please query asap.

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

S/F/H Slush Stats

2010-06-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

We have received 102 submissions.

1 story is being held, 8 are before the editorial board, 43 have been rejected, and 50 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

July Issue Slush Stats

2010-06-09T14:36:00.000-05:00

We have received 364 submissions.

We have accepted 2 stories, held 2 for voting, sent 9 back for rewrites, rejected 205, and 2 stories have been withdrawn. 17 stories are before the editorial board, and 127 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

S/F/H Issue Slush Stats

2010-05-27T15:02:00.000-05:00

We have received 88 submissions.

1 story is being held, 3 are before the editorial board, 31 have been rejected, and 53 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

July Issue Slush Stats

2010-05-27T14:55:00.000-05:00

We have received 315 submissions.

We have accepted 2 stories, held 1 for voting, sent 5 back for rewrites, rejected 178, and 2 stories have been withdrawn. 17 are before the editorial board, and 110 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

S/F/H Slush Stats

2010-05-16T17:46:00.000-05:00

We have received 71 submissions.

5 of them are before the editorial board, 23 have been rejected, and 43 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

July Issue Slush Stats

2010-05-14T17:42:00.000-05:00

We have received 244 submissions.

We have accepted 1, held 1 for voting, sent 5 back for rewrites, rejected 147, and 1 story has been withdrawn. 11 are before the editorial board, and 78 are waiting in the inbox.

FMM Staff

Slow Response Times

2010-05-09T08:17:00.000-05:00

Flash Me Magazine may have slow response times for the rest of the month:

The editor-in-chief is in the middle of a move and will be without a reliable internet connection, and one administrative assistant will be handling regular submissions while the other will be handling S/F/H submissions. We tried hiring additional help, but didn't find anyone in time.

Please bear with us during this busy month.

Thank you,
FMM Staff

S/F/H Issue Slush Pile Stats

2010-05-05T09:47:00.001-05:00

We have received 37 submissions.

6 of them are before the editorial board, 5 have been rejected, 26 are waiting in the inbox.

We are still reviewing submissions received on April 30th.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

July Issue Slush Stats

2010-05-02T16:48:00.002-05:00

As of March 2, 2010, we have received 187 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 1 for voting, sent 5 back for rewrites, and rejected 116. There are 14 submissions before the editors and 50 left in our inbox.

We have been through all submissions received prior to April 13th, so if submitted on or before April 12th and haven't heard from us, please query.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

S/F/H Issue Slush Pile Stats

2010-05-02T14:55:00.002-05:00

As of April 30th, we have received 19 *correct* submissions. 6 of them are before the editorial board, 13 are waiting in the inbox.

And additional 17 submissions have been rejected outright thus far for not following our submission guidelines. 14 of them were received prior to our submission period. Not all of them have chosen to resubmit as of yet. I hope they do - after reading through the guidelines one last time.

It's been a rocky start, but it can only get better, right?

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

S/F/H Issue Slush Pile

2010-05-02T14:19:00.003-05:00

Due to a shortage of administrative assistants, I have been handling the inbox for the S/F/H submissions, and what a chaotic mess it has been!

I cannot stress how important it is to READ and FOLLOW submission guidelines.

I just rejected two more submissions today, one for a sloppy subject line, and one that managed to mess up just about everything. Incorrect subject line, no email with any of the required information, and just an attachment with the story. (I did read through the attachment, BTW to see if the bio was in there. It wasn't.)

I'll post stats later on this week, but I can't imagine we've have more correct submissions than we do reject ones.

I find that very, very sad, especially considering that our S/F/H guidelines are very, very similar to our regular guidelines. Throw a SFH into the subject line, don't send us simultaneous submissions, and note the new limitation on both the special issue and the regular issues about two submissions under consideration at a time. Not a big deal, is it?

I did just not that for some reason we're asking for the mailing address on the S/F/H issue. No need for that so I'm going in there now to delete that. You'll notice that the "Last Updated" date will change to today's date. We always do that.

I'm looking forward to more correct submissions in the future, and fewer rejection emails before we've ever had a chance to read your submissions.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

S/F/H Issue Now Open to Submissions

2010-04-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

After a rough start where we received fourteen premature submissions (many of which didn't follow our submission guidelines either, funny enough) we are now open to submissions!

Since 12:01AM EST, we have received 9 submissions, one of which was rejected outright for not including the story's title in the subject line. Submission guidelines are important, authors! Read them, know them, follow them.

They can be found at http://www.wingedhalo.com/sfh.html

Submissions will be accepted until 11:59PM EST on August 31st. All stories submitted for the S/F/H issue must contain some element of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any combination of those genres and be 1,000 words or less. We're especially interested in the "any combination." Surprise us.

Meanwhile, we are still accepting submissions for our regular July issue, so if you don't fit into the S/F/H category, the deadline for the July issue is June 1, 2010. You can find those submission guidelines at http://www.wingedhalo.com/guidelines.html

We're looking forward to reading those submissions...

FMM Staff

New Issue Online

2010-04-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

The April 30, 2010 issue of Flash me Magazine is now online!

Featuring stories by: D Gavin Guddi, Adam Armour, James Ellis, Rebecca Gaffron, Sylvia Hiven, Dave Hoing, Eric J. Juneau, Lora J. Rumsey, Wayne Scheer, and Glenda Thompson

We hope you enjoy...

FMM Staff

S/F/H Issue Reminder

2010-04-27T02:25:00.002-05:00

The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Issue Submission Period begins April 30, 2010 and ends August 31, 2010. *Submissions received outside of this period will be deleted unread.*

Please see the S/F/H submission guidelines at http://www.wingedhalo.com/sfh.html for complete details.

Thank you,
Flash Me Magazine Staff
http://www.flashmemagazine.com

We received SIX submissions in the S/F/H inbox this month, and I sent them all this nice little reminder that their emails will be deleted unread and to go read our submission guidelines.

I also reread all the pages on our website that mention the special issue, just to verify that they all do say April 30th (they do). I can't control the content of market referral websites and such, but you should always, always verify submission periods at a magazine's website before submitting, even if you've submitted to them before. Reread their guidelines, and see if they state when their guidelines were last updated (we do).

I will also point out that several of these early submissions failed to follow some of our other submission guidelines, so it will be interesting to see if they actually do go read our guidelines and submit properly next time.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief
(a stickler for following guidelines)

Backlogged

2010-04-27T01:40:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick updated to let you know that although we have been reviewing submissions in a timely manner, we are backlogged in terms of sending out the rejections letters.

Both of the staff members qualified to handle rejection letters have been MIA (including me), leaving one lonely admin to send out receipt emails and post submissions before our editorial board. We are both back, now, but the upcoming issue will consume most of my time.

I hope to post accurate slush stats next week. For now, all I can tell you is that the editors have not reviewed any submissions received after April 12th.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2010-04-08T12:39:00.002-05:00

Since March 2nd, 2010, we have received 109 submissions. So far we have rejected 38 submissions and sent 2 back for rewrites. We have 58 submissions still in our inbox.

We have held 1 story for voting, and have 10 submissions before the editorial staff. We are currently reviewing submissions received between March 18th and March 21st. If you sent your submission prior to March 18th and have not heard from us, please query.

Thank you,
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

April Issue Finalized

2010-03-15T17:57:00.005-05:00

We have finished voting on our April issue and sent out all the acceptance and rejection letters. We went with ten stories this quarter, which is more than usual. It seemed fitting since we'll be cutting back on stories July onwards due to the raise in pay rates. Consider it one last hurrah!

This is the last you'll hear about the April issue until it debuts on April 30th. If you don't yet have a subscription, now is the time: http://www.wingedhalo.com/subscribe.html. All funds help support the magazine, and we need more funds than ever to fund our upcoming pay rate increase. We also accept donations in any amount. We have donation buttons at the bottom of every page of our website. You can also support us by purchasing merchandise from one of our stores: http://www.wingedhalo.com/shop.html

The staff will be taking a week off before we begin reviewing July's slush pile. As of now, we have 35 submissions in the slush pile, received on or after March 2nd. We will continue to accept submissions while we're on break. We will post another slush update after we've gone through the first batch of submissions, in a few weeks.

Until then...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Brief Slush Update

2010-03-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

We have gone through all submissions received between December 2nd and March 1st. If you sent us a submission during that time period and have not heard back from us yet, please query immediately.

Right now we have 4 accepted stories and 10 stories in our "held for voting" pile. Voting will commence shortly, so we should be able to notify authors this week.

As of now, we have 33 submissions in our inbox for the July issue. We will not start reviewing those until after we've finalized the April issue.

Thank you,
FMM Staff

Looking for a few more editors

2010-03-13T15:03:00.004-06:00

Flash Me Magazine is currently looking for a few more editors:

We're looking for people who enjoy reading a wide variety of fiction and who have the time to devote to the magazine. All of our staff works on a volunteer basis and enthusiasm is more important than any experience. For more details, visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/positions.html

FMM Staff

Update: We've hired one editor today, but we're still looking for at least one more person to join our staff.

Multiple Submissions

2010-03-13T11:51:00.000-06:00

We now limit each author to two submissions in our slush pile at any given time. Please wait until you have heard back on your first two submissions before sending any others. Please send each submission in a separate email with all of the above requested information in each email. We will reject any emails that have more than one submission in it, and we will reject any submissions that exceed our two-submission limit.

If one of your two stories are accepted for publication or held for voting, that means you may only have one story in our slush pile at a time for the remainder of that quarter. If we accept or hold two of your stories, you may not submit further stories for that quarter. We thank you for your understanding.

FMM Staff

Slush Update & Multiple Submissions

2010-03-12T22:28:00.003-06:00

We have received 279 submissions and are still waiting for a few possible rewrites. Of those 279 submissions, we have accepted 2, held 7, sent 18 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. So far, we have rejected 231 submissions. We have the final 17 submissions before the editors (dated February 27th and after). We have NO submissions left in our inbox!

Considering how many multiple submission we received this quarter, we will be updating our submission guidelines, limiting the amount of submissions we'll allow in our slush from a single author. We are discussing our preferences now, and will post a formal announcement as soon a a decision has been made.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Detailed Slush Update & More

2010-03-11T09:11:00.003-06:00

We are still accepting requested rewrites until March 15th, so the final totals for our April issue may change, but here are the stats so far:

We have received 277 submissions. Of those 277 submissions, we have accepted 1, held 6, sent 16 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. So far, we have rejected 209 submissions. We have 14 submissions before the editors (dated February 25th and 26th) and have 27 left in our inbox.

For the July issue, we have received 16 submissions to date, but we will not be reviewing any of them until we have finalized the April issue.

***

It's been a while since I blogged about some of our slush pile complaints. Overall, the submissions have been following our guidelines, which is a huge relief. I've been training a new administrative assistant, and the slush pile has been kind to her in terms of correct subject lines and necessary submission information.

My complaints this quarter have mainly been with attachments. I'd like to think that every prolific author has heard of standard manuscript formatting, so in this day and age when I open attachments that don't follow standard formatting, I have to conclude that the author is either new to submitting their work, or they just don't care. It's unprofessional, and it makes me shake my head every time.

Other notables this quarter are authors that submit more than three stories at a time. It doesn't particularly matter to us if you sent seven stories back-to-back, but I think these authors are doing themselves a disservice. Most authors have a distinct style, so the editors can tell that stories were written by the same author. If all seven stories have the same problems, the editors get weary of making the same comments, and the feedback they give isn't as in-depth as it might have been had they not grown bored with seeing everything in the author's trunk.

Do yourself a favor - don't submit a bunch of stories all on the same day. Space them out. That way, you're not getting a bunch of denial letters in your inbox at one time, either, since we generally send rejection letters in chunks.

And finally, we've sent back sixteen stories for rewrites this past quarter, which is unprecedented for us. It's our effort to give the authors a better chance of being published in the future. With the raise in our pay rates comes a decrease in the number of stories we'll publish each quarter, which means we can only hold on to the best stories for voting.

That also means stories that we may have sent back for rewrites before will be rejected outright. If a story doesn't have enough redeeming qualities, we won't ask to see it again, even if the editors gave several "maybe" votes. It's a judgement call - usually my judgement call. If I think a story can be easily fixed and the editors enjoyed the story, we may request a rewrite. Otherwise, we'll pass on it and hope our feedback helps the story get published elsewhere.

To give yourself the best chance at publication:

Only send us your best stories.
Proofread your stories before submission.
Use standard manuscript formatting.
Follow all submission guidelines.
Space out your submissions.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Brief Slush Pile Update

2010-03-09T10:42:00.002-06:00

We've been posting frequent updates on the slush pile for our upcoming April issue because we're working through them so quickly. We will continue to do so until we are caught up, which we hope will be next week.

We are currently reviewing submissions received between February 21st and February 22nd. We have 12 submissions before the editorial staff, and 48 left in our inbox.

FMM Staff

Brief Slush Pile Update

2010-03-08T08:31:00.000-06:00

We are currently reviewing submissions received between February 16th and February 20th. We have 14 submissions before the editorial staff, and 64 left in our inbox.

FMM Staff

Brief Slush Pile Update

2010-03-06T15:38:00.002-06:00

We are currently reviewing submissions received between February 12th and February 15th. We have 10 submissions before the editorial staff, and 77 left in our inbox.

We have received 9 submissions so far for the July issue. We will not be reviewing those for a few weeks.

FMM Staff

April Issue's Slush Pile Update

2010-03-05T08:32:00.000-06:00

We are still waiting for a few more rewrites, but here are the current statistics:

So far, we have received 277 submissions.

We have accepted 1 story, held 4 stories for voting, and have 11 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 150 submissions, sent 14 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. We have 93 submissions still in our inbox.

We are currently reviewing submissions received between February 6th and February 10th. We will work through the remaining slush as quickly as we can, but should be finished before March 19th. If you haven't heard from us by then, please query.

FMM Staff

April Issue's Slush Pile

2010-03-04T08:31:00.000-06:00

The submission period for the upcoming April issue has ended, though we are still accepting rewrites we've requested until March 15th. So our final tally isn't necessary the final tally. Here is what we have so far:

We have received 273 submissions.

We have held 4 stories for voting and have 12 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 139 submissions, sent 12 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. We have 102 submissions still in our inbox.

We are currently reviewing submissions received between February 1st and February 7th. We will work through the remaining slush as quickly as we can, but should be finished before March 19th. If you haven't heard from us by then, please query.

FMM Staff

Increased Pay Rates

2010-03-03T09:41:00.000-06:00

To celebrate our seventh year of publication, Flash Me Magazine is increasing its pay rates:

As of July 1, 2010, all published stories will receive twenty-five dollars ($25) US via PayPal, plus a year's subscription to Flash Me Magazine. Our Feature Story winner will receive an additional twenty-five dollars ($25), for a total of fifty dollars ($50) US via PayPal. That means Feature Stories are guaranteed professional rates of at least five cents ($0.05) per word!

These new pay rates will go into effect for stories published in our July 2010 issue and onward.

FMM Staff

Special Issue

2010-03-03T08:40:00.001-06:00

Flash Me Magazine is pleased to announce our upcoming Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror issue. We'll be publishing this special combination issue on October 31, 2010.

All stories submitted for the S/F/H issue must contain some element of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any combination of those genres and be 1,000 words or less. The S/F/H Issue submission period begins April 30, 2010 and ends August 31, 2010.

Special guidelines apply, and we will not be accepting simultaneous submissions for this issue. Please see the S/F/H submission guidelines for complete details at http://www.wingedhalo.com/sfh.html

FMM Staff

Writer's Corner: Flash Fiction Is...?

2010-02-28T13:13:00.000-06:00

Today Flash Me Magazine debuts our new Writer's Corner, with posts by our editors.

Flash Fiction Is...? by Nicholas Carter

The question “What is flash fiction?” really begs the question, “What is good flash fiction?” In fact, I would argue that the two are one and the same. Among common criticisms that a flash story receives, statements to the effect that a story “feels like part of a longer piece,” or “seems like a character sketch,” or “reads like a scene, not a complete story” do not, in point of fact, show that a flash tale is bad; they banish it from the realm of flash altogether by suggesting that it is just a fragment of story.

This is peculiar to flash fiction. A short story might be criticized for feeling incomplete, but this does not remove it from the realm of short story. A given novel could be stated to feel like part of a longer story, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t a novel - it could be part of a series, and critics would be fine with that. Nobody I know would suggest that any of the Lord of the Rings books are incomplete because they do not finish the story in a single book. Likewise, I don’t think anyone would suggest that they must be merged into one large volume.

But flash fiction defines itself by its brevity and when this brevity fails - either because a piece goes on for too long, or because a piece must go on for too long to give a sense of closure - so fails the piece. Short fiction and novels are generally thought to have certain lengths, but they are not so adamantly defined by length. Failure to complete a story in the minimal amount of words doesn’t make a story bad; it excludes it from the genre.

So if completeness can’t be the measure of “bad” flash fiction, what can? Errors in punctuation and spelling? Unbelievable characters? Lack of focus? These are problems with all fiction. None are specific to flash. If there must be one defining characteristic of extremely short stories, one trait that separates the good from bad, let it be word choice.

Obviously, the careful selection of words is a necessary ingredient in all varieties of fiction, but it is all the more important in flash. A short story writer who decides that a theme is not fully carried by a previous paragraph can simply lengthen the piece. A flash writer is typically limited to 500-1,000 words. There is very little room for error. If some necessary detail is not present at just the right moment, it may be impossible to insert later on.

Each word must be measured; the scale of flash fiction allows for no excess, no imprecision. An idea that can only be carried by two words is at a disadvantage. If that same notion can be concentrated in one, that’s all the better. If you can seal multiple themes into a single word, you’ve begun to write flash fiction.

Perhaps a quick and dirty demonstration is in order: consider the following sentence.

“The ballet dancer leapt nimbly over the stage, a smile on her lips.”

How can this be shortened? Consider what information is being imparted to the reader.

1: There is a dancer.
2: She is currently performing.
3: The dance is ballet.
4: She seems to be enjoying herself.

Firstly, a smile can be understood to be taking place on a person’s lips. Lets renovate the portion after the comma.

“The ballet dancer leapt nimbly over the stage, smiling.”

Although, now the truncated end loses the feel of flowing that the original sentence provided (which suggested a sensation of movement), and while shorter, it suffers artistically.
So let’s merge two of these ideas.

“The ballet dancer leapt joyously over the stage.”

This sentence does not state that the dancer is smiling, but this is fine. In applying a smile to a character, you, the writer, are trying to show your reader that said character is happy. Could our dancer not be smiling? Certainly, but I believe the mental image that “joyously” provides is one of a person whose body language will imply gladness.

And while some might wonder how “joyously” could replace “nimbly”, it comes once again to mental image. Joy implies a gracefulness of the heart, a lightness of spirit which here stands in for the lightness of body. It works well in this capacity by being paired with a verb that indicates an upward motion. That our character is a dancer also promotes the idea of lively motion. Imagine if instead you encountered this sentence:

“The garbage man leapt joyously over the stage.”

We may picture this sanitation worker as happy, (And why not? Perhaps this man is living a long-repressed dream.) but probably not quite so graceful as our dancer, even if he is doing this joyously. Our dancer’s clothes are easy to imagine as thin and consisting of light colors. The garbage man’s clothes are probably baggy and dirty.

Moving back to our original sentence, we may begin to find it difficult to shorten it any more. I might suggest...

“The ballerina leapt joyously over the stage.”

This might work, but “ballerina” makes the sentence feel lengthy. Let’s try…

“The dancer leapt joyously over the stage.”

This is also a possibility, but we’ve lost the idea that said dancer is a ballerina. If the type of dancer she is isn’t an important part of the story, the change doesn’t matter.

One more way we might shorten this…

“Onstage, the dancer leapt joyously.” (Or even, “joyously leapt”)

The difficulty here is that, while shorter, “onstage” has become the focus of this sentence, our dancer moved slightly into the background. We begin to picture the stage first, dancer second. You will note that the further along we went in this exercise, the more things began to fall apart.

There is a point to this: Flash fiction is like cutting diamonds. In choosing to write flash fiction, you have decided to work on something very hard, on a very small scale, where the minutest precision is absolutely vital. Every facet is cut to catch the light; the rigid stone rendered invisible under the flash.

Nicholas Carter
Editor, FMM

Slush Update & Deadline Information

2010-02-25T08:58:00.002-06:00

So far we have received 238 submissions.

We have held 3 stories for voting and have 10 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 117 submissions, sent 11 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. We have 93 submissions still in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after January 29th.

***

Our submission deadline for the upcoming April issue is fast approaching. We will continue to accept submissions until midnight EST on Monday, March 1st. Anything received after that time will be considered for our July issue.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2010-02-16T12:34:00.001-06:00

So far we have received 200 submissions.

We have held 3 stories for voting and have 10 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 101 submissions, sent 9 back for rewrites, and had 4 withdrawals. We have 73 submissions still in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after January 23rd.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2010-02-01T13:15:00.001-06:00

So far we have received 158 submissions.

We have held 2 stories for voting and have 10 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 74 submissions, sent 7 back for rewrites, and had 2 withdrawals. We have 63 submissions still in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after January 11th.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2010-01-26T09:14:00.001-06:00

So far we have received 122 submissions.

We have held 2 stories for voting and have 10 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 57 submissions, sent 3 back for rewrites, and had 2 withdrawals. We have 48 submissions still in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after December 30th.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Update

2010-01-20T11:14:00.000-06:00

So far we have received 107 submissions.

We have held 2 stories for voting and have 9 submissions before the editorial staff.

So far we have rejected 30 submissions, and had 2 withdrawals. We have 64 submissions still in our inbox.

FMM Staff

Last Chance!

2010-01-14T16:19:00.000-06:00

This is your last chance to register for the third Flash Fiction Boot Camp Session! Interested participants must register by January 15th.

Visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/bootcamp.html for more information and instructions on how to register.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

FMM Staff

Slush Pile Update

2010-01-09T11:13:00.002-06:00

It's back to work for the staff at FMM, and we have started reviewing submissions for our April 30, 2010 issue.

So far we have received 80 submissions.

We have 10 submissions before the editorial staff. So far we have rejected 1 story for being over our word count, and had 2 withdrawals. We have 67 submissions still in our inbox.

***

After reviewing all the submissions we've received since December 2nd, these are some of the complaints I've had:

Authors who simply attach a document, without so much as their name in the body of the email. This means I have to open the attachment in order to log the submission into our database. Wastes time, and comes across as lazy. A short cover letter is always appreciated, but this is also the best place to put the required information: your legal name, your name as you want it published, your email address and a short biography to be published with your story.

Story titles in the subject line of the email that do not match the title of the attached story. I don't know if you've attached the wrong story or made a typo.

Excessively long story titles. We have several in our inbox that exceed seven words! This is a frequent gripe of mine - see our old post about titles.

Submissions that are forwarded to us. These submissions feel like hand-me-downs. It isn't that difficult to copy the original email and paste it into a new draft.

None of the above complaints will keep your story from being considered for publication, but they are things I urge every author to consider before sending us a submission.

***

There is still time to register for our next Flash Fiction Boot Camp. If you haven't checked it out, I encourage you to do so. If you'd like to participate but can't afford the tuition, contact me. We have a few scholarships available to FMM readers.

***

That's all for now...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Vote for us!

2010-01-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

If you've enjoyed reading Flash Me Magazine over the last six years, please swing by the P & E Readers Poll and vote for us today: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/

We are currently listed in the "Fiction e-zine" category, as well as the "Magazine/e-zine Cover Artwork published in 2009" categories, and you can add your votes for favorite stories published in 2009.

Thanks!
FMM Staff

Last Chances...

2009-12-28T16:14:00.002-06:00

The end of the year is rapidly approaching and there are a few things you should run over to do before time runs out:

If you haven't already, please vote for your favorite story this quarter. The quarterly poll will be taken down on the 1st.

Also, the 31st is the last day to register for the next Flash Fiction Boot Camp and save $5 on tuition. FMM subscribers save an additional $5! Tuition isn't due right away, but you must register by the end of the year to receive the lower rate. All proceeds of the boot camp help support the magazine...

Finally, don't forget to vote for Flash Me Magazine in the upcoming Preditors & Editors Readers Poll. Voting commences January 1st, and ends at midnight on January 14th (GMT). You can nominate stories published in FMM in 2009, FMM cover artwork, FMM editors, and the magazine itself.

That's all for now. Our next issue debuts January 31, 2010.

Until then...
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Six Questions For...

2009-12-28T14:59:00.000-06:00

The publishing schedule for Jim Harrington's new blog, Six Questions For... has been announced.

You can find my answers (for Flash Me Magazine) posted on January 7, 2010. Each post will remain on the home page for seven days and will be archived permanently. I will be monitoring the site while my post is live so I can respond to any questions or comments from readers.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

January Issue Complete

2009-12-16T21:55:00.002-06:00

We received 236 submissions this past quarter, and have finally finished reviewing them all. We have selected seven stories for the January issue, and have contacted all authors.

We also sent out the final rejection letters, so if you haven't heard from us yet and you sent your submission in before midnight EST on December 1, 2010 please contact us.

The FMM Staff will be taking a break for the holidays and will be unofficially on hiatus until January 5th. I will still be working behind the scenes, and though receipt emails may take longer, we will still continue to accept and reply to all incoming submissions.

Here's wishing you a very Happy Holidays!

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Registration now open for the next Flash Fiction Boot Camp!

2009-12-15T08:10:00.005-06:00

Registration is now open for the third Flash Fiction Boot Camp Session! Interested participants must register between December 15th and January 15th.

Participation will be limited to the first fifteen people, so sign up early. Tuition for this session will be $25 US. Discounted rates are available to FMM paid subscribers, to members of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, and to those who register before December 31, 2009.

Visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/bootcamp.html for more information and instructions on how to register.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Final totals for the January Issue

2009-12-03T08:14:00.000-06:00

We received an additional ten submissions on the 1st that were not originally included in the final tally. This brings us to 236 submissions this past quarter. Our editors are working through the final 65 submissions. All authors should have received receipt emails by now.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after November 16th. If you submitted a story before the November 17th and have not heard from us, please query.

Final decisions will be made before January 17th, though everyone should receive a rejection letter or notice that their submission is accepted or being held for voting before the end of the month.

FMM Staff

Clarification

2009-12-03T08:06:00.000-06:00

We recently changed the submission deadline from December 31st to December 1st, and there was some miscommunication between the staff about exactly when the cut-off time was for the January 2010 issue.

To clarify, the submission deadline was Tuesday, December 1st at midnight EST. All submissions received on the 1st will be considered. Receipt emails are going out this morning.

We apologize for any confusion. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at info(at)wingedhalo.com

FMM Staff

Flash Fiction Boot Camp Reminder

2009-12-02T10:59:00.002-06:00

Flash Fiction Boot Camp is a 12-day intensive course for serious writers taught by the Editor-in-Chief of
Flash Me Magazine, Jennifer Dawson. She is joined by Flash Me Magazine's Senior Managing Editor, Elizabeth Hull.

Each participant must have three unpublished short stories under 1200 words that they have submitted and had rejected from at least one market prior to enrolling in this course. The goal is to have stories you feel are ready for publication, and proof of that is a collection of rejection letters. If you don't have any rejection letters, start submitting!

Every participant will:

1) have one story edited offline by the instructor
2) have one story reviewed online by peers
3) use one story in a variety of exercises
4) be challenged to write new stories through daily writing exercises.

At the end of each session, selected stories may be published in the Special Features section of Flash Me Magazine. We selected seven boot camp stories from the first session, and five from the second session.

Click here to see what past participants had to say.

The next session will be February 1-12, 2010. Interested participants must register between December 15th and January 15th.

Participation will be limited to the first fifteen people, so sign up early. Tuition for this session will be $25 US. Discounted rates are available to FMM paid subscribers, to members of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, and to those who register before December 31, 2009.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

I'll post a reminder on December 15th when registration opens.

Quarter End

2009-12-01T08:59:00.000-06:00

Yesterday marked the last day to send submissions for the January 2010 issue. We received 226 submissions this quarter.

We have accepted 2 submissions, held 11, and sent 3 back for possible rewrites. We've had 3 withdrawals, have 10 before the editors, and have rejected 155. We have 45 submissions sitting in our inbox, all received over the last week. It'll take some time to get through them all, but we should have this quarter's submissions wrapped up before Christmas.

One quarter ends, and another begins. All submissions received now will be considered for the April 2010 issue.

FMM Staff

Slush Pile Update

2009-11-16T13:34:00.002-06:00

This has been a very slow quarter for us, which is nice since we have so many new staff members. We have received 168 submissions so far.

We have accepted 2 submissions, held 11, and sent 3 back for possible rewrites. We've had 1 withdrawal, have 13 before the editors, and have rejected 138. We have no submissions sitting in our inbox. Again.

So please, send us more! The submission deadline for the January issue is December 1st.

That's it for now...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Issue 26 Now Online

2009-10-31T00:18:00.001-05:00

This Flash Me Magazine issue is our special all-fantasy issue, featuring stories by: Gregory E. Clifford, Gitte Christensen, James Ellis, April Grey, Kelli D. Meyer, Donna Quattrone, and William Wood.

Our Feature Story this quarter is "Soul Mate" by Gregory E. Clifford. He receives $20 US and a free year’s subscription to Flash Me Magazine for being the favorite flash story this quarter.

We also have three bonus stories chosen from the first Flash Fiction Boot Camp.

Our PDF subscription features an interview with Jannette Johnson and book reviews of On the Edge by Ilona Andrews, reviewed by Elizabeth Hull, and An Ungodly Child by Rachel Green, reviewed by Mona Lisa Safai.

We're also pleased to announce our award nominations for 2009 in this issue. We nominated six stories for the Pushcart Prize, and two for the 3rd Annual Micro Award. Congratulations to those authors - we wish them the best of luck!

To see all this quarter has to offer, subscribe today!

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Update - Call for Submissions

2009-10-23T13:11:00.001-05:00

So far we have received 120 submissions:

1 accepted, 11 held for voting, 1 withdrawn, and 88 rejected. In addition to that, we have sent 6 back for requested rewrites, three of which have come back already and been held for voting. That's impressive!

We still have 13 submissions before the editorial board, but our inbox is empty!

Send us more stories - quick!

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

2009 Award Nominations

2009-10-21T12:34:00.003-05:00

I just packaged up our award nominations for 2009 and emailed the nominees. Six stories were chosen for the Pushcart Prize and two were nominated for the 3rd Annual Micro Award.

The list of nominees will be announced on our website on October 31, 2009.

We're always looking for new ways to celebrate the best of flash fiction, so if you know of any other prizes, awards, or collections that accept nominations from editors, please let us know!

JDawson

Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2009-10-14T15:24:00.000-05:00

So far we have received 104 submissions:

1 accepted, 11 held for voting, 1 withdrawn, and 71 rejected. In addition to that, we have sent 6 back for requested rewrites, three of which have come back already and been held for voting. That's impressive!

We still have 10 submissions before the editorial board, and 4 more still in our inbox.

In the past few months, we've added five new editors to the staff, so we're churning out replies quicker than ever before. We have reviewed all submissions received before October 9th, so if you submitted prior to that and haven't heard from us, please query.

You may also notice more editorial feedback with rejection letters. We have so any editors reviewing slush that we occasionally have five or six editors commenting before we make a final decision. We are also making an effort to give detailed feedback for stories that have flaws we can point out easily. We hope this extra feedback makes a rejection letter a little less like a rejection and more like a review from an experienced editorial board.

We look forward to seeing your stories in the slush pile...

FMM Staff

Slush Update

2009-10-05T09:39:00.000-05:00

We have received 78 submissions this quarter, which isn't a huge amount, but the quality of those submissions is much higher than in recent quarters.

So far we have accepted 1 story (though we have not notified the author yet), held 7 for voting, and rejected 43. There are 11 stories before the editorial board right now.

We've had 1 withdrawal, and have 15 submissions still in our inbox.

FMM Staff

Flash Fiction Boot Camp

2009-09-28T13:41:00.002-05:00

Flash Fiction Boot Camp is a 12-day intensive course for serious writers taught by the Editor-in-Chief of Flash Me Magazine, Jennifer Dawson. She is joined by Flash Me Magazine's Senior Managing Editor, Elizabeth Hull.

Each participant must have three unpublished short stories under 1200 words that they have submitted and had rejected from at least one market prior to enrolling in this course. The goal is to have stories you feel are ready for publication, and proof of that is a collection of rejection letters. If you don't have any rejection letters, start submitting!

Every participant will:

1) have one story edited offline by the instructor
2) have one story reviewed online by peers
3) use one story in a variety of exercises
4) be challenged to write new stories through daily writing exercises.

At the end of each session, selected stories may be published in the Special Features section of Flash Me Magazine. We selected seven boot camp stories from the first session, and five from the second session.

Click here to see what past participants had to say.

The next session will be February 1-12, 2010. Interested participants must register between December 15th and January 15th.

Participation will be limited to the first fifteen people, so sign up early. Tuition for this session will be $25 US. Discounted rates are available to FMM paid subscribers, to members of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, and to those who register before December 31, 2009.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

I'll post a reminder in December.

Slush Pile Update

2009-09-15T11:57:00.003-05:00

We are now working on the slush pile for next year's January issue. Submissions have been trickling in since August 1st, even though we were focusing on the October issue during that time.

As of now, we've received 37 submissions. Eleven are before the editors, and 26 are still in our inbox.

We have three new editors that we're breaking in, and we have lost our long-time editor, Jennifer Crow. She retires as our Managing Editor, and we will miss her greatly. It's a time of transitions and changes, but we're still committed to providing an exceptional market for flash fiction stories.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Final Fantasy Issue Update

2009-09-12T20:09:00.001-05:00

We have notified all authors on fantasy issue submissions. If you haven't heard from us by tonight, please query.

FMM Staff

Fantasy Slush Update

2009-09-08T10:09:00.002-05:00

We have finished our end-of-quarter voting and have selected seven stories for the upcoming Fantasy issue. One was accepted outright and the author was notified months ago, while the other six were chosen from our "held for voting" pile and have not yet been notified. We're reviewing them for any suggested changes prior to sending out the acceptance letters. This may take a few days - perhaps as long as a week.

Everyone else should have received their rejection letters. If you had a story held for voting and haven't heard back yet, that's good news;) If you did not receive a notice that we were holding your story for voting, and you haven't received a rejection letter yet, please query asap.

FMM Staff

Still looking for a few editors...

2009-09-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

If you enjoy reading flash fiction and have time to volunteer, Flash Me Magazine is still looking for a few new editors. We receive an average of 300 submissions per quarter, and have been short-handed for the last six months.

We are also looking for another publishing assistant.

If interested, visit our website for the job descriptions and how to apply.

Now is the perfect time to join our staff - we're wrapping up the end of one quarter and are about to begin a new one;)

JDawson

Submission Deadlines

2009-09-05T09:24:00.003-05:00

We have decided to make a change in our submission deadlines each quarter, so that we have more time to review submissions, do our end-of-quarter voting, and format the issues. Our original submission deadlines were March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. We are pushing the deadlines up to the beginning of those months. We will still be open to submission year-round, but our deadlines for each particular issue will be March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1.

The submission deadline for our next issue, the January 2010 issue, is now December 1, 2009.

We did this in part because we are short-handed, and our attempts to find more editors have come up empty. So if you would like to join our staff, please check out our open positions on how to apply.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Almost Done

2009-09-03T08:40:00.002-05:00

We are almost done wading through the slush pile for the fantasy issue.

We have 1 accepted story and 12 held stories. We still have 22 submissions to read through.

FMM Staff

Fantasy Issue Now Closed to Submissions

2009-09-01T07:52:00.002-05:00

We didn't receive as many submissions as we'd hoped, but there are enough to compile a spectacular fantasy issue. In total, we received 168 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 10 for voting, and have rejected 112. We still have 25 before the editors, and 20 more in our inbox.

We should finish wading through the slush this week. Final voting on held submissions will be on the 10th. All authors should be notified no later than the 17th.

FMM Staff

A Question of Titles

2009-08-28T10:58:00.001-05:00

Some people have a natural gift for titling their stories. Most do not. As the Editor-in-Chief of Flash Me Magazine, I see hundreds of story titles every month. Most of them are bland, many are too telling, some are too long, a few don't fit the story at all, and the rest are usually okay, but not stellar. While a story's title does not influence whether or not FMM accepts a story, it should be more than just okay. A story's title should make you want to read the story. It should make the reader curious. It should hint at what's to come, but not give everything away.

Think of the title as the gift-wrapping of a present. You just bought the perfect gift for someone you want to impress. Will you throw it in a paper bag? Wrap it in the business section of the Sunday paper? Use Christmas paper for a birthday gift? Or do you want to use the perfect paper with a coordinating ribbon? It's the first impression, and you want to see a look of glee on the person's face when they see the package. Have you ever received a gift with paper so pretty you had to open it carefully so you could save the paper? That's what your title should emulate. Something so perfect it can't be tossed aside, ripped to shreds, or ignored.

Bland titles don't illicit instant excitement. They don't do a story any favors and indicate a lack of writing pizzazz. If the title is bland, the reader usually expects a bland story. It's human nature. There are a few words that scream "bland" that should be avoided in story titles: ordinary, just, and another. If it's just another ordinary day, why would I want to read about it? I see these words often in titles, and they never inspire joy-joy feelings.

Some other bland titles involve oversimplifying. The _____. or The ____ and The ___. The Pot. The Dog. The Boy. The Day. The Dog and The Cat. The House and The Rain. Not only are those titles bland, they are telling, as well. The Dog. A story about a dog. Joy. The Bad Dog. Not much better. The Bad Dog Who Became a Superhero. It's just getting worse. I now know everything that should happen in the story, so why read the story? The Bad Dog Who Became a Superhero After His Owner Died in a Fire. Oh, my. Now we're bland, telling, and too long. You may think that's a ridiculous example, but I've seen many, many titles this long (or longer!). At FMM, many titles feel longer than the stories. Not good.

It's harder to describe titles that don't fit the story. These are titles that, after reading the story, just don't seem to have anything to do with what I've just read. You don't want telling titles, but they should relate, somehow.

The best titles, in my opinion, are the ones that you either only understand after reading the story, or titles that quote words from the story - preferably words near the end or from the climax. Some examples? Sure!

From the FMM archives:

“Especially the Rooster” by Mark Fewell from FMM's first issue, July 31, 2003. The title made me want to read the story. It tells me there's a rooster (hopefully) in the story, but otherwise is obscure. The words Especially the rooster are in the story three times, the third time being the last line. Nicely done. Ties in nicely, and I only understand the title after reading the story. Doesn't give too much away and isn't too long. Perfect.

"Survivalist" by Kevin Brown is the current issue's Feature Story, July 31, 2009. The title is concise and hints at what's to come, but doesn't give too much away. Who survives what? I wonder. Well, I had to read the story to find out. "Survivalist" isn't a direct quote from the story, but the word ties in perfectly with the ending. Perfect.

Look for something that hints at what's to come, but doesn't give it away. Think about elegant gift wrap that doesn't have the words "Happy Birthday" on it. Balloons are okay, as are cakes with candles, but what about something sparkly or special that, if you were carrying it down the street, people will assume is a birthday gift but won't know for sure. Be creative and have fun with it.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Fantasy Slush Update

2009-08-27T08:21:00.001-05:00

So far we have received 139 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 9 for voting, and have rejected 89. We still have 15 before the editors, and 25 more in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after August 18th.

FMM Staff

Fantasy Slush Update

2009-08-21T10:31:00.001-05:00

So far we have received 109 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 6 for voting, and have rejected 59. We still have 21 before the editors, and 22 more in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after August 12th.

FMM Staff

Rewrite Requests

2009-08-21T09:18:00.003-05:00

Flash Me Magazine often sends stories back with a rewrite request. These are stories we liked, but thought they needed more work before they were publishable. We include editorial feedback, often with suggestions for improving the story.

Sometimes we see those stories back and sometimes we don't. When the revisions come back, sometimes they are better and we end up publishing them, but more often, the story still doesn't work and we pass on it (and further revisions).

Today I came across a great link I thought I'd share about whether or not you should rewrite a story based on an editor's request.

The flowchart is fantastic, and I agree wholeheartedly. We never want to force our suggestions onto a story. We also realize some stories just can't be reworked into something publishable. So, if you receive a rewrite request from us, pull up the flow chart and ask yourself those questions. It's better for you, the story, and the editors.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Flash Fiction Boot Camp

2009-08-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

Registration for the next Flash Fiction Boot Camp is now enabled:

Flash Fiction Boot Camp is a 12-day intensive course for serious writers taught by the Editor-in-Chief of Flash Me Magazine, Jennifer Dawson. She is joined by the Senior Managing Editor of Flash Me Magazine, Elizabeth Hull.

Each participant must have three unpublished short stories under 1500 words that they have submitted and had rejected from at least two markets* prior to enrolling in this course. Registered participants must send their three stories and rejection letters to the instructor prior to the first day of the course.

Every participant will: 1) have one story edited offline by the instructor, 2) have one story reviewed online by peers, 3) use one story in a variety of exercises, and 4) be challenged to write new stories through daily writing exercises. At the end of each session, selected stories may be published in the Special Features section of Flash Me Magazine.

The next session is scheduled for September 14-25, 2009. Registration will begin August 15th and be open until September 1, 2009. Participation will be limited to the first fifteen people. We will also have a wait list in case any participants withdraw prior to the first day.

This is a time-intensive course. Participants in the first session reported spending one to four hours per day on writing and reviewing. Participants need to understand the time requirement prior to enrolling.

Click here to see what past participants had to say.

For more information, please contact Jennifer at ffbc @ wingedhalo.com

* I have waived this requirement in the past so please don't let this keep you from registering. The goal is to have stories you feel are ready for publication, and proof of that is a collection of rejection letters.

Fantasy Slush Update

2009-08-12T10:36:00.001-05:00

So far we have received 97 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 4 for voting, and have rejected 47. We still have 15 before the editors, and 30 more in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after August 8th.

FMM Staff

Fantasy Slush

2009-08-08T08:51:00.003-05:00

So far we have received 74 submissions:

We have accepted 1, held 4 for voting, and have rejected 42. We still have 17 before the editors, and 10 more in our inbox.

I won't lie; I'm very disappointed by the amount of submissions we've received so far for the fantasy issue. With the submission deadline a few weeks away, this is by far the slowest quarter we've had in years. If submissions don't pick up here at the end, we won't have this special issue next year, which is disappointing. Fantasy is my favorite genre.

I'll keep my fingers crossed...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Issue 25 Now Online

2009-07-30T22:25:00.002-05:00

It's close enough to midnight to announce that the 25th issue of Flash Me Magazine is now live.

Featuring stories by: Kevin Brown, Katy Bowman, Kathleen Elizabeth, Patricia La Barbera, Angela Morben, Ripley Patton, and Elyse Salpeter.

This quarter also has bonus stories from the last Flash Fiction Boot Camp by: Dawn Allison, Philippa Bower, April Grey, and Leland Thoburn.

There's also a book review of Variations on a Theme by Simon Forster, and an interview with Joan Migton.

Finally, here's a reminder that we're accepting fantasy submissions until August 31st for our October All Fantasy Issue.

Enjoy!

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Call for Fantasy Submissions

2009-07-28T11:20:00.001-05:00

FLASH ME MAGAZINE will be doing another ALL FANTASY ISSUE October 31, 2009. All stories submitted for the fantasy issue must contain some element of fantasy and be 1,000 words or less. The submission deadline is August 31, 2009.

Special guidelines apply, so please visit our website prior to submission. You can view the fantasy issue submission guidelines at: http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html

Please spread the word!
FMM Staff

Submissions

2009-07-14T16:20:00.002-05:00

We are still receiving regular submissions even though we will not review them until after October 1st. Right now, we're focusing on fantasy submissions.

The fantasy issue will be published October 31, 2009, with a submission deadline of August 31, 2009. Special guidelines apply so visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html prior to submitting. Please note the special submissions email address.

I'd also like to remind everyone that all submissions must have the story's title in the subject line. We've received five submissions over the last week without the story titles.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Finally Finished!

2009-07-08T14:48:00.004-05:00

We have finally gone through all the submissions received last quarter, chosen the seven stories that will be published this issue, and are in the process of sending out acceptance emails. In fact, I've sent all but one, but they knew their story was held for voting.

So if you haven't heard from us on a story you submitted for the regular issue prior to July 1st, please query.

In addition to these seven stories, we will also be publishing a few special selections from my recent Flash Fiction Boot Camp. These stories will be published in our Special Features Section. We'll also have an interview and a book review for your reading pleasure!

Until then...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

A Quick Update

2009-07-03T01:27:00.002-05:00

We've gone through all but 6 submissions, and we'll get through those final stories soon. Probably tomorrow.

As of now, we have 23 held submissions which we will weed through next week, after the U.S. Holiday.

We should be on schedule to notify all authors by July 10th.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Catching Up

2009-07-01T22:59:00.002-05:00

Somehow we managed to fall behind so much that we were left with over a hundred new submissions to be reviewed when the quarter ended. This has never happened before, not in 5+ years. My poor editors have been slaving away, churning out dozens of rejection letters in only 24 hours.

You can't imagine how tired we are! Still, I don't think it's affected our feedback yet. If it does, well, that's a downside to submitting stories at the end of a quarter.

We're not caught up yet, but we're in far better shape than we were last night:

We have received a total of 335 submissions last quarter.

We have held 11 for voting, accepted none, rejected 248 and had 4 withdrawals.

There are 31 submissions before the editorial board right now and 41 left in our inbox.

We will get to each and every submission before we decide which stories make it into the issue. But after this issue is decided, the staff will be taking several weeks off to recuperate after this horrific quarter end. This will not affect authors or the upcoming July issue. It just means new fantasy issue submissions will sit for a while before being reviewed. All will be well... with a little rest;)

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Another Update

2009-06-20T17:12:00.003-05:00

Here are the current Slush Pile Stats:

We have received 282 submissions so far:

We have held 4 for voting, accepted none, rejected 155 and had 3 withdrawals.

There are 27 submissions before the editorial board right now and 93 left in our inbox.

The submissions deadline for the July Issue is June 30th at midnight EST. This will be the last regular issue this year, as our October issue is only for fantasy. To learn more about our fantasy issue, visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html

FMM Staff

Slush Pile Update

2009-06-13T11:58:00.003-05:00

We have received 254 submissions so far:

We have held 2 for voting, accepted none, rejected 115 and had 2 withdrawals.

There are 15 submissions before the editorial board right now and 120 left in our inbox.

***

We have switched to a generic email which we will send out when we receive submissions that do not meet our guidelines. There have been far, far too many of these lately and my administrative staff is flustered by trying to decide which ones to reject outright, without sending a notice, and which ones should garner a courtesy notice. A generic email, sent to anyone who submits without the proper subject line, necessary information, etc, will make our lives easier.

If you receive such an email, please reread our submission guidelines carefully. Do you have the word "submission" and the story's title in the subject line? Did you send your name, name as you'd like it published, and a short bio? Is your story under 1,000 words? If your story is not included in the email, is it attached? Is it attached as a .doc or .rtf file? We cannot open .docx files.

We receive too many submissions to accept those that cannot follow our guidelines.

***

For our October All-Fantasy Issue, we have received 13 submissions so far:

We have rejected 4, we have 5 before the editorial board, and we have 4 in our inbox.

We expect the number of submissions to increase dramatically after our regular issue closes to submissions on June 30th.

For information on our all-fantasy issue, visit http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html

***

That's all for now!
JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Deleted submissions

2009-05-30T20:56:00.002-05:00

We said we'd be cracking down on submissions that do not include the required information. We are. Tonight I just deleted SEVEN submissions that didn't have the story's title in the subject line.

These authors will not receive receipt emails - their emails weren't even opened. So if you sent us a submission and haven't received a receipt email, resend it with all the required information and a correct subject line.

I have a feeling we'll be getting dozens of queries at the end of the quarter saying they haven't heard back about their submission. We keep a log of all the properly submitted stories, and if those authors aren't on the list I'll have to assume they didn't follow our guidelines.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Fantasy Submissions

2009-05-16T13:20:00.003-05:00

Submissions usually trickle in for the first few months of our fantasy submission period, then flood in after the July Issue submission period ends. It is proving to be the same this year.

We have received four submissions so far, and have rejected one. The other three are before the editorial board right now.

For more information on our special All-Fantasy October Issue, visit our website at: http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Slush Pile Update

2009-05-16T12:31:00.004-05:00

We have received 143 submissions so far:

We have rejected 72 so far. 2 have been held for voting, 14 are before the editors now, 2 have been withdrawn, and 53 are still in our inbox.

We have not reviewed any submissions received after April 30th.

Two reminders:

1) All submissions MUST have the word "Submission" and the story's title in the subject line. We've been lax so far this quarter, but we'll start rejecting these stories outright. They will not receive receipt emails, so if you don't hear from us after submitting, please verify that you did have the correct subject line.

2) A few subs ended up in our spam mailbox this month. Not sure how, because they all had the right subject lines, but we found three and replied to those authors today. That worries me, though, because we clearly state in our guidelines: "If you do not receive an email within a few days, assume we have not received your submission and resend it." These three submissions were older (May 1 thru May 6) and we didn't receive queries or resubmissions. These subs were almost deleted as junk mail when I cleaned out the spam inbox today. Please, please, please resubmit or query if you don't receive our receipt email within three days.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Flash Fiction Boot Camp

2009-05-02T15:15:00.002-05:00

Our new Flash Fiction Boot Camp is a 12-day intensive course for serious writers taught by the Editor-in-Chief of Flash Me Magazine, Jennifer Dawson.

Each participant must have three unpublished short stories under 1500 words that they have submitted and had rejected from at least two markets prior to enrolling in this course. Registered participants must send their three stories and rejection letters to the instructor prior to the first day of the course.

Every participant will: 1) have one story edited offline by the instructor, 2) have one story reviewed online by peers, 3) use one story in a variety of exercises, and 4) be challenged to write new stories through daily writing exercises. At the end of each session, selected stories may be published in the Special Features section of Flash Me Magazine.

The first session will be June 8 - 19th and will be free. Interested participants must register between May 15th and June 1st at http://flashfictionbootcamp.proboards.com/ Participation will be limited to the first ten people, so sign up early.

For more information, please contact Jennifer at ffbc (at) wingedhalo.com

FMM Staff

Flash Me Magazine PDF Subscriptions

2009-04-29T21:00:00.004-05:00

Due to an email glitch, subscriptions didn't go out this morning as planned. They were sent out tonight as soon as I found and fixed the problem, though.

This type of thing doesn't happen often, but when it does, we do like to make amends. To compensate, I'm adding another issue to current subscriptions.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

It's not too late to subscribe to FMM! The new issue is 49 pages and sports beautiful cover artwork by Junior Mclean. To subscribe or buy a single issue, visit our website.

You can see the issue online tomorrow, but only our PDF subscription offers a fabulous interview with our Associate Editor Kurt Kirchmeier and three book reviews: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews, reviewed by Elizabeth Hull; Revealing Moments by Wayne Scheer, reviewed by Jennifer Dawson; and The Amadeus Net by Mark A. Rayner, reviewed by Janet Paszkowski.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

A New Quarter

2009-04-25T19:10:00.002-05:00

Another new quarter began April 1, 2009 and we're not lacking in new submissions. We've received 63 so far...

Right now we have 11 before the editorial board and 1 held for voting. We have rejected 21 stories already. That leaves 30 in our inbox.

It always takes us a little while to dive into the submissions because we spend the first two weeks of each new quarter working on the new issue. Our April 2009 Issue debuts this week and we're very excited. We accepted more stories outright last quarter than ever before. It's a balanced issue, with new faces and a few returning authors. Until then...

Subscribe to FMM and get more! Our PDF issues include interviews, book reviews and additional special features available only to our subscribers. PDF issues are emailed quarterly the day before our online issues debut, so subscribers get not only get more, they get it sooner!

Or better yet: Order your 2008 Compilation CD before April 30th and you'll receive a year's subscription to FMM for free! That's right. For a limited time we will throw in a year's subscription to Flash Me Magazine with every CD purchase.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Taking a much needed break

2009-04-03T09:22:00.002-05:00

The editors are taking a much needed break - ten days off, to be precise. We've made all the decisions for the April issue, so this is when the staff steps back and relaxes while the Editor-in-Chief starts formatting the issue.

This doesn't affect incoming submissions, so keep sending them our way. Remember to read our submission guidelines carefully because we've made changes to the guidelines, the payment structure and the editorial process...

FMM Staff

Final stats

2009-04-01T08:39:00.003-05:00

We have finished going through the slush pile for the April issue and here are the final stats:

We received a total of 365 stories this quarter. I have sent out the last of the regular rejection letters, and the only thing left to do is finalize the issue.

15 stories were sent back for rewrites this quarter. Five of those fifteen were done early enough in the quarter to possibly see them back before the submission deadline. Most of them did come back, but revisions are tricky things, and even with editorial comments and the feedback of our development editor, Janet, it's still hard to get stories into our issues.

Two stories came back through that we liked. One just missed the mark and we offered the author another chance to resubmit next quarter. The other has been accepted! Revisions can work, if you make the effort. Maybe that author will be willing to discuss the process with our readers in the near future...

We had two stories withdrawn this quarter, one because the author had mistakenly sent it to us without realizing it had already been submitted elsewhere. The other was accepted elsewhere, which is why we discourage simultaneous submissions. Still, that's a much lower number than usual, especially considering the large amount of submissions we received.

And that leaves 336 rejected stories, many of which would have normally been held for voting, had we not had so many high-quality submissions this quarter.

We've accepted 7 stories outright and have 3 stories we'll be rereading here shortly. We may choose one of them for inclusion in the April issue. Looks like we will have eight stories in the April issue, an interview with Associate Editor Kurt Kirchmeier, and 2-3 book reviews. Not bad. Not bad at all.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

News, news, and more news

2009-03-31T23:57:00.008-05:00

We've changed our submissions guidelines, our payment format, and our editorial process for the foreseeable future. We've been discussing it for a while, but this crazy quarter cause quite a stir, and we needed to rethink some things.

So before you send us any submissions for the upcoming July issue, please make sure you reread our submission guidelines page, including the payment information at: http://www.wingedhalo.com/guidelines.html

The basics are this: Everyone gets paid the same except the Feature Story winner. Everyone gets a subscription and cash. Win-win. We thought that was better. And simpler.

The changes do NOT affect authors who submitted prior to April 1, 2009.

As for the new editorial process, you can read about it here: http://www.wingedhalo.com/process.html

We now require six YES votes instead of five to accept a story outright. We can only publish 6-8 stories per quarter, so we don't want to fill the issue too quickly. Stories with less that six YES votes will still be considered for the issue (and Feature Story) but they will be held until the end of the quarter and compared to the other held stories before they are formally accepted.

We would love to hear your feedback on these changes...

In other news, we'd like to announce that Kurt Kirchmeier has been promoted to Associate Editor and has graciously allowed me to interview him for the upcoming PDF issue of FMM! Our subscription will have that and more, including a book review of Ilona Andrews' newest book, Magic Strikes. Subscribe today at http://www.wingedhalo.com/subscribe.html for only $8!

More news:

We will be publishing another all-fantasy issue this October.

Our last all-fantasy issue was an astounding success so we’d like to do it again. Submissions will be accepted between April 30th and August 31st. Stories received outside of these reading dates will be rejected outright.

There are special guidelines for this issue and a separate email account set up for these submissions, so please read our fantasy issue guidelines at http://www.wingedhalo.com/fig.html

Submissions sent to our regular submissions email address will not be considered for the special fantasy issue. Any submissions received that do not follow these specific guidelines may be rejected outright.

That's enough for now...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

All caught up!

2009-03-31T14:06:00.004-05:00

What can I say except that my staff is amazing?

They have been slaving away for the last 48 hours, trudging through the slush pile to meet my unreasonable request that we clear out the inbox before midnight. But they did it and they did it far quicker than I expected.

We still have 29 submissions before the editors, and we're still open for new submissions until midnight EST, but for now the inbox is empty and that's the first time in a long time. Actually, I went back through all the blog entries, and this is the first time the inbox has been empty all quarter. Impressive.

Enough bragging; here are the stats:

We have received 362 submissions so far this quarter.

We have rejected 309 stories, sent 15 back for rewrites, held 3 for voting, and accepted 6 already.

We have 29 submissions before the editorial board right now, and 0 left in our inbox.

Now, we have done something unprecedented this quarter in regards to held submissions. With six accepted stories, we knew we only had two slots left to fill, which didn't give those 12 "held for voting" stories much hope. So we sent those that didn't have three or more "Yes" votes a revised rewrite letter, giving them the option to make revisions to their stories and resubmit them next quarter. Or not. The choice is theirs, but we felt that was the better option given the odds of making it into this April issue.

So we now only have three stories held for voting, and about ten hours.

I have to tell you, this issue may have given me ulcers... it's been one interesting quarter.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Following Submission Guidelines

2009-03-30T21:47:00.003-05:00

Starting April 1, 2009 we will no longer send courtesy emails letting authors know that we cannot accept their submissions as is. If a submission does not follow our submission guidelines, it will be deleted unread and no receipt email will be sent.

The two biggest complaints are failure to put the story title in the subject line and incorrect attachments. If we can't open it, what's the point of sending it? If we can't find your submission amid the 300+ in our inbox, it wastes our time and yours.

All markets have specific guidelines they wish authors to follow, and ours are not incredibly difficult. So if you didn't read our guidelines prior to submission and you didn't get a receipt email within two days, assume you did something incorrectly, read the guidelines to figure it out, and resubmit it properly.

This may seem harsh, but we've had the same submission guidelines for more than a year and we still receive dozens of incorrect submissions. What's worse are the rude replies I've received to our courtesy emails letting the authors know why we can't accept their submissions as is. So enough is enough. Our submission guidelines specifically state that "Emails received without the proper subject will be deleted as junk mail." It's time we followed through.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

Another update

2009-03-30T21:03:00.003-05:00

Here are the current stats:

We have received 356 submissions so far this quarter.

We have rejected 294 stories, sent 6 back for rewrites, held 12 for voting, and accepted 6 already (though we haven't notified the newest accepted author yet).

We have 19 submissions before the editorial board right now, and 19 left in our inbox.

FMM Staff

Current Stats

2009-03-30T11:37:00.004-05:00

Here are the current stats:

We have received 354 submissions so far this quarter.

We have rejected 256 stories, sent 5 back for rewrites, held 12 for voting, and accepted 6 already (though we haven't notified the newest accepted author yet).

We have 43 submissions before the editorial board right now, and 32 left in our inbox.

Due to the number of accepted stories this quarter, we will NOT be holding any other stories for voting this quarter. We will still be reviewing submissions up until midnight EST tomorrow night, but unless a story receives five YES votes by our editors, it will not be considered for the issue.

At this point, it might be best to hold off sending us new submissions until next quarter, which begins April 1st. We will of course continue to receive submissions.

This is an unusual quarter for us, though, and the issue is almost full.

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief

More updates

2009-03-28T22:28:00.002-05:00

Here are the current stats:

We have received 337 submissions so far this quarter.

We have rejected 248 stories, sent 5 back for rewrites, held 12 for voting, and accepted 5 already (though we haven't notified the newest accepted author yet).

We have 34 submissions before the editorial board right now, and 33 left in our inbox. The stories before the editors right now were received between March 1st and March 20th. We have not started reviewing any submissions received after March 20th yet.

If you submitted a story before March 1, 2009 and you have not heard from us, please query!

FMM Staff

BTW (and misc info)

2009-03-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

BTW - Posts will become more frequent as quarter-end draws closer. I know all authors are eagerly awaiting news about their stories, whether theirs are still in the slush pile or are being held for voting.

Until the April issue is decided (somewhere between the 5th and 17th of April) and all rejection letters have been sent, I will keep posting progress reports here.

The slush pile is a little topsy-turvy due to two people running the account, so rejections aren't being sent out in exact order. Right now the stories before the editors were received between March 1st and March 9th, with one still there from February 14th.

Remember to get your submissions to us by midnight EST on March 31st for consideration for the April issue...

JDawson
Editor-in-Chief