3 Places to Submit Your Flash Fiction Online

Are you a flash fiction writer looking to get your work published?

At Online Fiction Review, we adore flash fiction. You can read it while sitting in a parking lot or standing in line. You can read it while on hold with the bank or your credit card company. 

“Hopper, Reading” by Gary Todd, Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

If you're going to be staring at your phone anyway, it's good to engage your brain creatively rather than depressing yourself with social media or the news.

Here are three online publications we like that accept flash fiction submissions.

1. Every Day Fiction

Every Day Fiction accepts multiple genres of flash fiction, and according to their submission guidelines, there is "no such thing as too short." They pay 3 Canadian dollars per accepted story. Check out their submission guidelines here.

Every Day Fiction offers a unique star rating system. Each story published is rated by readers with a maximum of five stars. This allows magazine staff and published authors to see what the public thinks of their work. Yeah, as a writer, that can be a little daunting. But if your story is good enough to be accepted by Every Day Fiction, it's safe to say that some important people have already given it their seal of approval.

We enjoyed "Grey Power," the Every Day Fiction story by Anne Wilkins that we reviewed this summer. At the time of this writing, Every Day Fiction readers had awarded it 4.4 stars.

2. Flash Fiction Magazine

Flash Fiction Magazine publishes one story per day, every day of the year. They accept stories between 300 and 1,000 words. You can read their submission guidelines here.

One of the coolest things about Flash Fiction Magazine is that they're upfront about their selection process. Your story gets read by three editors. If it gets at least one yes, the whole team reviews it. Later, when you receive your acceptance or rejection, they tell you how many votes you got. Sometimes, they include feedback on your story as well.

A while back, Online Fiction Review covered a story from this Flash Fiction Mazatine called "Wife's New Slow Cooker," by author Christian Weir. It's a funny little domestic tale that you can read about on this page.

3. SmokeLong Quarterly

SmokeLong Quarterly publishes short stories of 1,000 words and under. Publication months are March, June, September, and December. The idea is that each story takes about as long to read as you need to smoke a cigarette. Not that you should do that.

If you're a writer who appreciates getting feedback, you can get it from this publisher, which is awesome. But it's not free; you may spend $30 to get feedback statements from three editors. However, if you're looking to improve your writing and don't mind contributing to a good cause, it's a win-win. Read about the various methods of submission to SmokeLong Quarterly here.

Online Fiction Review provided a review of a SmokeLong Quarterly story called Ms. Pac-Man in the Maze in this post. Check it out to see if you agree with our assessment!

Review of Short Story "Big Girls Don't Cry * Fergie" by Adam Shaw

I found this short story on a delightful online fiction website I'd never heard of before called Major 7th Magazine. For lovers of music and online fiction, it's a fun little adventure.

This story is by Adam Shaw. Like most stories in Major 7th Magazine, Shaw's story is based on a song of the writer's choosing. In this case, the writer chose "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie.

Length: Short (3 minutes or less)

Genre: Somewhere between flash fiction and memoir, in my opinion

Stick around to read my review of "Big Girls Don't Cry * Fergie". Or, go here to read the story, and then come back to see if we agree!

General Impressions

Q. How's the hook?

Anyone who's ever been young and in love will appreciate the first sentence of this story, which basically asserts that the main character's college girlfriend broke up with him using a recording of the song "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie.

I was immediately intrigued by the promise of the backstory leading to this juvenile behavior. 

Plus, the story teleported me back to a time when I, too, gleaned extreme personal meaning from pop music. Many of us had a phase in which we framed our life experiences with music, equating various popular songs with significant social and emotional life events.

Q. What made me want to keep reading this short story?

I wanted to know why the main character's girlfriend felt the need to play this song as a backdrop for the breakup. Call me nosy, but I really wanted to know. 

I was also curious to see how the writer would incorporate the lyrics from "Big Girls Don't Cry" into the story. He did a great job of it.

And that's the beauty of Major 7th Magazine. Writers select a song on which to base their short story. Readers choose which stories to read based on the curated "song" (story) list.

Q. Did I enjoy the characters?

I enjoyed the main character who got dumped, the ex-girlfriend who orchestrated the dumping, and the wife who, for years to come, chided him whenever Fergie's song popped up. 

Of those three, I loved the wife the most, probably because of the "full-bellied" laugh she issued when she first learned about the Fergie break-up incident. It depicted her confidence in herself and her relationship as well as her playful relationship with her husband.

Q. Did I like the writing style?

The matter-of-fact college recollections are refreshing. The main character reveals what his college love relationship really was to him: a "tangle of limbs," "cheap booze," and "shitty movies." 

In one paragraph, he's crying over the end of the relationship. In the next paragraph, he and his wife (especially his wife) are highly entertained by it.

In short, I love the light sentimentality and the big humor this story delivers in four short paragraphs.

Q. Was the ending satisfying?

Toward the end of the story, the main character alludes to his wife having an oncology appointment. No further details are supplied. But the implication that the wife has (or had) cancer draws a stark contrast between the nature of his relationships before and after college.

Some readers may be disappointed that the main character does not share more information about his wife's condition. But I think there's simplicity and beauty in keeping that part a mystery.

The story ends with the main character's daughter calling him "silly" for getting lost in an old memory. 

It's not dramatic, but it's a neat way to tie things up. 

Want to read "Big Girls Don't Cry * Fergie" by Adam Shaw in Major 7th Magazine? Here is the link one more time!

Review of Short Story "Ms. Pac-Man in the Maze" by Sarah Chin

I found this short story on the flash-narrative e-zine SmokeLong Quarterly.

SmokeLong Quarterly has been around since 2003. According to its "Who We Are" page, the name "SmokeLong Quarterly" derives from the notion that reading one piece takes about as much time as it does to smoke a cigarette.

The author is Sarah Chin.

Length: Very Short (5 minutes or less)

Stick around to read my story review. Or, go here to read the story -- and then come back to see if we agree!

General Impressions