Bad Hair Day

A Shaker of Margaritas: Bad Hair Day

Mozark Press – Call for Submissions
Submissions Deadline July 25, 2012
$20 Paid for Stories Published in Anthology

Mozark Press seeks humorous fiction stories for A Shaker of Margaritas: A Bad Hair Day. For this anthology, a bad hair day is one of those days when things don’t go according to plan; in fact, it is as horrible as a bad perm or hair that turns green—unintentionally. Things go wrong, but with humor, stubbornness, and attitude—the female protagonist can survive any kind of bad hair day.

What’s in it for you?

• If your story is selected for the anthology, you will be paid $20 upon publication.
• Authors whose work appears in the book will be given a one-time opportunity to pre-purchase books at 60% of retail price + postage.
• You will receive a free copy of the book with your story in it if you pre-purchase a minimum of one copy at the author’s discount.

Of course, you don’t like rules, but we have a few:

• The entire story takes place in one day.
• Humorous Fiction stories must be between 1,500 – 3,500 words.
• Only previously unpublished works will be considered.
• Keep the story clean—consider a PG rating.
• No poetry.
• Must be written in English.
• One entry per person.

Electronic submissions only, subject line:  “Bad Hair Day Submission” email to publisher@Mozarkpress.com.

• Twelve point, Times New Roman, double spaced.
• Send title page and story in a single Microsoft Word document attached to email.
• On the title page, give your name, contact information—address, phone number, and email address–word count, a short bio (150 words or less) written in third person, the title of the story, and first line of the manuscript.
• No identifying information on manuscript, but do provide story title and page numbers in header or footer. (Also, be sure to include the title and first line you put on the cover sheet.)

For the best chance of success:

• Proofread. Typos and grammatical errors will send your story to the bottom of the pile.
• Read your work aloud to see how it flows.
• Start with action.
• Use conversation to move your story.
• Don’t get hung up on back story. We want to know what’s going on now.
• Have a critique group read your story.

To help the editor:

• Do not use styles—with fancy formatting. You wouldn’t believe how hard they can be to remove!
• Use one space following the period at the end of a sentence. (I learned to type with two and you can break the habit with practice).
• Use paragraph indents.

By submitting to the anthology, you give first publication rights to Mozark Press for print and electronic publication if your story is selected. You also give Mozark Press permission to publish excerpts for publicity or on the publisher’s website without further compensation. You certify your story is original, unpublished, and written by you. If selected, your story will be published unless you send a written withdrawal within thirty days of the submission closing date. Payment will be made upon publication. Stories withdrawn shall not be eligible for payment.

Approximately 20-25 stories will be selected for the anthology. Impartial judges will select the stories eligible for publication. The judges’ and publisher’s decisions are final. The publisher reserves the sole right to cancel the project if not enough qualified entries are submitted to justify publishing the anthology. Publication will be late fall 2012.