I agree. Comic Papyrus would have been a much more rational choice...
OH DEAR SCIENCE WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME
WHY CREATE SUCH AN ABOMINATION
DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN
IF JAMES CAMERON SEES THIS BEFORE AVATAR 2'S SUBTITLES ARE FINISHED... OH GOOD GRIEF /cries
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Once upon a time all we Times readers used to drive around with bumper stickers:
I'VE BEEN TO SAN SERIF 
1 x SF, 2 x SHM, 11 x HM, WotF batting average .583
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So, this story that is, to use an acronym I picked up from Ishmael, TBTIEW (the best thing I've ever written), keeps getting personal rejections along the lines of, "I like the story, but it doesn't fit here." Well where the heck does the stupid thing fit? (By stupid thing I mean work of incomparable genius). Everyone likes it; just buy it!
So, this story that is, to use an acronym I picked up from Ishmael, TBTIEW (the best thing I've ever written), keeps getting personal rejections along the lines of, "I like the story, but it doesn't fit here." Well where the heck does the stupid thing fit? (By stupid thing I mean work of incomparable genius). Everyone likes it; just buy it!
I can see why you would say that.
But from what I have heard from various sources over the years, more than likely someone will, even that isn't one hundred percent. But they more you have of those the more chances and it means you are closing in on them.
Working on turning Lead into Gold.
Four HMs From WotF
The latest was Q1'12
HM-quarter 4 Volume 32
One HM for another contest
published in Strange New Worlds Ten.
Another HM http://onthepremises.com/minis/mini_18.html
Got my first personal rejection from Liminal Stories, in the second try -- incidentally, this was for my last week's HM, so it's the second "close but not that close" for this story in a week. They said that the worldbuilding was "wonderfully done" and they look forward to my next submission.
Liminal Stories sounds awesome! They thanked me for the read, complimented the writing, but decided not to take my story [it's hard to pin down, so I don't even know where the hell I should submit it to.] Theirs was one of the prettiest rejections I've ever received.
Now, let me ask you something about Tor.com... They've been holding a story for 190 days. It's kinda making me nervous, when they're so silent, not a word on what's going on, I'm beginning to think they forgot about it.
I did expect a rejection sooner, so this silence, while not unusual, it's still...confusing, I guess.
Ishmael, I know they held one of your stories for centuries, didn't they?
Anybody else with experiences with Tor?
Oh, and happy holidays and a happy new year 
Yeah, Tor takes forever. It's normal. As a $0.25/word market for short fiction, I guess it's their right.
Now, let me ask you something about Tor.com... They've been holding a story for 190 days. It's kinda making me nervous, when they're so silent, not a word on what's going on, I'm beginning to think they forgot about it.
I did expect a rejection sooner, so this silence, while not unusual, it's still...confusing, I guess.Ishmael, I know they held one of your stories for centuries, didn't they?
Anybody else with experiences with Tor?Oh, and happy holidays and a happy new year
Only 168 days Alice, so you have me beat by over three weeks. 
1 x SF, 2 x SHM, 11 x HM, WotF batting average .583
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I actually heard Tor.com isn't going to be accepting unsolicited submissions anymore starting January 7th. Get 'em in while you can, I guess?
If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn't expecting it. ~ H.G. Wells
If a person offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. ~ Mark Twain
R, SF, SHM, SHM, SHM, F, R, HM, SHM, R, HM, R, F, SHM, SHM, SHM, SF, SHM, 1st Place (Q2 V38)
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Hm, well, I guess I should just keep waiting. I only hope they'll be able to answer soon...
This seems to fit somewhere between the Mixed Feelings and Five Minute Rant threads, so I'm putting it here as closest.
I get personal rejections that seem very encouraging to the point of almosts, then they go back to barely personal (brief reason why) next time. I recently had a very nice personal from a second top genre magazine editor, who signed informally with their first name after always being formal before. I followed suit in the cover of my next sub to them, only to have them revert to a signature block and barely personal rejection for my next sub. The other time this happened with a different magazine, the editor remains informal but fluctuates among personal, personalized forms, and barely personal.
I always focus on being professional and try to follow the lead of the fiction editor I'm in contact with, but it gets really confusing at times. Anyone have experience with this kind of thing and know if there's a particular protocol for it? It's always gratifying to get personal interaction with fiction editors even when they don't buy, but I wish it was easier to figure out the nuances of ongoing and varying degrees of it.
Mom in the Moon, Analog October 2016
Dare to dream, now and tomorrow....
Blog: Dreams of the Purple Koala
http://murimccage.wordpress.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MuriMcCage
Hey, Muri
Personally, I don't think you should read too much into it. We're about, what, 40 years too late for personal correspondence with editors, right? I don't think we can do that anymore.
Their signatures, I think, are set to some sort of default. I always send a basic cover letter, 2-3 sentences, no matter what kind of vibe I get from the editor [unless they're particularly chatty, which has never happened to me]
To set your mind at ease and assure you it has almost nothing to do with your creative ability [since you've been getting the almosts, as you say], I'll tell you what happened to some of my friends at uni.
So, my major was journalism and the TAs would grade our articles. 20pt was max. A lot of my friends would get 15pt along with notes for corrections. Some revised their articles and got - guess what - 11pt, instead of the promised higher mark. Others wouldn't even bother with correcting the piece at all, and submit it again, in its original form - those got 18pt. Remember, this is the same damn article that got 11pt the previous week, unchanged.
So that experience taught me that, when it comes to writing, results are fickle. There is always something more at play than just creative ability. Basically, stay away from rejectomancy and just write
Hey, Muri
Personally, I don't think you should read too much into it. We're about, what, 40 years too late for personal correspondence with editors, right? I don't think we can do that anymore.
Their signatures, I think, are set to some sort of default. I always send a basic cover letter, 2-3 sentences, no matter what kind of vibe I get from the editor [unless they're particularly chatty, which has never happened to me]To set your mind at ease and assure you it has almost nothing to do with your creative ability [since you've been getting the almosts, as you say], I'll tell you what happened to some of my friends at uni.
So, my major was journalism and the TAs would grade our articles. 20pt was max. A lot of my friends would get 15pt along with notes for corrections. Some revised their articles and got - guess what - 11pt, instead of the promised higher mark. Others wouldn't even bother with correcting the piece at all, and submit it again, in its original form - those got 18pt. Remember, this is the same damn article that got 11pt the previous week, unchanged.So that experience taught me that, when it comes to writing, results are fickle. There is always something more at play than just creative ability. Basically, stay away from rejectomancy and just write
I had a similar experience in a 'hard' math related class. I worked as a TA for a Fluid Mechanics professor while at engineering school. He asked me to review the grades he assigned on a test and I was a bit shocked. Some test takers received zero partial credit points while others did well when providing basically the same answer. I learned two things from the experience. (1) It's hard to be objective, it takes work. (2) We're are a lot less objective than we like to think we are.
Dave Beavers. R, HM, HM, HM.
It ain't the heat, it's the humility - Yogi Berra
Muri,
Bearing in mind I know as little as anyone, I would say: don't let it weigh on your mind one jot. CC Finlay @ F&SF said he received 10,000 submissions last year; Asimov's had around 7500; most pro mags are getting around those numbers, as far as I know.
Our names are like grains of sand carried up by the surf and deposited in the slush pile, then washed away again by the next wave.
I don't expect any editor to remember my name until I've been published there two or three times, frankly, and given that so far my only acceptance is WotF, there's not an editor in the world knows who I am yet. If I've gotten a personal, bloody marvellous! They're like gold dust. If I get a form R, oh well, not every story suits every market. But it's never me getting that personal or that R--it's the story.
To answer your query directly: if they've given you their name once, use it, I say. The impersonal name on the form is because it's a form--it is literally a template email fired off with a single click. They're not going to look up if you've had a personal in the past and then amend the signature block accordingly, because 10k-subs-a-year. Don't read anything into it.
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Thanks guys.
Alice, I must be some kind of fluke or throwback or something. I've actually found myself in varying levels of personal correspondence with a number of levels of editors at top magazines of different genres. Not to the level of Tiptree's friendships, though. Sometimes ongoing, sometimes sporadic, mostly very brief, often never. My writing attracts attention, but I think it falls just badly enough between genres that it doesn't quite fit in anywhere.
I agree that staying away from rejectomancy is best. I do fall victim to its deep black quagmire call on occasion, but this particular situation is more...um...protocolomancy. I want to always put my best foot forward, but sometimes in the submissions world I need to be an octopus to have enough feet for it!
Matt, first, don't underestimate the power of WotF anything. Winning is an incredible accomplishment, and looks very good in your self promotion. I also believe that being here in HMland has helped me gain the notice of editors. I started putting them in my cover/query bio early on and could see it start to make a difference. Now I think my bunch of screenwriting competition advancements may make more of an impact, but the line about 13 WotF HMs and 2 Quarter Finalists looks good in that bio block too.
Your last paragraph really helped put my question into perspective. It makes sense that if they've used their first name once, I can consistently use it, and roll with their fluid actions according to how each individual submission falls into their personal tsunami of paper with words.
In case anyone hasn't noticed yet...I think too much.
Mom in the Moon, Analog October 2016
Dare to dream, now and tomorrow....
Blog: Dreams of the Purple Koala
http://murimccage.wordpress.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MuriMcCage
In case anyone hasn't noticed yet...I think too much.
Isn't that a prerequisite for being a writer?
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Wasn't sure whether to post in the "almost success" thread or the "success" thread, since this is somewhat of a success for me. I've submitted to DSF many times and received Form-Rs each time until now.
Randall,
We have good news and we have bad news. The good news is that your story has made our second round, rarified company that more than 90% of submissions do not reach. While half or more of our second round stories will not ultimately see publication under the DSF rocket, this story has reached the final go/no-go before launch.
The bad news--and I promised you some bad news--is that it will take us time to make that final decision. Expect an additional two weeks or so, but don't be surprised if it's a month from today. Thanks for your continued patience, and thanks for sending us this worthy submission.
- Jonathan & Michele, Daily Science Fiction
HM X 3
Wasn't sure whether to post in the "almost success" thread or the "success" thread, since this is somewhat of a success for me. I've submitted to DSF many times and received Form-Rs each time until now.
Getting the Good News/Bad News notice is success indeed--I've never had one, in 8 times of trying. But it's not a final success, so shouldn't be in the other thread, but you should have unambiguously excited feelings about this, so shouldn't be in this thread...
In summary: yay!
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Wasn't sure whether to post in the "almost success" thread or the "success" thread, since this is somewhat of a success for me. I've submitted to DSF many times and received Form-Rs each time until now.
Getting the Good News/Bad News notice is success indeed--I've never had one, in 8 times of trying. But it's not a final success, so shouldn't be in the other thread, but you should have unambiguously excited feelings about this, so shouldn't be in this thread...
In summary: yay!
Thanks, Matt. And congrats on your acceptance at FFO. Saw it on the Grinder.
HM X 3
Thanks, Matt. And congrats on your acceptance at FFO. Saw it on the Grinder.
Thanks not posted anything about it yet as I haven't yet signed a contract (and I only logged it on the Grinder for my own stats), but I'm delighted as (a) first magazine sale (WotF was my first ever sale) (b) FFO were the first place I submitted to, so I'd made it a point of honour to get published there!
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Hey!
Top 3 markets I want to crack:
WotF
IGMS
FFO
You've got two of three!
Seems my tweet yesterday was well timed. 
Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight
Pretty darn impressive for your first two sales, Matt.
Randy, that is definitely something to be excited about. Congrats on reaching the top 90% in that market. I haven't come close yet at DSF.
Amos,
Was it you that noted you write a lot of flash?
If so, I'm happy to swap with you some time. I write flash and WotF stories exclusively.
Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight
Amos,
Was it you that noted you write a lot of flash?
If so, I'm happy to swap with you some time. I write flash and WotF stories exclusively.
I do. I haven't written any lately though. I do have an 1800 word story though that could use another pair of eyes if you want to swap.
Received a personal rejection from FFO last night, but I thought this was interesting:
Your story did, however, reach the final stage of our selection process--one among an elite group. Less than 5% of stories make it this far. That is no small feat.
In winnowing, stories are discussed and vetted before I make my final selections. If you are interested in receiving feedback based on those discussions you are welcome to email me at [removed for privacy]. Please use the following subject line: FEEDBACK REQUEST: [Story Title].
Does anyone know if FFO always offers feedback for Personal-R stories?
HM X 3
Does anyone know if FFO always offers feedback for Personal-R stories?
I believe they do if they make it to that final roundtable discussion. Stewart can tell you more, he reads slush there.
Golden Pen winner v32 (2016)
Amos,
Was it you that noted you write a lot of flash?
If so, I'm happy to swap with you some time. I write flash and WotF stories exclusively.
I do. I haven't written any lately though. I do have an 1800 word story though that could use another pair of eyes if you want to swap.
Hey Amos,
I kinda specialize in flash and WotF. 1800 is like a no-man's land for me. 🙁
Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight
Amos,
Was it you that noted you write a lot of flash?
If so, I'm happy to swap with you some time. I write flash and WotF stories exclusively.
I do. I haven't written any lately though. I do have an 1800 word story though that could use another pair of eyes if you want to swap.
Hey Amos,
I kinda specialize in flash and WotF. 1800 is like a no-man's land for me. 🙁
Me too, This is the first story I've written between 1000 and 6000 words. I'd be willing to do a two for one if you have a couple of flash pieces.
Sent a PM.
Career: 1x Win -- 2x NW-F -- 2x S-F -- 9x S-HM -- 11x HM -- 7x R
Like me: facebook/AuthorTJKnight
Does anyone know if FFO always offers feedback for Personal-R stories?
I believe they do if they make it to that final roundtable discussion. Stewart can tell you more, he reads slush there.
Okay, I'm going to sound a little bit blonde here, and most likely go "Oh yeah!" when you tell me...
But what is FFO?
Contest history: R, R, SHM, R, HM, R, R
1 very hopeful: V34 Q2
"Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations." ~ Ray Bradbury
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