Almost Success - The "Mixed Feelings" Thread

I got a rewrite request yesterday w/ an April 18th deadline. What's cool is it's a story written many moons ago that earned an HM. I've grown a lot since as a writer, so there's much space in the story to improve. Gonna pull up them sleeves, make it shine. Maybe I'll soon have a post in the Success thread.  

Posted by: @spencer_s

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ike 8-12 months at this point for rejections.

Word! It's the long game, I keep telling myself. Keep pushing that snowball, I say through gritted teeth. Success = growth. 

@jeschleicher Indeed.

@jeschleicher Nice! A very positive few days for you   I'll have my fingers crossed your story moves from this thread to the Success thread

Posted by: @joel-c-scoberg

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@jeschleicher Nice! A very positive few days for you   I'll have my fingers crossed your story moves from this thread to the Success thread

Thank you! & yes, it's been a whirlwind. I got the rewrite request an hour before the call. I'm grateful I have something to focus my writerly efforts on as I anxiously wait for the next phone call. 

Not 'almost success,' but I couldn't see a thread for Abject Failure. Wrote a piece specifically for the Robotic Ambitions anthology, even took a class with the editor just prior to the submission call, and tried my darnedest on it using everything I've learned recently. I was as confident as I've ever been with a submission.

Still, Form Rejection. 

@ease sorry to hear that! Harder to take form rejections when you have specifically targeted that market as you have

Posted by: @ease

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Still, Form Rejection. 

Sorry, dude! I know the sting well. If ya haven't already, get it out to another market, maybe this market, find it its home. 

Am I doing this wrong? Last October I got a reply from an editor saying they wanted my story and that any corrections they wanted would be part of a follow-up email with the contract. Awesome. So far, I've never seen a follow-up email. I've emailed them a couple of times, and they are still publishing, but it seems I've been ghosted.

On Tuesday, I received an email from a different publisher about a different story I had submitted nearly a year ago. They apologized for taking so long to get back to me and said if the story was still available, they wanted it. I just needed to send an email confirming the story was available and they'd send a contract over. I confirmed within 30 minutes and got an automatic reply. Here it is Thursday and no contract. I will probably try emailing them again tomorrow, but I normally quit emailing after two attempts. I figure publishers don't need to be pestered and I ain't starving so I don't need to be so needy.

I don't like this trend.

I've had stories accepted and then never published because the publisher went out of business. It's a heartache, but understandable. This kind of rejection, though, is new to me. The only thing I can do (as far as I can see) is whine keep writing.

I'm not naming publications as I want to assume best intentions for all concerned. I'm just frustrated.

@babooher doesn't sound like good intentions to me. Sounds more like a pattern of behaviour. 

Have you checked them out anywhere? AW water cooler has a good section to check out publishers. 

All sounds unprofessional too me. 

Posted by: @ease

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Not 'almost success,' but I couldn't see a thread for Abject Failure. Wrote a piece specifically for the Robotic Ambitions anthology, even took a class with the editor just prior to the submission call, and tried my darnedest on it using everything I've learned recently. I was as confident as I've ever been with a submission.

Still, Form Rejection. 

Sorry to hear that. I assume they don't give out honorable mentions.  Most contests don't. We've gotten a spoiled with WotF giving out HM, SHM, SF, F, and winners.

It doesn't mean your story wasn't well written or interesting to read. It most likely means there were a few other stories better than yours 

I'm open for a read if you want to PM me.  It could be a good Q3 or Q4 entry for WotF. 

@babooher I'm sorry to hear that's happened to you. I understand how disappointing that feels, especially since you waited so long for replies. My understanding is - and I am a novice by all means - that if an editor asks for a rewrite or wants to buy your story, you have your foot in the door and are less likely to be a bother if you follow up. I wouldn't feel bad about following up, although do so respectfully and within reason. At the same time, however, your communication issues with this magazine don't look like your fault. I presume you're using the email they want you to use? Either way, don't lose heart, keep writing, and know that if this one doesn't pan out, there is a bounty in the future for those who keep going.

Thank you @pdblake and @spencer_s for your kind words. As an update, the publishing company from Tuesday sent me the contract today!

@babooher Awesome! Congrats!

Such a fantastic update, @babooher! Congrats!

@babooher   amazing news! Congrats!

Posted by: @babooher

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Thank you @pdblake and @spencer_s for your kind words. As an update, the publishing company from Tuesday sent me the contract today!

Congratulations!

Posted by: @s_c_baker

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Remember, there's no objective "high quality"--everything is coloured by personal taste and expectations.

Trying to hold onto the truth of this. My goal is 100 rejections this year and I'm (sadly) well on my way, but it sure can drag to hear "no" repeatedly. The SHM was a bright spot and a much appreciated pick-me-up.

Posted by: @monicagh

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My goal is 100 rejections this year and I'm (sadly) well on my way,

You are well on your way! The rejection gauntlet is the rite of passage completed by most writers that make it pro. Easier said than done but my advice to withstand the submission trenches is to make each rejection a positive. You're already doing this by setting a rejection goal this year. I print all my rejections out and, a la Stephen King from On Writing, stake my very thick stack to a corkboard. They are all under a cover page with a pic of The Dude Lebowski saying, "Yeah? Well, that's just like, your opinion, man." I also try to immediately get the story out to a different venue. No doubt, the rejections sometimes still sting, the degree of intensity all depending on my expectations for the story and market, but it stings way less now. Sometimes it doesn't smart at all. 

When asked what trait she believes is most shared amongst professional writers, Octavia Butler stated: persistence. I believe she wrote about it in one of the essays on the craft in a WotF anthology. While I'm not sure exactly where I read it, it's stuck w/ me since and keeps me going. 

@jeschleicher well said

Posted by: @monicagh

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Trying to hold onto the truth of this. My goal is 100 rejections this year and I'm (sadly) well on my way, but it sure can drag to hear "no" repeatedly. The SHM was a bright spot and a much appreciated pick-me-up.

SHM is great! I've had one of my SHMs published, and Dustin mentioned today that another writer's Q1 SHM story just sold to Clarkesworld. I do believe that stories at that standard are good stories, well written, and just waiting to be discovered by the right publication. Some HMs, too.

For me, I'm up to 67 rejections so far this year (I just got one today, for a former SHM story, as it happens), which I think is a personal record for this early in the year -- last year, in total, I earned 136 rejections, which was an annual high, but I'm ahead of that pace. Maybe it'll tail off, but I'll be keeping on with my submissions for now.

And yeah, it really does suck to hear "no" a lot--but every now and then, someone'll say "yes" as well, which makes up for all of those rejections.

@doctorjest I need to get back to submitting to pro markets. I think I amassed about 30 rejections last year. I admit that it’s tiring and can feel like a lot of time spent doing nothing but I don’t actually believe it’s time wasted. Taking rejection is definitely a skill.

I started submitting to magazines this year (yay) but I'm finding it not as straight forward as contests. In general, does a longer wait time before hearing a response usually mean better chance for acceptance? I've looked at the SFWA Market Report but timeframes seem all over the place. 

@sconn have you looked at Submission Grinder? It’s been very helpful for me to see how long I should expect each market to take getting back to me as well as the acceptance rate for each market.

@sconn I second that. Submission Grinder has helpful data. In my experience, with so many submissions in limbo for 5-8 months, it doesn't solely mean they're considering it - sometimes they are just that swamped. However, it could mean they have read it, like it, and are putting it through the layers of the process. So much goes on behind the scenes that we, as writers, don't know about. Ultimately, it's a lot of "wait and see", but if your submission is still with a publication well after the time period they would normally send out a rejection, why not give yourself a pat on the back for not being rejected swiftly? 

Also, if they give instructions to follow-up after X many months, that's an option, too. Just do so politely and according to their guidelines - and be sure to check that there have not been any major changes at the publisher that would cause delays in their ability to read, such as the editor being sick.

And regardless of how long we're waiting to hear back about a story, we all have something to do in the meantime: write more

Posted by: @sconn

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I started submitting to magazines this year (yay) but I'm finding it not as straight forward as contests.

Congratulations! I wish you all the success in getting published. This contest and forum are great, but I have found myself putting all my energy and time into stories for WotF, at the expense of regularly submitting to magazines. One of my goals this year is to submit more stories to magazines and competitions other than WotF. After reading your post, I went back to a SHM I had from Vol 39 and submitted it. In my experience, I have had quick rejections (within an hour from The Dark, I think!!) to over a year wait and still getting a form response, so I think it just varies (not a helpful response!). Submission grinder is good generally for wait times though.

Thanks! That helps. And I think I need to bulk up my short story portfolio after seeing everyone's submission goals on here. 

Posted by: @joel-c-scoberg

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within an hour from The Dark, I think!!

I've gotten a rejection w/in 15 minutes from them! 

Posted by: @sconn

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I started submitting to magazines this year (yay) but I'm finding it not as straight forward as contests. In general, does a longer wait time before hearing a response usually mean better chance for acceptance? I've looked at the SFWA Market Report but timeframes seem all over the place. 

I've found the magazines are slower at getting through entries.  I've not sold anything, so maybe it timeframe changes when a story is being reviewed if it is good.

Thank you for submitting your story, 'title deleted', for consideration for Real Stories of the U.S. Space Force. Unfortunately, it's not quite what we're looking for, but I wish you every success in placing it elsewhere.
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you.

Thanks,

The successful part for me is a personal rejection.