Almost Success - The "Mixed Feelings" Thread

Got a 306 day personal rejection from Tor.com today. If we go by date of story sent (rather than date of rejection received), that makes it my second personal rejection. Much more than I thought I'd get from them on this story.

Got a 306 day personal rejection from Tor.com today. If we go by date of story sent (rather than date of rejection received), that makes it my second personal rejection. Much more than I thought I'd get from them on this story.

Grats. That's so long to wait though.

Woo-hoo, Marina! But, yeah, long wait. Normal for them, though.

Got a 306 day personal rejection from Tor.com today. If we go by date of story sent (rather than date of rejection received), that makes it my second personal rejection. Much more than I thought I'd get from them on this story.

Good going Marina...getting closer.

But boy I thought IGMS took a long time--well, they have speeded up a bit lately.

Received my 25th rejection yesterday. In 8 months and 8 stories, I've received 2 personal rejections and a second-round email. I think I'm okay with this - in a sense - but you know, it wouldn't hurt to hear better news.

... onward.

I'll post my statistics also, since they're pretty similar to Dantzel's.
I've been writing in English for 8 months now, and I've had 57 rejections so far for 13 stories. The highlights were:
2 personal Rs (DSF and Abyss & Apex)
Second round in Apex and ASIM
Twice final round in Penumbra (the one's ongoing so I'm really anxious about that)
Plus 1 publication in a non-paying market (I am NOT interested in non-paying markets, all of the markets in Greece are non-paying so I've got quite a lot of such publications and I don't want any more -- but this was a) for charity b) edited by Eric James Stone and 3) I got to share a TOC with Brad Torgersen, Bill Ledbetter, Martin Shoemaker and other prominent forumites, so it was a nice experience)

So I consider I'm not doing badly but I really really would like something more soon...

I think I'm going on 250+ rejections. I'm not even going to count the number of second rounds or "almosts". Too many to count.

*shrug*

As long as I never give up, I'll never truly fail.

I think I'm going on 250+ rejections. I'm not even going to count the number of second rounds or "almosts". Too many to count.

*shrug*

As long as I never give up, I'll never truly fail.

Still doing better than I.

Closing in on 1,000 rejects and I know the number of second rounds...two-possibly three. One came very close. Seven HMs, two were published. One personal rejection.

Well, my story came back from Penumbra this morning.

They said that they enjoyed it much and they look forward to receiving my next pieces - but the story didn't fit in well with the other stories in the issue.
Now what can I do about this? I can try to write better stories, but I cannot predict what other stories they will choose so I can try to make mine complementary to them.

I don't really know what is worse. The anxiety while you are waiting for a response or the frustration afterwards.

This is NOT a rant, however. I am happy that some editors at least read my work and they actually like it. It has been stated so many times that editors (and slush readers are also expected to) put down 99 out of 100 stories after they have read a few paragraphs -- so, my stories being read is being given a chance; and being enjoyed means that I am at least on the right track...

So I will continue to submit to Penumbra as much as I can, though I can't do anything about the other stories being shortlisted. Having two stories out of three in the final round means that my stories are to their taste, at least, and so I hope I could soon follow in Rebecca's footsteps.
Well, depending on the theme, of course. I have found I do very well in themed calls -- but only when the theme grabs me. If it doesn't, well... it just doesn't.

And this break in my graduate studies is brought to you by...
A personal rejection from Tor.com. They thought the idea for my story was interesting and original, but just not right for them.

Also, they said they are restructuring to get lower response times. Could be a more viable market in the future, guys.

And this break in my graduate studies is brought to you by...
A personal rejection from Tor.com. They thought the idea for my story was interesting and original, but just not right for them.

Also, they said they are restructuring to get lower response times. Could be a more viable market in the future, guys.

Grats, and interesting. If Duotrope reports they regularly start responding within 3 months, I'll start submitting to them.

And this break in my graduate studies is brought to you by...
A personal rejection from Tor.com. They thought the idea for my story was interesting and original, but just not right for them.

Also, they said they are restructuring to get lower response times. Could be a more viable market in the future, guys.

I was wondering if that would happen since they've brought on more editors (Ellen Datlow and I can't remember the other off the top of my head at this moment without more coffee ingestion!)

From Duotrope this morning:

1. 174-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 28.
2. 203-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 22.
3. 232-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 21.
4. 176-day rejection from Tor.com on October 20.
5. 178-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 20.
6. 189-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 19.
7. 209-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 19.
8. 769-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 19. (outlier)
9. 194-day rejection from Tor.com on October 18.
10. 183-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 17.
11. 185-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 17.
12. 188-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 17.
13. 195-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 17.
14. 185-day rejection from Tor.com on October 16.
15. 204-day personal rejection from Tor.com on October 11.
16. 194-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 10.
17. 193-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 9.
18. 197-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 7.
19. 197-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 7.
20. 200-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 7.
21. 200-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 6. (outlier)
22. 210-day rejection from Tor.com on October 6.
23. 201-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 5.
24. 203-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 5.
25. 206-day rejection from Tor.com on October 5.
26. 209-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 4.
27. 28-day acceptance from Tor.com on October 3. Congratulations!
28. 208-day form rejection from Tor.com on October 1.
29. 207-day form rejection from Tor.com on September 29.
30. 214-day rejection from Tor.com on September 29.

That's a mean of 211 days, and a median of 198. They're improving! That's on a par with the wait for WotF (if you submit early), I have some rethinking to do.

And this break in my graduate studies is brought to you by...
A personal rejection from Tor.com. They thought the idea for my story was interesting and original, but just not right for them.

Also, they said they are restructuring to get lower response times. Could be a more viable market in the future, guys.

Grats, and interesting. If Duotrope reports they regularly start responding within 3 months, I'll start submitting to them.

Sounds good if they do but they are also suppose to be significantly tougher than even the usual pro markets.

Which means Write's personal rejection deserves a bigger congrats than usual.

So Congrats

19 day personal rejection from Shimmer.
Sigh...
Preston Dennett
(HM x 3)

144-day rejection from ASIM. This was the first time I made it to the third round there, which felt like a victory of sorts. But then ... rejection. The personal comments ranged from "I really like this" to "This felt like a video game." Ouch.

144-day rejection from ASIM. This was the first time I made it to the third round there, which felt like a victory of sorts. But then ... rejection. The personal comments ranged from "I really like this" to "This felt like a video game." Ouch.

Wow Jennifer, Awesome job! I know you'd rather have a sale, but it sounds like you're really close!

"This felt like a video game." Ouch.

Some of my favorite stories take place in video games. They're not all Mario Kart.

Wreck it Ralph much?
I hear that one's pretty good.

World of Warcraft?
Billion dollars much?

Silly critique. That's not helpful, that's an opinion.
Oops. I ranted in the mixed feelings thread.

D

Dustin! What happened to your walking stick man?

Jables kicked his scrawny ass.

Wreck it Ralph much?
I hear that one's pretty good.

World of Warcraft?
Billion dollars much?

Silly critique. That's not helpful, that's an opinion.
Oops. I ranted in the mixed feelings thread.

D

Good point. Maybe comparing my story to a video game was a compliment. Although I had neither Ralph nor any Orcs.

I also got a "didn't quite work for me" from JJA at Lightspeed on a different story. One more rejection today, and I'll have a hat trick. Maybe DSF ...

Got a personal rejection from John Klima at Electric Velocipede, saying my story was "very well written," and that "I really would love to see more work from you," but that "it was too similar to other stories I've seen along the same lines in the past."

Bummer.

Got a personal rejection from John Klima at Electric Velocipede, saying my story was "very well written," and that "I really would love to see more work from you," but that "it was too similar to other stories I've seen along the same lines in the past."

Bummer.

Ouch, Alex! That is a tough one. I hope you send him another story right away. He knows who you are now. And he's waiting for you.
Preston Dennett
(HM x 3)

Wreck it Ralph much?
I hear that one's pretty good.

World of Warcraft?
Billion dollars much?

Knights of the Old Republic
Uncharted
Mass Effect
Metal Gear Solid
Assassin's Creed
Portal

Got a rejection from stupefying stories yesterday, which was rejected not because it wasn't good, but because they couldn't fit it into the budget.

Got a rejection from stupefying stories yesterday, which was rejected not because it wasn't good, but because they couldn't fit it into the budget.

This feels like a rant as well as "mixed feelings."

More mixed feelings because they are paying close attention to what I'm submitting. Just one of those stories which will sell, but to whom is the question.

Random submitting related statistics of the day:

* My submissions have been waiting for a combined 995 days as of today November 11th
* The longest has been waiting at Weird Tales for 170 days
* Two are on second rounds
* Only one is for WOTF (haven't decided what I'm sending for Q1 yet)
* Two stories have been submitted to the same market (oops!)
* The combined eighteen stories have been rejected one hundred and forty two times
* The longest has been on the rounds since March 21st, 2010
* That same story has been rejected seventeen times
* My grand total of rejections has been two hundred and sixty one
* My most common rejection is Asimov's with twenty three
* Markets I've only been rejected only once are: Interzone, Heroes and Heartbreakers, One Buck Horror, Nightmare, Crossed Genres, Mixer, and Futurismic.

No reason I posted these, other than I was bored and looking for new markets.

This is going to come out of the blue as I have been MIA for a while (Pregnancy, baby who is now 10weeks old, + 3 year old, + 21month old, got married....yadda yadda) but really want to get back into it.... Got a nice personal rejection from Shimmer the other day. The story made it to the Board but they eventually decided it didn't come together as fully as they would have liked and they also added that they would love to see more of my stories and looked forward to hearing from me soon....

Alas! I have no more stories suitable for them! Must write more but my brain feels fuddled at the moment!

(Pregnancy, baby who is now 10weeks old, + 3 year old, + 21month old, got married....yadda yadda)

Congratulations!