Discussion: Q1 Volume 40

@m-norris [goes to take a bite of cookie]
[alas it’s not there]
[scans the room and sees Malachi licking crumbs of plate]
[does a Jedi mind trick]
[Malachi hands over some hot chocolate]

@craydimensional 

[It turns out Malachi is very susceptible to mind tricks]

[Especially Jedi Mind tricks]

[Now that Malachi doesn't have his Hot Chocolate to distract him, he is 10 times more productive]

[Starts writing again]

[Returns to tent every few seconds to check for any updates]

[Alas the updates might still be a few weeks off]

Just came up for breath from my Q2 submission sprint(finished the first draft) and caught up on the cutthroat discussion. 

Verdict is you are all the awesome kind of people I want to win this contest and writes stories for the whole world to read(and me too eventually) 

Also, all the end quarter snack tents make me want to have a forum writing retreat for real one day, with snacks,  and shared anticipation, and triumphs!

I’m wishing us all luck on Q1 and Q2

Posted by: @clfors

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Also, all the end quarter snack tents make me want to have a forum writing retreat for real one day, with snacks,  and shared anticipation, and triumphs!

I wholeheartedly second this, even though I know it would be impossible to organize given that we're spread all across the country (multiple countries even.) I've never personally known someone who entered this contest, but tell me it wouldn't make losing so much more bearable for you to be able to see just how happy the winners were? Sometimes it's easy to forget that even if I get rejected, someone just achieved something wonderful. And that just makes it better.

Posted by: @m-norris

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I've never personally known someone who entered this contest,

I haven't either. One of the members of my online critique group won third place two years ago, but I don't even know where he lives!

Posted by: @watt_writes

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@ehonour Are you considering writing (or have I missed) a blog post or the like about your publishing/marketing process. Honestly, the more I die in the query trenches of traditional publishing the more I'm interested in indie publishing. Mostly for the freedom to just write what I enjoy writing. I don't want to limit my stories to what "will sell."

Nice idea. I think I'll take you up on that; I've been needing new ideas for my blog. Follow it at www.DocHonourBooks.com and you'll see it soon. Might be several posts, because there's a lot to say.

@m-norris some cycles I have trouble keeping that perspective but when I think about the excitement of the winners it does make it better. It would be even better to know each other and have that history of each other’s try-fail cycles. 

I actually have three friends that submit to the contest(one I’m married to) so I’ve been getting that practice of mutual support as one of us does better and then next cycle a different one of us, or some but not all. 

Posted by: @clfors

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@m-norris some cycles I have trouble keeping that perspective but when I think about the excitement of the winners it does make it better. It would be even better to know each other and have that history of each other’s try-fail cycles. 

I actually have three friends that submit to the contest(one I’m married to) so I’ve been getting that practice of mutual support as one of us does better and then next cycle a different one of us, or some but not all. 

Honestly, such a great move to marry a writer, haha I'll have to try that. I can see it both ways though, I agree. In some ways it'd be worse to see a close friend go to New York when you yourself couldn't but I guess we can try to remember that everyone's at a different place in their writer's journey. I'll still be super excited if anyone I know (even if only through the forums) wins. And the best part is that nobody wins alone. If I win, I really won't deserve my award. Not as much as my editor, or my friends who encouraged me along the way. And frankly, I feel like I owe it to the big guy upstairs that I even completed my novella at all. (I know most of you here aren't religious, and I think that's great, but I feel like God deserves a shout out every now and then, haha. If nothing else, believing that a higher power is assisting me helps my confidence.) 

My point is, the award goes to one person. Well, three people, but they each get 100% of an award when I feel like I as the author don't deserve nearly 100% of the award. Yes it's my story, but it wouldn't exist without the dozens of people who got there, or inspired my style. Does that make sense? 

@m-norris Everyone 100% deserves their award including you when you get there, and also no one 100% deserves their reward because we are all symbiotic.

I used to think I had to be an island, all self-taught. But then I realized we are all microcosms of outside influences and that’s a good thing. So now I see it as we all support, request support, teach, learn, encourage, and inspire and then when we succeed we thank our whole microcosm and also own that win because we coalesced what was given and brought it into the light. 

@clfors Even those who think they are an island aren't really - most will be writing in a specific cultural norm, eg for this competition mostly western story structure. And where did they get this? Even if they've never had a beta reader, or taken a class, at the very least from reading. So we all stand on others shoulders in some way or another.

And I agree, certainly doesn't mean we don't deserve the prize if we are lucky enough to get one, as what counts is what we did with those raw materials and the energy we contributed to turning them from raw to finished.

I will add, that having a completed story, is in itself a prize. So don't forget to celebrate that, even if it doesn't appear in WotF.  

I would like one of these   that reads "I got rejected!" ie as positive as all the sold a story/got an honorable mention. The only sign that should be sad is "I didn't enter"

Not going to lie, @gideonpsmith, when I saw the sign in your post, butterflies fluttered in my belly. I like your take on things. Having had some rejections, I think a more positive sign of "At least I entered!" might work. And I'd change "I didn't enter" to "Shoulda entered!"

[Looks in cookie container, wonder where all the cookies went]
[Then steps on scale and she has answer.]
[Begrudgingly eats an ?] and starts writing where she left off.

@babooher Apologies to have caused any butterflies! I will reserve the use of those for actual rejections in the future, which I have received in the past from WotF.

Posted by: @gideonpsmith

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I would like one of these   that reads "I got rejected!" ie as positive as all the sold a story/got an honorable mention. The only sign that should be sad is "I didn't enter"

Huh. I got one of those last quarter, but it was my own stinkin' fault. I forgot to remove my name from the page headers. Resubmitted the same story for v40q1. Any submission is better than not.

Getting rejected can be visceral. I have been shocked by the phrase "did not place." But I've paid attention to what is happening to my body, the nausea, the heartache, the misdirected adrenalin, and have used these feelings in my writing. Feeling that emotion connects me with characters who feel the same. So, that's a net plus in my opinion.

I've been rejected thirty-seven times by the contest. Folks, rejection in this business is not getting published. The contest is unique among publishing markets in that it grades your near misses. In this contest, "did not place" is tantamount to having entered a laundry list. I get it, a story you've struggled to complete to the best of your ability has been set aside without a full read. But then there's the HM, which has been read by at least one real live professional. SHM is a great story with a shortcoming or not right for the contest. SF is pro potential. F is pro material, an opinion or two away from the winner's circle.

They are all rejections, but they are informative rejections. The rest of the world sends a kind, placating letter. We get graded on our progress! I agree that "did not place" can be more crushing than the rest. And I also agree that completing a story is an accomplishment to be extremely proud of. But be real, there are DNP stories out there that have been published and there are Finalist stories that have never seen print (mine is one). Don't kick yourself (too much) over rejection. Use rejection to supercharge your education about writing, about markets, about which editors are accepting what type of stories, about stories that your peers are selling.

This is the business. It gets me jazzed to think that an email might light up my life. I've checked my phone three times today. In the meantime, I get to play with aliens in my sandbox, rendezvous with comets, and dance with elves and dragons.

Rejection? That's just life telling me that I haven't had enough fun, yet.

Have fun,

Kent

Entries: 39; DNP: 16; HM: 15; SHM: 5; F: 1; Currently being read by Schrodinger's cat: 2

[another week and another Thursday looms]

[more snacks and beverages arrive]

[along with healthy alternatives]

[thanks for the reminder @craydimensional]

[April looms ahead]

[fingers crossed for the procrastinators to get their Q2 entries in]

[most seem to be cooking up Q3 ideas]

@kent You articulated exactly why I love this comp so much. I was struggling in the query trenches for my novel and honestly thought maybe I wasn't a good writer after all. My confidence took a nosedive. I think, for me, getting HMs and a SHM but not higher was exactly what I needed to see, and was so much more motivating than if I got in the finals off the bat. It gave me the little pat on the head I really needed, saying, "You got potential kid, but you still gotta lot to learn." If I came in and won right off the bat, I probably wouldn't have learned as much as I have in the past year about writing. I'd probably be sitting here all huffy like "well why isn't my novel selling?"

The "near miss" breakdown (and let's not forget rejected with comments) that you point out is so so so much more work for the judges, but the dedication and passion they show is unprecedented. There's so much ambiguity from professionals in this art that it's so hard to get a concrete gage of your skill that feels honest. I'll forever be grateful for this competition. It honestly feels like everyone wants to see everyone win. And from the forums, I've managed to find the resources to pinpoint what's wrong with my novel, and I wrote another, which was an expansion on an HM from this contest that's a much less ambitious debut project!

Anyways. That's my little love vent. The dawn of Thursday is just over the horizon of tomorrow. Let us mix our coco and wait. 

@watt_writes Do things always get announced on Thursdays? If so, this is a piece of wisdom I have yet to glean...

@gideonpsmith Sometimes it's Satur-thursday, or Monda-thursday, or wedne-thursday but it is always a Thursday. ?

Just did a bit of looking into the timing of last year's submission deadlines vs the announcement of the results:

V39
Q1 deadline was December 31. Results announced on May 12.
Q2 deadline was March 31. Results announced on August 10.
Q3 deadline was June 30. Results announced on October 7.
Q4 deadline was September 30. Results announced on November 22.

Happy twitching!

Posted by: @morgan-broadhead

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Just did a bit of looking into the timing of last year's submission deadlines vs the announcement of the results:

V39
Q1 deadline was December 31. Results announced on May 12.
Q2 deadline was March 31. Results announced on August 10.
Q3 deadline was June 30. Results announced on October 7.
Q4 deadline was September 30. Results announced on November 22.

Happy twitching!

Last year we lost the amazing David Farland during Q1. I would be surprised if results don't come out significantly earlier this year. 

Posted by: @bethpowers

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Here's how many times I've gotten Q1 results in each month:

January: 1 (2015)
February: 1 (2014)
March: 3
April: 5
May: 1 (last year)
July: 1 (2011)

Other than last year in May, most of the recent years have been mid to the end of April. But also, out of my 50ish electronic subs, I've only ever gotten results twice on the same date, so Thursdays remain unpredictable as always!

Feels like we're approaching the final straight! No time better to be making sure Q2 is submitted (looks pointedly at a mirror) and start thinking about Q3.

I love these discussions. I agree the rejections sting. Even the HM’s can feel like rejection but they create a fantastic training course built on striving to up my skills with each entry. Even getting a finalist(in illustrators) just makes me push harder. I’ve done most of my growing as a writer and illustrator because of the contest.

I think you have to submit a story in Q2 that you love MORE than your Q1 so that you secretly hope your Q1 DOESN'T win so your Q2 can win. And THAT is how you win Q1. 

At least, I am pretty sure that is how it works. So wish me luck while I go dig up a sparkly story and add more glitter or miraculously divinate a new one. In...
<looks at watch>
 
Gotta go!

Posted by: @jvashley

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I think you have to submit a story in Q2 that you love MORE than your Q1 so that you secretly hope your Q1 DOESN'T win so your Q2 can win. And THAT is how you win Q1. 

At least, I am pretty sure that is how it works. So wish me luck while I go dig up a sparkly story and add more glitter or miraculously divinate a new one. In...
<looks at watch>
 
Gotta go!

Lol. That’s how I feel about my QTR2 story.

Posted by: @jvashley

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I think you have to submit a story in Q2 that you love MORE than your Q1 so that you secretly hope your Q1 DOESN'T win so your Q2 can win.

Yes!! I had this very thought, which I laughed off....then thought it again.

Posted by: @jvashley

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I think you have to submit a story in Q2 that you love MORE than your Q1 so that you secretly hope your Q1 DOESN'T win so your Q2 can win. And THAT is how you win Q1. 

A while back I wrote in the Q2 thread that I prefer my Q2 story. I just want Q1 out of the way. But then - I suppose I could put up with my Q1 winning!

In the meantime, let's see if I can write a Q3 better than my Q2.

Posted by: @jvashley

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I think you have to submit a story in Q2 that you love MORE than your Q1 so that you secretly hope your Q1 DOESN'T win so your Q2 can win. And THAT is how you win Q1.

Well, I've got Q1 in the bag then.  

I really love my Q1 entry. My Q2 I changed about 3 days ago because I just don't have the energy to edit the story I wrote a few months ago so I'm doing a snippet of my novel like some loser. I guess that sets me up to love my Q3! I think my Q1 may be in the gutter after Jody's announcement about...ehem...language. It's a resub that previously did well with the same language, but maybe that's why it didn't make it higher. I'm currently sipping my coco facing the corner with my dunce hat on wishing you all the best of luck ?.

@jvashley  That's at least the best way to treat end of quarter twitching! I try to do that every quarter. My Q1 this time is fun but not what I think I want to wing WOTF, my Q2 on the other hand is a new favorite so I would rather win Q2. Now I gotta do that for Q3 ad maybe eventually the formula will work!

Anxiously awaiting any kind of results for Q1. I'm thinking they release the names after the Awards Ceremony of last years awards. Does anyone know if that's the case?