Discussion: Q3 Volume 37

number 2!!
Can hardly wait to find out who won this quarter!

I'm relatively new here, as this was my first quarter. But I'm excited to have received an honorable mention! On to the next. I didn't submit to Q4 since none of my newer stories are quite up to snuff yet, but I will definitely be entering again in the new year.

Hi Beth. I'm new to the forums and curious if the response data you mentioned is something I'm also supposed to be keeping track of for myself?

Hi mandycorine! Welcome to the forum! The response data I mentioned is just me keeping track of various statistics related to my submissions (here and elsewhere). I made myself a new spreadsheet this year so that I could sort by quarter and see when exactly I've received results in the past (I've been subbing since the days of paper subs, so I have quite a bit of data to draw from). It's not something you have to keep track of, but it's not a bad idea to track your submissions in some way just so you know what you've sent where, especially if you're submitting to more than one place. I use a combination of the Submission Grinder and an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of mine.

Or is it that you mean you've heard back about your submission already? I haven't, and now I'm wondering if that means I didn't make it very far in the contest this time.

I hadn't heard back on my submission when I posted that (but I have now!). You should get a notification from the contest regardless of how your story did--even if you didn't place, you get an email. It looks like a lot of the results came in today, so hopefully, you've heard by now!

Honorable Mention for me!

Hi mandycorine! Welcome to the forum! The response data I mentioned is just me keeping track of various statistics related to my submissions (here and elsewhere). I made myself a new spreadsheet this year so that I could sort by quarter and see when exactly I've received results in the past (I've been subbing since the days of paper subs, so I have quite a bit of data to draw from). It's not something you have to keep track of, but it's not a bad idea to track your submissions in some way just so you know what you've sent where, especially if you're submitting to more than one place. I use a combination of the Submission Grinder and an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of mine.

I hadn't heard back on my submission when I posted that (but I have now!). You should get a notification from the contest regardless of how your story did--even if you didn't place, you get an email. It looks like a lot of the results came in today, so hopefully, you've heard by now!

Ah ok, gotcha. Smart to track things. I have a similar spreadsheet tracker system. I did hear back on my Q3 submission for WotF. Disappointing news for me this time. Thanks for the kind welcome and congrats on your HM!

...nine years and now twenty-nine entries.....

For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!

Wow, kentagions, huge congrats! Now that is persistence! May you get the happy second call and not the sad one. So you didn't get a gag order at all?

When she calls back be sure to ask who the judges were for your quarter! That's such a fun thing to hear the famous names that read YOUR story.

Good showing, folks! Congratulations to all of you!!! Regardless of what result you got, you FINISHED A STORY and you SUBMITTED. That is eons more than what a lot of folks can say. Keep on writing and keep on hoping!

Also, congratulations on the finalist, kentagions!!!!! Fingers crossed for you! No matter what your second call says, you wrote a really fantastic story. Top 8 in the world! Great job! 😀

For those who are a bit down about their R’s.

I’ve been writing for 17 years with 15 years of R’s. I’ve won two contests and a small press published a book of mine that sold about 50 copies. The publisher went out of business. I guess in these 17 years my biggest accomplishment has been that Charlie Finlay told me I am writing at a professional level. Of course that doesn’t stop him from rejecting my stories.

Small nuggets of positive reinforcement scattered among the rejection slips and those who outwardly doubt you and the worst critic of all, yourself. Those days when you felt lazy or depressed or sick and had no strength to write but you opened up that laptop or pad of paper and told yourself, “I’ll write just one good sentence or paragraph and if that’s all I get on paper today then fine. There’s always tomorrow for increasing my word count if things didn’t go so well today.”

Within this long haul of years I’ve struggled with the Dark Angel of Doubt over whether or not I should quit writing. We all have our struggles in life. Writing can be the one thing that gets you through the dire straights. Learn to love your writing: words, characters, and story. Read. Write. Study. Persist. Not so you can win contests or make money, but so you can experience an enlightenment of your mind and soul.

Great job, everyone. We only call it an R here on the Forum. In the contest, it is a DNP (Did Not Place). In life, it is a try...congratulations. You did something, perhaps out of your comfort zone, that many others think of doing but never attempt. Study, read, and try again because you are in the same place that I have been for nine years and now twenty-nine entries. I've had what we call success around here (HM=11, SHM=1). You will get there, too.

It is my wish for everyone to fully examine themselves and their work. Get real opinions from trusted peers and professionals. Figure out what work you need to do to accomplish the goals you have set for yourself. And then, do that work. Follow through. Believe me, you will get there if you do the work.

And, with every entry to this contest or to the next market, remember to congratulate yourself. You are trying. You will achieve. Best of luck.

For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!

Congratulations!

For those who are a bit down about their R’s.

I’ve been writing for 17 years with 15 years of R’s. I’ve won two contests and a small press published a book of mine that sold about 50 copies. The publisher went out of business. I guess in these 17 years my biggest accomplishment has been that Charlie Finlay told me I am writing at a professional level. Of course that doesn’t stop him from rejecting my stories.

Small nuggets of positive reinforcement scattered among the rejection slips and those who outwardly doubt you and the worst critic of all, yourself. Those days when you felt lazy or depressed or sick and had no strength to write but you opened up that laptop or pad of paper and told yourself, “I’ll write just one good sentence or paragraph and if that’s all I get on paper today then fine. There’s always tomorrow for increasing my word count if things didn’t go so well today.”

Within this long haul of years I’ve struggled with the Dark Angel of Doubt over whether or not I should quit writing. We all have our struggles in life. Writing can be the one thing that gets you through the dire straights. Learn to love your writing: words, characters, and story. Read. Write. Study. Persist. Not so you can win contests or make money, but so you can experience an enlightenment of your mind and soul.

Corbin, thank you for sharing your story. There were a lot of things you mentioned that I could relate to...
May your perseverance and grit guide you to success one day

Congratulations, Kentagions and ajschultz6, you're amazing. First time here and you got an HM! Well done. I'm at HM #6, but I expected that when I turned it in. Onwards and upwards!

Got an R :/ sad because I thought this was my best yet yet. But I did realize that the first couple pages are a little weak. So could have been rejected there. Gonna go see what I can do about it... Then maybe I'll resubmit. Never done that but I really don't think it was read past the beginning.

Huge congrats to everyone who entered! Yay on those HMs! Fantastic job on those SHMs!

Eagerink, do you have a crit group? Happy to take a look if you want some feedback.

I would appreciate that! Don't know how to do it in the forum though?

For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!

Wooo! Contrats! I hope you win!

Got an R :/ sad because I thought this was my best yet yet. But I did realize that the first couple pages are a little weak. So could have been rejected there. Gonna go see what I can do about it... Then maybe I'll resubmit. Never done that but I really don't think it was read past the beginning.

Huge congrats to everyone who entered! Yay on those HMs! Fantastic job on those SHMs!

Eagerink, do you have a crit group? Happy to take a look if you want some feedback.

I would appreciate that! Don't know how to do it in the forum though?

You can PM me. I can give you my email address there.

KD Julicher wrote:

So you didn't get a gag order at all?

I missed Joni's first call. We didn't speak until afternoon my time today (Monday). By the time we finally spoke, the only caution involved anonymity.

Thank you so much for your support. And thank you for the tip on asking about judges - you're right - pros I've read for years reading something of mine. Wow. Humbling and exciting at the same time.

And thank you for the tip on asking about judges - you're right - pros I've read for years reading something of mine. Wow. Humbling and exciting at the same time.

That is an amazing thought. Congratulations--you've earned it! And good luck!

For those who are a bit down about their R’s.

I’ve been writing for 17 years with 15 years of R’s. I’ve won two contests and a small press published a book of mine that sold about 50 copies. The publisher went out of business. I guess in these 17 years my biggest accomplishment has been that Charlie Finlay told me I am writing at a professional level. Of course that doesn’t stop him from rejecting my stories.

Small nuggets of positive reinforcement scattered among the rejection slips and those who outwardly doubt you and the worst critic of all, yourself. Those days when you felt lazy or depressed or sick and had no strength to write but you opened up that laptop or pad of paper and told yourself, “I’ll write just one good sentence or paragraph and if that’s all I get on paper today then fine. There’s always tomorrow for increasing my word count if things didn’t go so well today.”

Within this long haul of years I’ve struggled with the Dark Angel of Doubt over whether or not I should quit writing. We all have our struggles in life. Writing can be the one thing that gets you through the dire straights. Learn to love your writing: words, characters, and story. Read. Write. Study. Persist. Not so you can win contests or make money, but so you can experience an enlightenment of your mind and soul.

Corbin, thank you for sharing your story. There were a lot of things you mentioned that I could relate to...
May your perseverance and grit guide you to success one day

Thank you.

Thanks for your kind words about my first HM.

Out of interest, do any of you ever engage in a sort of post-game analysis? Where you try to find the parts that kept your story from reaching higher? I think it might be something that could help me.

 
I still haven't heard anything.

SHM for me. Nice after taking a break from short stories for a while. Just checking in to thank those who kindly beta'd my work, despite me not having been active on this forum for a few years. It was great of you to take a look. Hope you did well too!

Grats to all on your HMs' and more. To those getting R's, good on you for entering and better luck next time. To the finalists: I don't envy you the wait 😀 But good luck!

Fi! Was this the long fantasy story?
SHM is finalist-consideration pile!

Thanks for your kind words about my first HM.

Out of interest, do any of you ever engage in a sort of post-game analysis? Where you try to find the parts that kept your story from reaching higher? I think it might be something that could help me.

Grats Valiant!

Sometimes folks with like minds will swap stories post judging. I believe those requests are in-thread or in the critique area. You can start a new thread for Q3 R, HM, SHM or something and see if anyone else wants to swap. Some would say to look forward and write your next story. That's good advice, but as a lover of history, I submit something about learning from the past... 

 
I still haven't heard anything.

Seems finalists have been called. I say go ahead and query at this point.

I'm relatively new here, as this was my first quarter. But I'm excited to have received an honorable mention! On to the next. I didn't submit to Q4 since none of my newer stories are quite up to snuff yet, but I will definitely be entering again in the new year.

Sweet!

Get that Q1 ready. You've got a shade under 3 months. 

Honorable Mention for me!

Our inspirational story!

 
I still haven't heard anything.

Seems finalists have been called. I say go ahead and query at this point.

Thanks Dustin. Yeah, queried Joni at 6:52 am today. Of course, it was 3:52 in LA so I don't expect to hear anything for at least a few more hours.
<sigh>
This is the third time I needed to query on my 'R' (don't know for certain that it is an R, but judging by past experience it probably is).

I missed Joni's first call. We didn't speak until afternoon my time today (Monday). By the time we finally spoke, the only caution involved anonymity.

Congratulations, kentagions!

 That's how it's been for me both times I made finalist. Some quarters she seems more worried about secrecy than others. Might depend on whether or not she's sent out the other results? (She asked me to wait until after others started announcing they'd received their results, last time, because she called me the say before she sent out e-mails.)

 
I still haven't heard anything.

Seems finalists have been called. I say go ahead and query at this point.

Thanks Dustin. Yeah, queried Joni at 6:52 am today. Of course, it was 3:52 in LA so I don't expect to hear anything for at least a few more hours.
<sigh>
This is the third time I needed to query on my 'R' (don't know for certain that it is an R, but judging by past experience it probably is).

I still don’t have results either. Perhaps I’ll query soon too. But I’ll wait for a bit.

KD Julicher wrote:

So you didn't get a gag order at all?

I missed Joni's first call. We didn't speak until afternoon my time today (Monday). By the time we finally spoke, the only caution involved anonymity.

Thank you so much for your support. And thank you for the tip on asking about judges - you're right - pros I've read for years reading something of mine. Wow. Humbling and exciting at the same time.

Congratulations!!!! That is so exciting! I bet you are on pins and needles Best of luck!

And congrats to everyone that placed! Commiserations to those that didn’t. Keep on truck in’ for Q1.

R. Congratulations to all who placed.  On to Q1/38 with a fresh idea for a story.

I still don’t have results either. Perhaps I’ll query soon too. But I’ll wait for a bit.

Sorry, Brittany, I don't mean to be insensitive but I am glad I am not alone. I hope you get good news . . . SOON!