Discussion: Q3 Volume 40

Posted by: @cweaver

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I’m in for Q3!

Which somehow made me start twitching about the Q2 results  

 

LOL. Come join me in the twitching tent ⛺️. 

Made a couple of edits and I am waiting for my loving final reader. I’m flipping over to reviewing.

Whoop Whoop. I am in for Q3. Onward to brainstorming Q4 or maybe a KYD.

Well done everyone who has got their submissions in. I hit a brick wall with my planned Q3. It snowballed into a bigger story with no clear ending in sight. Need to go back and plan it out for Q4. SO I am working on an amended HM for my Q3. Reckon I'll get the first draft finished today, then edit stage tomorrow. May look for a critique but it's closing in on 9,000 words, which is longer than I'd like (I aim for 6-8k) so I've got to be realistic that there's not much time left for that before deadline.

@krqueen_writes I would recommend submitting to WOTF before other markets because you have more to gain with WOTF.

@krqueen_writes Just to flesh out the argument a little bit, you seem to have some urgency about entering Q3.  Do you have another story you could submit while saving your current story for Q4 if it doesn't get picked up?

@krqueen_writes Everyone's opinion will differ, but I personally would not withdraw from F&SF to submit it elsewhere, even this competition, on the off-chance it might get taken there. I believe you can't re-submit that piece to F&SF if you withdraw it, so if it is actually a good match to that market you would be closing that door.

I think it really depends on how you feel about your story. Is this a piece that you’ve really edited and honed and you think might be ready for a market like F&SF? Or are you interested in getting the possible tiered ranking the WotF contest gives? Reading F&SF, do you think your story might be what they are looking for, or was it a bit of a long shot?

There isn’t a correct or incorrect answer for this. It is contingent on where you feel your writing is at.

@krqueen_writes FWIW I have a piece at F&SF. It's been there for 22 days and is 1101 in their queue. They have a huge slush pile and, since AI reared its ugly head, along with just about every other market, they are inundated. I'm not expecting a reply any time soon. By the looks of their graph on Grinder they're buried.

That said, 75 days is quite a while, so you've either made it past the first readers, they've lost it, or it's still pending. Have you tried querying them? 

Posted by: @wahlquistj

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I think it really depends on how you feel about your story. Is this a piece that you’ve really edited and honed and you think might be ready for a market like F&SF?

@krqueen_writes This really makes a difference. I am not familiar with response times for F&SF, but if your story is a good fit for them and it hasn’t been rejected yet, then it’s probably not a good idea to withdraw it. There is still time to write a fresh story for Q3.

@krqueen_writes with my writing journey, outside of WotF (which is rewarding it it’s own way and I love this forum so I tend to submit here first), I tend to look for places to submit where I  am most likely to get feedback. There isn’t a filter for that on Submission Grider, but it is something to look out for when choosing which markets to submit to.

Looking at the F&SF graph on Submission Grinder, it looks like your piece probably made the first cut, which means you might get some feedback (even if it’s a short personal rejection). Also, the median and mean response time from that publication is around 70-75 days.

If I were you, I wouldn’t withdrawal. I’d either find something else to submit this quarter or pass. Then, if you get a response in the next few days, you can still enter at the last moment and put your new piece into Q4.

My Q3 is done. It's shorter than my recent entries and I'm not sure I like it. I'll let it breathe for a week, then perhaps I'll put a pillow over it.

@krqueen_writes their query timeframe is 90 days (I have a story waiting with them too). So in 2 weeks you could reach out to see but per submission grinder, they have a pretty long response time and most acceptances take over 200 days if you look at the list there.

I'd say try writing something else for WOTF in the next 10 days since waiting 70+ days so far is good news and as you say tough to get through, but that's just my opinion! 

I don't know if now I should feel better or worse that F&SF rejected my latest entry in a mere twelve hours!  

Ready to read my Q3 entry out loud. That helps me catch a lot of things and smooth out the rhythm of the language.

We've got this!

Just submitted my Q3. It's a good story, but it was aimed at a recent anthology so I don't feel like it's the best fit for WOTF, and I also worry they're going to get a lot of similar submissions. C'est la vie. Wanted to write something else (several something elses, actually), but life got in the way. Here's to Q4!

Posted by: @ease

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Just submitted my Q3. It's a good story, but it was aimed at a recent anthology so I don't feel like it's the best fit for WOTF,

Great work getting it done and submitted. My Q3 may not be best fit for WotF, but I'm submitting it anyway. You never know.

Posted by: @ease

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It's a good story, but it was aimed at a recent anthology so I don't feel like it's the best fit for WOTF, and I also worry they're going to get a lot of similar submissions.

You never know! Great work submitting it  

Good day everyone,

I got two RWC for my introduction to the same story even after changing it. I wanted to know what are the best strategies when starting a story? I don't seem to be getting the intro for the story right. I need it to atleast pass RWC to see where it will venture in the categories once I get the intro right. 

Thank you. 

@folkloremipsum "I don't know if now I should feel better or worse that F&SF rejected my latest entry in a mere twelve hours!"

I am also in this club ? 

I offer commiserations

I am now in for Q3! I ended up revising a HM, and after some very helpful feedback from forumites, I think it is a stronger story and the ending is a better fit for WotF. Time will tell though!  

I knew I was procrastinating for a reason. My muse hit me up with a cool story that is demanding my attention. With eight days to go there's plenty of time to explore. I'm loving it. Write on!

Posted by: @joel-c-scoberg

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I am now in for Q3! I ended up revising a HM, and after some very helpful feedback from forumites, I think it is a stronger story and the ending is a better fit for WotF. Time will tell though!  

That's awesome. I'm eager to find out how you did with the edited version. Please PM me or post results.

Posted by: @storysinger

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I knew I was procrastinating for a reason. My muse hit me up with a cool story that is demanding my attention. With eight days to go there's plenty of time to explore. I'm loving it. Write on!

Go speed writer, go!  

And I'm in for Q3. Good luck to all!  

Posted by: @fritz

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Good day everyone,

I got two RWC for my introduction to the same story even after changing it. I wanted to know what are the best strategies when starting a story? I don't seem to be getting the intro for the story right. I need it to atleast pass RWC to see where it will venture in the categories once I get the intro right. 

Thank you. 

Common problems with openings (aside from profanity, sex, and gore--you wouldn't have gotten RWC with those) include:

• Typos, missing words, grammar errors, format errors. Everyone has these; but if you have four or five or more in the first page, the reader loses confidence in you.
• Tense/POV shifts. These are a special case of grammar errors, and they're less tolerable. The reader needs to understand who and when.
• Walking up to the story. Start as close as possible to something happening. If you're not sure what's happening, start later. Novels can afford to establish the mood, short stories can't.
• Waking up to the story. Waking up is a red flag, as is amnesia. Both frequently mean that the author isn't sure what's happening yet.
• No speculative element within the first couple of pages.
• No clue about who the protagonist is, where the story is set, or what the problem is after a page or more. It doesn't have to be the problem, but there has to be a problem. Problems reveal character. The setting also reveals character.
• Overwriting. Pretty prose is OK, purple prose turns the reader off.

That's a starting list. But I thought the RWC letter included a more exhaustive list. RWC should be encouraging, because it means you're doing something right, but you made a common mistake that should be correctable. But as I understand it, they don't have time to tell you the specific mistake, just a common list. Part of your growth as a writer includes analyzing your work from small hints. My first Analog sale happened because I demonstrated that ability.

In for Q3! Look at me. A week early. Not on deadline day. I'm growing up.

Posted by: @watt_writes

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In for Q3!

Handing out cookies and lattes for those stragglers still writing for Q3. You can do this.

@martin-l-shoemaker Thank you for the comprehensive reply. I have a different story in for this quarter but I still think the one that got RWC twice has great potential. Will look into it some more and see what works. 

Thank you very much! 

I'm in also. Do I still qualify for a cookie?