Discussion: Q4 Volume 36

For you twitchers, the president of Author Services posted this in Facebook today: "Yes, and we should have results early December."

Oh, good, longer for me to develop a permanent nervous tic. Something to look forward to anyway.

What? The twitching has started?

I don't know if I have time to twitch. I have to finish the current draft of my novel and do NaNoWriMo. Wait. Oh, here it comes. Darn it! I'm twitching. I guess I do have time. *sigh*

Well, I can always write from inside the pillow fort. Scoot over disgruntledpeony. I have the brownies.

Twitching

I’m not twitching yet - too many irons in the fire. Probably start getting antsy around Thanksgiving.

early December."

Which means January if recent history is any guide. I don't mean this in a snarky way. I can wait. Just pointing out that staff predictions "go oft awry" ("gang aft agley")

Waiting until January is cutting it pretty close. There's a lot to do to get the book ready for publication, even if 9 stories are already set, but the Workshop is a hard deadline.

early December."

Which means January if recent history is any guide. I don't mean this in a snarky way. I can wait. Just pointing out that staff predictions "go oft awry" ("gang aft agley")

Normally, that would be true. The disparity often occured in the past because Dave had no second reader, and he had some serious health issues--such as having a pacemaker installed--that kept him from reading and judging at times. But Q4 has a date with destiny, and when it comes to her Q, there are some serious publishing deadlines WotF is pushing up against. The anthology must be proofed and printed before the gala on April 3rd. That includes getting illustrations done for the final three, getting in the writers' bios, sending edits on their stories back to the winners, waiting for their return and getting approvals from Dave, sending galleys back to the winners for final accuracy check, and then proofreading the entire thing again, and then it's off to the printer. January would give them less than three months to get all of this done and get the books printed and delivered on time--the gala is April 3rd, but the workshop where everyone gets their copies and does the advance signing of hundreds of volumes is before that event. That's an incredibly tight deadline from start to finish for a bestselling trade paperback with hard release dates.

Last year, I was notified I was a finalist November 13th (with Joni discovering I was one of the finalists and pulling over to the side of the road to call me immediatey with the news, she was that excited!), and she lined up four judges, got them to read and judge in one week, and winners were notified on November 20th. They really have to move fast on Q4, so start twitching and watching your caller ID for blocked calls in about two weeks!

We've always made a good showing from our Forum. The best gather here. I am always hopeful as the news starts rolling out.

Fortune favor the brave!

Wulf Moon

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Last year, I was notified I was a finalist November 13th...and winners were notified on November 20th.
Wulf Moon

ACK!!! Wulf! Why would you do this to me?!?!
I have NaNoWriMo and final edits of a novel and...and...Egads! There is not nearly enough time ramp up for FULL Twitching Mode!

in it together!

Last year, I was notified I was a finalist November 13th...and winners were notified on November 20th.
Wulf Moon

ACK!!! Wulf! Why would you do this to me?!?!
I have NaNoWriMo and final edits of a novel and...and...Egads! There is not nearly enough time ramp up for FULL Twitching Mode!

This kind of thing is why I started twitching early. *adds another wing to pillow fort, makes tea and more cocoa*

Last year, I was notified I was a finalist November 13th...and winners were notified on November 20th.
Wulf Moon

ACK!!! Wulf! Why would you do this to me?!?!
I have NaNoWriMo and final edits of a novel and...and...Egads! There is not nearly enough time ramp up for FULL Twitching Mode!

This kind of thing is why I started twitching early. *adds another wing to pillow fort, makes tea and more cocoa*

I didn't think about that. Thanks for another insight Wulf.

Chuckt wrote: "I didn't think about that. Thanks for another insight Wulf."

No problem. I just have the inside view...from last year of course. Who knows how it all shakes out this year, but the same deadlines are involved. Those are hard deadlines that cannot be moved back, so there is tremendous pressure to get things done as Q4 closes.

If you win in Q4, a bit of advice. After they have all their winners, everything WotF sends you after you've been told you've won will come with the equivalent of "we need this yesterday." It's understandable--they do! But your name is on your story, so you still need to make sure everything is right. Things can change in editing--any time someone touches the text, changes can creep in or formatting issues can occur. Author Services is very good, but we're all only human. Or a suggested edit could potentially change a major element in your story. Dave's edits are right on the money, but he doesn't know your story like you do. If an edit is going to seriously mess something up, remember Dave's own advice from his daily tips--in the end, it's your name on the story. Don't be pressured by time restraints to let something go that is important. And don't neglect to thoroughly read everything you are sent, including final galleys. This is the final PDF of what your story will look like in the book. Read every word for accuracy. You might still come across something everyone missed, and this is for posterity, so please be honest. (Bonus points if you know that line!
For you twitchers out there, here's another reason to twitch. When all the winners for the anthology are chosen, WotF sets up a private Facebook group account for the winners to get notifications and to teach them to start working as a team for their mutual success. A few of the WotF judges and moderators get invited to join as well, to help the winners with any contest questions, advice, and encouragement.

Last night, John Goodwin sent me that invite. The hall is still empty, so to speak, but it's been rented, and the guests are about to arrive...

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Last night, John Goodwin sent me that invite. The hall is still empty, so to speak, but it's been rented, and the guests are about to arrive...

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

‘Scuse me while I go scream into a pillow. We‘ve got plenty, right? *twitch twitch*

It has happened my dear forumites. I tried to guard against it, and I stood strong for Oh So Long. Yet, I failed. The teeniest-tiniest bit of hope has broken through my defenses.

disgruntledpeony, this will take more than brownies and hot chocolate. I know I should have asked first, but it's an emergency. The ice cream truck will be pulling up to the pillow fort any minute now.

It has happened my dear forumites. I tried to guard against it, and I stood strong for Oh So Long. Yet, I failed. The teeniest-tiniest bit of hope has broken through my defenses.

disgruntledpeony, this will take more than brownies and hot chocolate. I know I should have asked first, but it's an emergency. The ice cream truck will be pulling up to the pillow fort any minute now.

*rolls out a portable freezer*

I'm twitching to receive my answer, but...I'm pretty positive it'll be another rejection. I found out yesterday that if I try to edit a .doc in OpenOffice, it screws up my formatting so bad that the first line gets pushed all the way to about page 10. But you'd only know if you closed the document and then reopened it. So...I'm getting an Office 365 subscription, because I'm not having formatting issues get in the way of having a story read ever again. /rant

I'm twitching to receive my answer, but...I'm pretty positive it'll be another rejection. I found out yesterday that if I try to edit a .doc in OpenOffice, it screws up my formatting so bad that the first line gets pushed all the way to about page 10. But you'd only know if you closed the document and then reopened it. So...I'm getting an Office 365 subscription, because I'm not having formatting issues get in the way of having a story read ever again. /rant

I have formatting issues that concern me, as well, SwiftPotato. Hopefully having your story begin on a page ten (and only having white space between?) will not automatically cause a rejection.

I'm getting an Office 365 subscription, because I'm not having formatting issues get in the way of having a story read ever again. /rant

The cloud sync is worth it. I do a lot of writing/editing on my phone, and across multiple laptops. The Word app works a lot better for me than Google Docs, on every device. I also like being able to keep it in one format the whole time (seems like most markets want .doc or .docx). Costco and Amazon often discount the subscriptions.

I'm twitching to receive my answer, but...I'm pretty positive it'll be another rejection. I found out yesterday that if I try to edit a .doc in OpenOffice, it screws up my formatting so bad that the first line gets pushed all the way to about page 10. But you'd only know if you closed the document and then reopened it. So...I'm getting an Office 365 subscription, because I'm not having formatting issues get in the way of having a story read ever again. /rant

I have formatting issues that concern me, as well, SwiftPotato. Hopefully having your story begin on a page ten (and only having white space between?) will not automatically cause a rejection.

I hope so too, but it certainly doesn't speak to my ability to make a manuscript look reliably professional...haha. It is only white space between, not anything crazy, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that at least the first page gets a read.

I'm getting an Office 365 subscription, because I'm not having formatting issues get in the way of having a story read ever again. /rant

The cloud sync is worth it. I do a lot of writing/editing on my phone, and across multiple laptops. The Word app works a lot better for me than Google Docs, on every device. I also like being able to keep it in one format the whole time (seems like most markets want .doc or .docx). Costco and Amazon often discount the subscriptions.

It's gonna sound bad, but it's been so long since I used Word (outside work) that I didn't know it had cloud sync! I'll definitely take a look at Costco and Amazon, much appreciated, officer.

It's gonna sound bad, but it's been so long since I used Word (outside work) that I didn't know it had cloud sync! I'll definitely take a look at Costco and Amazon, much appreciated, officer.
Also, when I've e-mailed a Word file to my Kindle, it looks perfect. That's with using no "tab indents" but formatting instead. Great way to review. (I do not work for Microsoft... just trying to avoid twitching!)

HM, R, HM~, R, R, SHM*, HM, R, HM**, HM, ?, ?
~"Music from the Stars"
* Finalist, 2021 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award
**"Speculation," Brave New Worlds (Zombies Need Brains, Aug 2022)

 

So...I'm getting an Office 365 subscription

I found that on ebay. Lifetime subscription, 5 devices, six bucks. A company out of UK. Can't beat that.

So...I'm getting an Office 365 subscription

I found that on ebay. Lifetime subscription, 5 devices, six bucks. A company out of UK. Can't beat that.

Nope, don't believe you could. That's pretty sweet.

Hello all, I have submitted my first science fiction short story to this quarter. I am anxiously awaiting the results, as are the rest of you.
Good luck to us all!

Hello all, I have submitted my first science fiction short story to this quarter. I am anxiously awaiting the results, as are the rest of you.
Good luck to us all!

Welocome and good luck to you too! You are welcome in my pillow fort while we wait for results

It's gonna sound bad, but it's been so long since I used Word (outside work) that I didn't know it had cloud sync! I'll definitely take a look at Costco and Amazon, much appreciated, officer.
Also, when I've e-mailed a Word file to my Kindle, it looks perfect. That's with using no "tab indents" but formatting instead. Great way to review. (I do not work for Microsoft... just trying to avoid twitching!)

May I ask how you email a file to your kindle? And is that legal...?

 

Hello all, I have submitted my first science fiction short story to this quarter. I am anxiously awaiting the results, as are the rest of you.
Good luck to us all!

Well done! That's the first step, and does take courage. Wishing you the best with your writing.

Wulf Moon

May I ask how you email a file to your kindle? And is that legal...?

Here are the instructions on amazon's website: https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle/email

Certainly no legal issue when it's your own writing!

For you twitchers out there, here's another reason to twitch. When all the winners for the anthology are chosen, WotF sets up a private Facebook group account for the winners to get notifications and to teach them to start working as a team for their mutual success. A few of the WotF judges and moderators get invited to join as well, to help the winners with any contest questions, advice, and encouragement.

Last night, John Goodwin sent me that invite. The hall is still empty, so to speak, but it's been rented, and the guests are about to arrive...

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Oooh! So exciting!!!