Discussion: Q4 Volume 37

We interrupt this program for a Fall service announcement: September 30th at midnight, Volume 37 turns into a PUMPKIN! If you don't want to be SQUASHED, you need to get your stories in! Don't be GOURD by the deadline!

I've been working on revisions. Think I'll be getting mine in at the bell.

And, submitted!

Incidentally, I am finding that out-loud reading of stories can really take a toll on the voice. My throat is still sore from yesterday. This was an unexpected development, and gives me a new-found respect for the work my friend does when he's recording audiobooks! However, it did uncover a few things in need of fixing, and definitely helped the finished story.

Now I get to take a breath, rest a couple of days, and then get started on the next one. I'll at least have a few days to think over which one it should be!

I'm in with an offbeat tale.

Your avatar isn't helping my diet.

I submitted a couple weeks ago. For what it's worth, I really really really want to win this time. Worked my butt of on this story. Guess we wait and see...

I'm in

I’m surprised how nervous I am, even though the stakes are so low.

Is there any sort of feedback in the form rejections letting you know if you messed something up with the submission process itself? I’ve never submitted anything anywhere, just found shunn’s formatting guide and will be doing what I can to follow it, but still worry about tripping over a technicality.

Is there any sort of feedback in the form rejections letting you know if you messed something up with the submission process itself?.

All I've ever gotten was an email acknowledgement the next day, submission received.

I'm going to get one of those tomorrow, according to plan...

Dr. Jest, glad you're reading your stories out loud. That's a secret from an old friend that's no longer with us, Ken Rand's THE TEN PERCENT SOLUTION. It's a good one.

Milo, quirky and offbeat is good. It means you're taking risks, and risks can pay off with huge dividends if you play them right.

RabenWrites, no, there's no feedback on rejections. Imagine Joni having to write thousands of personal notes on each rejection...every...quarter....
You followed Shunn's. You kept it plain and professional. Even if you did not, Kary English, the first reader, would still check to see if you had a good story under that polyester suit. But if it gets too funky, she has to reject it. The 300 sent in the ring to Dave are gladiators, and they're dressed to kill.

All the beast!

Wulf Moon

Get your stories in, Forumites! You can do this! Last quarter of the contest year! And it's not too late to write a fresh story! A couple of years ago, at noon on this very day, I sat down to write a new story. My first draft was done at 11:15 pm the next day--I hadn't even read it through when I handed it to my wife to proof. At 11:45 I snatched it out of her hands, whipped through her typo marks, loaded it into the portal form, and pushed submit at 11:56 pm on the last day in the last hour in the last minutes of the contest year. I did not allow myself to throw in the towel, I did not let my fear that I wouldn't make it shut me down. I finished a story. I sent it in before the deadline.

That was my winner.

Get your stories in! It's the only way to win!

All the beast to our Forum! May we rock Q4 in Volume 37!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

I hit the submit button three minutes ago! I have stories submitted for Q3, Q4, and two others to magazines. Four times the waiting! I hope I never get used to it!

True story:

This is maybe 10 years ago. A good friend is a manager at Mohonk Mountain House in NY. Stephen King is a regular for when he needs to get away and finish his novels.

Next day at the complaint desk a customer is raging: "I didn't sleep a wink because that Mr. King was up all night reading his novel aloud!"

His. Entire. Novel.

Since I heard that story I read everything aloud before submitting. It's a good habit to get into.
I also print it in a different font so I can see things I don't catch from familiarity.
I always catch something new.

True story:

This is maybe 10 years ago. A good friend is a manager at Mohonk Mountain House in NY. Stephen King is a regular for when he needs to get away and finish his novels.

Next day at the complaint desk a customer is raging: "I didn't sleep a wink because that Mr. King was up all night reading his novel aloud!"

His. Entire. Novel.

Since I heard that story I read everything aloud before submitting. It's a good habit to get into.
I also print it in a different font so I can see things I don't catch from familiarity.
I always catch something new.

Wow!!!! I may just have to try that......

I've got one more person to look over what I think is my final draft and then I'm submitting. Definitely different than anything I've tried before.

I'm in.

I submitted earlier today!

And my first submission is in! At this point I don’t even mind the results. The dopamine from hitting submit will carry me through this one. Expectations can go up next volume.

In!

On 9/30...
Fingers crossed for all forumites who entered Q4!
Good luck

After:
1 year of work
4 major drafts (which include scrapping the entire second half, and changing the POV)
3 rounds of beta readers

I am in.

I expect my rejection in three months.

After:
1 year of work
4 major drafts (which include scrapping the entire second half, and changing the POV)
3 rounds of beta readers

I am in.

That's a lot of work! Congrats on finally finishing and submitting it

Reminds me of a story I wrote that went through ten revisions...

Get those stories in! Pre-congratulations to the eventual Q4 winners, I look forward to meeting you!

Last day kiddos. I'm polishing, pondering, and spicing her up.

Just submitted. Didn't think I would be able to write a new story for this quarter due to health issues, so it feels like quite an accomplishment this time around.

Good luck everyone!

Just submitted. Didn't think I would be able to write a new story for this quarter due to health issues, so it feels like quite an accomplishment this time around.

Good luck everyone!

Great job, Valiant! That really is an accomplishment.

I submitted a few weeks ago, but it still feels surreal to me. Congrats and best of luck to everyone participating in this quarter!

In!

YES!

I can do turnarounds today—as of right now. My queue is currently empty. So for you last minute subbers I can do last minute crits if anyone needs! Obviously if I get twelve emails I’ll have to prioritize.

I caught a cold and was quarantined for fear of COVID so I cranked out 3,500 words in the last two days. I read it out load one time and then sent it in.... no proof readers :(... I was gonna take a break this quarter because we moved (which always takes a ton of time on both ends - packing and then unpacking and getting settled).

Anyways I'm glad I entered a story after all but I don't have a lot of high hopes for it to win this time around... maybe after I get it proofed by a few individuals I can resend it again in the future as a polished story... still have lots of hope for last quarter though