Discussion: Q4 Volume 40

First submission to the contest so I’m very excited! First story I’ve submitted anywhere, actually, just not the first stop it’s had in the pro market submission-rejection cycle. I was starting to wonder if it had any merit at all! Now I just have to decide whether to revise and resubmit or submit something new next. 

@craydimensional Woohoo! Conga-rats!

@gideonpsmith I'm sorry that happened. But keep on submitting! You can absolutely do this if you keep at it!

@adrian I'm sorry you're struggling. You can absolutely get back up there though. Keep on entering! You got this!

@selsozhu Conga-rats! Nice job!

@josephm I'm sorry about that but know that you've done a BIG thing just by entering. And you CAN move up, as long as you keep submitting. You got this!

@laselby Congrats!!!

@kent Conga-rats! Nice job!

Congrats to everyone who submitted.

If you didn't get an HM or higher, don't let that get you down. You’re writing and that is awesome. You’re submitting and that first step toward publishing is often the hardest. You’re thinking about how to improve the next story (at least I hope you are) and that determination is needed to get published. Good job.

Be safe, have fun, and keep on writing.

 And my pattern holds ? ? . I suppose this means I'm up for a SHM next quarter? I have to admit my hopes were high for v40, I really wanted to head to Hollywood with y'all, but it's simply because others had better stories and I'm so happy for everyone who made it! I'm so grateful for the recognition my writing is getting through this competition. It's the reason I haven't given up! I was very close to giving up on this dream before I joined this community.

Great job in v40 everyone! So happy to see so many forum finalists this year! Congrats to everyone shortlisted and above, and congrats to everyone who didn't place, because you put your work out there and that's the first step! There is so much growth to happen in this art and perseverance is rewarded.

Onward to v41!

  Vallhallywood awaits!!!  

@watt_writes I have the same pattern! Looking to break it sometime ?

[Hmmmm not everyone has checked in...]

[I wonder...]

[places several gold pieces in the fountain along with wishes for luck to those still twitching over their second call]

[Lost in thought as others crowd around the snack table]

[trading stories of glory and near misses]

[cheers spring out from all corners of the tent]

[in other corners of the tent, people are handed blankets and chocolate]

[a hug station has been set up for those who could use one]

[cheers to those who placed HM or higher]

[not even a whisper regarding the illustrator's contest]

[have the calls gone out to the artist hopefuls?]

What an exciting time! It feels like Christmas to be honest. It appears I won't break into Silver or higher just yet!

But, I'm cool with it, this one was rushed at the end and needed more buttoning up? 

Super proud of all of you. Remember, every quarter has an element of luck to it, but Q4 especially so. You could write the perfect werewolf story, but if another werewolf has already won in a prior quarter, you can't win this quarter. Which means, Q1 is the least luck based, and thus the best measure of skill, so get at it! And best of all, there's all those holidays coming up (for most, at least) in which to write!

Posted by: @watt_writes

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but it's simply because others had better stories 

Because others had stories that those judging thought were better. For the most part, this is all subjective. Plenty of people have said that they have published stories that received an HM or were even rejected here. There is no absolute arbiter of good stories.

Of course, you can't assume that what you write is perfect, and something less than winning may mean that your story needs additional work. Heck, even a winning piece might be improved.

But, if you assume that every time you aren't selected here or at other markets is because the other stories were better than yours.... That way lies madness. Or, at least, discouragement, self doubt, endless revisions, burnout, etc.

"[I]t matters not how you write, you will find some editor somewhere, sometime, so unwary or so desperate for copy as to buy the worst old dog you, or I, or anybody else, can throw at him." -Robert A. Heinlein

Keep writing and subbing folks!

Posted by: @undreamedages

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Posted by: @watt_writes

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but it's simply because others had better stories 

Plenty of people have said that they have published stories that received an HM or were even rejected here.

This is completely true. I forget who it was, but Dustin mentioned that another writer sold a largely or entirely unaltered HM from the Contest to Clarkesworld, which is one of the toughest and most well-respected spec fiction markets around--so it's clearly not just about the story's quality. It's also about a story being a good fit for WotF in particular.

I'd say that anyone getting HM or above is doing things right. Some may definitely need tightening up, or have room to improve them a little--but many of those stories could very well be publishable. They just need to find the right market.

It seems my submission was not the gem I thought it to be, as it was rejected. Time to rethink and revise.

@undreamedages brought a smile to my face with the RAH quote about unwary/desperate editors. The line seemed familiar, so I dusted off my old copy of the symposium Of Worlds Beyond and reread Heinlein's article "On the Writing of Speculative Fiction" and yes, there it was.

On a happy note, my son's very first entry in this competition earned him a Silver Honorable Mention.

Illustrator results for Q4 are in as well. I got another semi-finalist

@doctorjest even RWCs may be good if the reason they were rejected was that they weren't PG13, or something else unrelated to the quality of the story.

@emlouviere yes, that's the source of his famous five rules. His whole article is great as are the others in that volume

For the second quarter in a row I've received an HM! This makes me very happy because I wasn't that confident in the story. During revision I removed a short sentence that I thought wasn't appropriate for the WotF and it paid off. 

Last weekend I bought a frame for my first HM certificate, so now I'm going to have to go buy another one ? I wasn't expecting this so soon after the first lol 

R for me

@ericstallsworth Thanks! Appreciate the encouragement. It's fine. I'm actually not as disappointed as I've been with a couple of other outcomes, as I tried something a bit different, and a bit of a different age target for this audience (edging more middle grade). I was more just surprised, as I thought it was still a very good story, but a) I could well be wrong on that 😀 and b) I'll enter something different next time. Not that it will necessarily do better, but we'll see. Once I get enough mental energy to start writing it again, of course. I find it hard to keep writing right after a rejection. Which I suspect is probably normal...

Thanks again. 

Posted by: @adrian

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@ericstallsworth Thanks! Appreciate the encouragement. It's fine. I'm actually not as disappointed as I've been with a couple of other outcomes, as I tried something a bit different, and a bit of a different age target for this audience (edging more middle grade). I was more just surprised, as I thought it was still a very good story, but a) I could well be wrong on that 😀 and b) I'll enter something different next time. Not that it will necessarily do better, but we'll see. Once I get enough mental energy to start writing it again, of course. I find it hard to keep writing right after a rejection. Which I suspect is probably normal...

Thanks again. 

I'm pretty much in parallel with @adrian

I was okay with this rejection (in fact felt less bothered than I did about an SHM I was in love with lol) as I knew I was taking a risk. I figured Q4 was the time they would be looking for something 'different' so I wrote something very much out of my wheelhouse. It didn't work. At least for WOTF. But I am still proud of myself for stretching myself as a writer. The story forced me to read several craft books in a different area than I would normally focus and I produced something which was, in my eyes, better than I could have before in that form. So my Q4 piece probably helped me grow as a writer more than my SHMs in Q3 and Q2, and that's why I'm therefore okay with this. 

Posted by: @adrian

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I find it hard to keep writing right after a rejection.

Getting a rejection is part of a writer's life Adrian. You have a silver HM so you got close.

Get riled up, get those fingers moving, and write your winning story. That'll show'em.

@bethpowers Sorry to hear it! Keep on going though. You can absolutely do this!

@clfors Wow, conga-rats on that! Good job!

Congratulations and commiserations to all. It's mentioned above and I've said it before (and I will probably say it again!) but getting a rejection from WotF doesn't mean the story is bad, just like getting a rejection from any market doesn't mean the story is bad. It means one thing ONLY - that the story wasn't right for Writers of the Future. It might need work, or it might need another market. Regardless, submitting our soul chunks to be judged and discarded by other people is an act of courage.

If anyone wants eyes on a RWC that is under 8k, I am happy to take a look. Sorry to the longer stories, I just don't have time!

Posted by: @rschibler

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Congratulations and commiserations to all. It's mentioned above and I've said it before (and I will probably say it again!) but getting a rejection from WotF doesn't mean the story is bad, just like getting a rejection from any market doesn't mean the story is bad. It means one thing ONLY - that the story wasn't right for Writers of the Future.

Thanks for this! I have submitted my rejected story to Apex Magazine