Jibber Jabber - Q1 - 29

And the other one is served. Lol. But not ungratefully.

I love the double bind this competition puts me in. I want to know my results but getting them now would mean I didn't make the finals. I hope I do well even though this is my first quarter.

Any results yet? Rejections or HM's? I imagine that's all they've gotten to so far.

Any results yet? Rejections or HM's? I imagine that's all they've gotten to so far.

The forum here “The Contest - Quarterly Topics, and Other Items” has a subforum up top named “Quarterly Results” that currently lists one rejection so far from forum members.

Duotrope lists these so far:

1. 121-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1. (outlier)
2. 130-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
3. 134-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
4. 142-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
5. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
6. 118-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
7. 120-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
8. 127-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
9. 129-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29. (outlier)
10. 129-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 28.
11. 131-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 26. (outlier)
12. 58-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
13. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
14. 124-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
15. 240-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.[/list:u:1b6m2pwp]


 

Hmm...flood gates should be opening any day now, right? Eek! *gets back to working on other stories to keep mind distracted during this current calm*

Any results yet? Rejections or HM's? I imagine that's all they've gotten to so far.

The forum here “The Contest - Quarterly Topics, and Other Items” has a subforum up top named “Quarterly Results” that currently lists one rejection so far from forum members.

Duotrope lists these so far:

1. 121-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1. (outlier)
2. 130-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
3. 134-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
4. 142-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
5. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
6. 118-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
7. 120-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
8. 127-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
9. 129-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29. (outlier)
10. 129-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 28.
11. 131-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 26. (outlier)
12. 58-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
13. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
14. 124-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
15. 240-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.[/list:u:15kf9xpb]

Do people track their WOTF results using Duotrope?

Do people track their WOTF results using Duotrope?

The only real question is how many do. Some people clearly do.

I don't know how I'd cope any more without Duotrope. I once planned and spec'ed building a similar tool for my own use. It wasn't as functional (though it did have a Submissions Calendar that I wish they would add). I did enough of a design to come up with a realistic estimate. It was 500 to 2,000 hours of my "spare" time, plus data entry.

Then I found Duotrope, and I've never looked back.

Do people track their WOTF results using Duotrope?

Last I checked there were something like 128 pending WOTF submissions listed on Duotrope (if you are logged in when you look at the market details, you'll see lots of juicy details), though admittedly some of those may be from last quarter, and some from next quarter, so the number for a given quarter is probably smaller. And I suppose someone might list a submission and then get bored of Duotrope (or writing) and never come back to update it with their results, so the numbers could be misleading that way too. Really, though, I can't imagine who would take the time to list a sub. and then not follow through on it. Closure anyone?

Do people track their WOTF results using Duotrope?

Last I checked there were something like 128 pending WOTF submissions listed on Duotrope (if you are logged in when you look at the market details, you'll see lots of juicy details), though admittedly some of those may be from last quarter, and some from next quarter, so the number for a given quarter is probably smaller. And I suppose someone might list a submission and then get bored of Duotrope (or writing) and never come back to update it with their results, so the numbers could be misleading that way too. Really, though, I can't imagine who would take the time to list a sub. and then not follow through on it. Closure anyone?

Some people don't like to click the "form rejection" button, and just pretend it's not there instead.

Well I'm just curious to see where we are in the process for this quarter. So far I'm good; of course that ol' email could be waiting for me at home, that old familiar friend of either rejection or HM.

Well I'm just curious to see where we are in the process for this quarter. So far I'm good; of course that ol' email could be waiting for me at home, that old familiar friend of either rejection or HM.

Corbin,

I ran a quick-and-dirty analysis based on WOTF and Duotrope data about two days ago. Since then a few more people started tracking their results on Duotrope and there was a 14th rejection added. The bottom line is that I project only about 12% of 1Q29 rejections have been sent out. You can follow my logic here:

http://reflectionsofarationalrepublican ... st-update/

While I run a political blog, I promise there is nothing political in the post I've linked to here.

I hope this helps.

Well I'm just curious to see where we are in the process for this quarter. So far I'm good; of course that ol' email could be waiting for me at home, that old familiar friend of either rejection or HM.

Corbin,

I ran a quick-and-dirty analysis based on WOTF and Duotrope data about two days ago. Since then a few more people started tracking their results on Duotrope and there was a 14th rejection added. The bottom line is that I project only about 12% of 1Q29 rejections have been sent out. You can follow my logic here:

http://reflectionsofarationalrepublican ... st-update/

While I run a political blog, I promise there is nothing political in the post I've linked to here.

I hope this helps.

I just reran the numbers based on the 15 rejections currently on Duotrope (The original analysis only included 13 and had slightly fewer pending responses). I now estimate 13% of the rejections have gone out, assuming the crew at Duotrope is fairly representative of the broader WOTF contestant population.

I just reran the numbers based on the 15 rejections currently on Duotrope (The original analysis only included 13 and had slightly fewer pending responses). I now estimate 13% of the rejections have gone out, assuming the crew at Duotrope is fairly representative of the broader WOTF contestant population.

I'm not sure I follow the "fewer pending responses." We can't tell, as far as I can see, how many of those pending responses on Duotrope are for Q1 or Q2... Am I missing something?

I just reran the numbers based on the 15 rejections currently on Duotrope (The original analysis only included 13 and had slightly fewer pending responses). I now estimate 13% of the rejections have gone out, assuming the crew at Duotrope is fairly representative of the broader WOTF contestant population.

I'm not sure I follow the "fewer pending responses." We can't tell, as far as I can see, how many of those pending responses on Duotrope are for Q1 or Q2... Am I missing something?

Nope. That's a completely fair characterization. The analysis assumes that all of the pending responses are for 1Q29. A better way to put it is that the worst case is that only 12% (I mistyped 13% in my last post) of rejections have been sent out. If 75% of the pending responses were for 1Q29, that number would increase to 15%. At 50%, it would be 23%.

Nope. That's a completely fair characterization. The analysis assumes that all of the pending responses are for 1Q29. A better way to put it is that the worst case is that only 12% (I mistyped 13% in my last post) of rejections have been sent out. If 75% of the pending responses were for 1Q29, that number would increase to 15%. At 50%, it would be 23%.

That'll be hard to estimate. I, for example, have already listed my Q2. And I didn't unlist my Q4 until I received my Semi-Finalist critique. If the timing had been different, I might've had Duotrope entries for three different quarters at the same time. And I'll bet two at a time is pretty common.

Nope. That's a completely fair characterization. The analysis assumes that all of the pending responses are for 1Q29. A better way to put it is that the worst case is that only 12% (I mistyped 13% in my last post) of rejections have been sent out. If 75% of the pending responses were for 1Q29, that number would increase to 15%. At 50%, it would be 23%.

That'll be hard to estimate. I, for example, have already listed my Q2. And I didn't unlist my Q4 until I received my Semi-Finalist critique. If the timing had been different, I might've had Duotrope entries for three different quarters at the same time. And I'll bet two at a time is pretty common.

The good news is that you can look at the number of max days pending status for all the submissions and subtract it from the current date. If the date at which you arrive is later than 9/30/2011, then you know all the submissions are 1Q29. Since the max days pending is 148, that puts the longest waiting submission at 10/10/2011 - safely in 1Q29 or 2Q29. Now figuring out which rejections fit into what pile definitely has the problem you are talking about, but we're only talking about 2-3 other entries.

A better analysis would be to do a two-by-two matrix taking into account the range of rejections (say 15 to 18) and a percentage of the total number of submission in 1Q29 (say 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%). Then you can get a range within a reasonable order of magnitude.

BTW, as I say all this, five more rejections just hit Duotrope. Here is a running tally:

1. 94-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 7.
2. 99-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 7.
3. 100-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 7.
4. 97-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 6.
5. 106-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 6.
6. 121-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1. (outlier)
7. 130-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
8. 134-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
9. 142-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
10. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
11. 111-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
12. 118-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
13. 120-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
14. 127-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
15. 129-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29. (outlier)
16. 129-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 28.
17. 131-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 26. (outlier)
18. 58-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
19. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
20. 124-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
21. 240-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 22.
22. 142-day personal rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 15.
23. 442-day personal rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 5. (outlier)

All I have to say is this...

"Never tell me the odds."

Even though I'm the 94 Day Form Rejection at the top of the list...

Seems that the rejections are going out in order of submissions received (as none of them are 60~ day rejections), which makes sense.

Also means I can't infer anything from a lack of email until the very end of rejection mailings.

How long is the period usually? Over a few days or a few weeks?

My rejection was in this first flush. I still think my story was a good one, but maybe the topic isn't right for the contest. Anyway, it's already headed to some other slush pile 😉 Good luck to the rest of you!

Aaagh. Less analysis, more writing! Best to just forget about it and write until you get the phone call. (Trust me, I'm antsy as can be. Being a non-published finalist just makes you think that every single quarter is a victory waiting to explode.)

And as someone who went from finalist to flat reject in two quarters, all the rejection notices make me nervous. T_T

Condolences to those who've gotten rejections thus far!

If last quarter is any judge, she'll read all the e-submissions before the mailed, so Luddites like myself probably have a while to wait yet.

Ditto on the condolences. More to come, of course, but that's the way the game goes. I'll likely be posting an R on the results thread before long, too. But the important thing is I'm really happy about the story I'm finishing up now--always looking forward!

Aaagh. Less analysis, more writing! Best to just forget about it and write until you get the phone call. (Trust me, I'm antsy as can be. Being a non-published finalist just makes you think that every single quarter is a victory waiting to explode.)

And as someone who went from finalist to flat reject in two quarters, all the rejection notices make me nervous. T_T

Excellent advice and observations!

Seems that the rejections are going out in order of submissions received (as none of them are 60~ day rejections), which makes sense.

Also means I can't infer anything from a lack of email until the very end of rejection mailings.

How long is the period usually? Over a few days or a few weeks?

It depends on the quarter. Last quarter, there were several separate chunks of R/HM mailings spread out over the course of a few weeks, and then a long silence before the semi-finalists and finalists were announced.

I'm not sure the rejections are going out entirely in order of submissions received. The duotrope listing does generally conform to that trend, but there were a few ~120-day form rejections on the 29th of February.

Anyway, as Martin's fond of saying:
<img src=" <img src=" <img src=" <img src=" <img src="

Oops, that's not right. Let me try that again.

As Martin's fond of saying, WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE!

(Edit: I think I'm entirely wrong in interpreting that smiley as a little dude with his fist in the air and a determined expression on his face. It's probably just supposed to be "I have a question." Well, whatever. :p )

(Edit: I think I'm entirely wrong in interpreting that smiley as a little dude with his fist in the air and a determined expression on his face. It's probably just supposed to be "I have a question." Well, whatever. :p )

Well, his name is "fistinair" (mouse-hover on him). And for what it's worth (which, granted, no es mucho), I've always interpreted him that way, too.

(Edit: I think I'm entirely wrong in interpreting that smiley as a little dude with his fist in the air and a determined expression on his face. It's probably just supposed to be "I have a question." Well, whatever. :p )

Well, his name is "fistinair" (mouse-hover on him). And for what it's worth (which, granted, no es mucho), I've always interpreted him that way, too.

Good enough for me.

1. 121-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1. (outlier)
2. 130-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
3. 134-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
4. 142-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on March 1.
5. 76-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
6. 118-day rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
7. 120-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
8. 127-day form rejection from Writers of the Future Contest on February 29.
[/list:u:264szieg]

What I can't figure on the Duotrope listings is how on earth they are calculating outliers. 121 days is an outlier, but 142 days isn't? I feel like I'm missing something.

What I can't figure on the Duotrope listings is how on earth they are calculating outliers. 121 days is an outlier, but 142 days isn't? I feel like I'm missing something.

Their explanation of outliers in the FAQ seems to imply that the algorithm they use can determine that a particular response is an outlier for a lot of complex reasons (they aren't terribly specific). It could be almost anything, I suppose. They ask for story length, genre, etc. when you initially post a sub, so it is possible that things as picayune as that could have an effect on the determination of something as an outlier. I don't understand much beyond basic algebra so I don't ask too many detailed questions, but the gist of the response to the FAQ on outliers was this: it is complicated, and it isn't a big deal, fuggedaboutit.

What I can't figure on the Duotrope listings is how on earth they are calculating outliers. 121 days is an outlier, but 142 days isn't? I feel like I'm missing something.

Their explanation of outliers in the FAQ seems to imply that the algorithm they use can determine that a particular response is an outlier for a lot of complex reasons (they aren't terribly specific). It could be almost anything, I suppose. They ask for story length, genre, etc. when you initially post a sub, so it is possible that things as picayune as that could have an effect on the determination of something as an outlier. I don't understand much beyond basic algebra so I don't ask too many detailed questions, but the gist of the response to the FAQ on outliers was this: it is complicated, and it isn't a big deal, fuggedaboutit.

Works for me!

(Trust me, I'm antsy as can be. Being a non-published finalist just makes you think that every single quarter is a victory waiting to explode.)

Me too!

However, I will say that if/when I get a rejection, I'd much prefer it not be Q1 because this is my first entry after my finalist. An R would hurt whenever, but it would hurt most this time.

"Hey, you're great!"

"Not."