Five Minute Rant

This is not a rant, but me being amused. My expected form-rejection for Tor.com (60 days, for those counting), has the following at the bottom:

Best,
Tor.com Submissions Staff

(BS)

Now, I'm ASSUMING those are initials of the person who sent the letter. But, all in all it looks like something else...

When I get my form rejection, maybe it'll be signed (GS).

This is not a rant, but me being amused. My expected form-rejection for Tor.com (60 days, for those counting), has the following at the bottom:

Best,
Tor.com Submissions Staff

(BS)

Now, I'm ASSUMING those are initials of the person who sent the letter. But, all in all it looks like something else...

When I get my form rejection, maybe it'll be signed (GS).

Keep us informed!

Guess this is a good place for this, someone somewhere hereabout discussed mistakes editors make when sending a rejection; as in one case sending two.

Anyway from BCS here "The central conceit was amusing" .

At least what I think Kate Marshal meant and the rest of it was somewhat more positive than what they usually say about my stories.

But " but the tale didn't have enough substance in the opening"

I have an idea of what Kate meant there but I'm not sure so I'm not sure of the fix.

Or for that matter if it is just her and I shouldn't try to fix it.

Just came back to say I have one more story I can send them. May be too simple for them but I'll try anyway. Maybe two stories when the other one comes back from IGMS.

And I sent another story to Daily, decided that one story's rejection must have been sent after all. Either they didn't get my change of E-mail or it was too late. Either way deserves a mini rant though.

Been taking up too much of the posts here lately, I was going to skip this today but decided I needed to rant at myself again...deals with writing anyway.

I, myself, me just can't get past that plateau I've been on for the last four years. Stuck half way up that mountain--again I thought I was making headway and again haven't moved. So self get with it!! Find your voice again or whatever is needed. Growl.

Thought I had another story to send to F&SF this weekend but it is longer and needs more work than I remembered. Of course it needs work--lots of it but that's work I can do on it. Give Scott a longer break which he might appreciate even though he probably doesn't read my whole story anyway.

Thought about sending that story Scott rejected cleanly but can't figure out where to send a just under 10,000 word story. I just sent one to IGMS.

10k words is hard. Have you run it by Baen's Bar yet?

This isn't about rejection from an editor or publisher, but I need a small rant anyway.
So this past Sunday I hosted a feedback luncheon for my latest attempt at writing a novel. What I do it hand out the book to half a dozen or so beta readers, get written feedback from them, and then pay them off with a dinner or lunch where they do a book club style discussion of the work.
Because of the lack of a job I had to cut back on expenses this time and instead of taking them out I had them come to my home and we made do with a platter from Subway. (That actually worked out very well and may become standard.)
What I look for in these session is fault that have a broad sense of agreement from the readers and sadly there was a big one this time.
Everyone agreed that the first two acts of the book - yeah this one is built around a three act structure - felt like one story with a resolution, and the third act felt like a separate story with its own resolution. What burns by ego is that when I outlined this novel I had the exact same sense and I though I could craft some emotional conflicts that would tie the two sections together and I failed utterly in that. No one sensed that arc at all.
In general they liked the characters, they liked the universe, and expressed a desire to read the piece once it has been written as two novels. (It was incredibly flattering to have the antagonist of the third act compared to Khan from Star Trek.)
I should have listened to my instinct on the plotting. I feel quiet dim.

I'm going to honor the tradition that one does not argue with a rant. But if one were to argue with a rant, one might observe that it sounds like an author wrote two good stories and attempted the audacity of trying to tie them together; and one admires audacious and ambitious failures and near misses over timid successes.

10k words is hard.

Pro-payment/10K/Fantasy by fastest response time:

Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)
Grantville Gazette: Universe Annex
Daily Science Fiction
Buzzy Mag
Beneath Ceaseless Skies (Literary)
Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show
Writers of the Future Contest
Tor.com (Average RT down to 2.5 to 3 months, but old entries drag it down to list here)
Cicada (Children's Mag)

Pro-payment/10K/Science Fiction by fastest response time:

Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF)
Arc (No idea what this is)
Grantville Gazette: Universe Annex
Daily Science Fiction
Buzzy Mag
Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show
Asimov's Science Fiction (if Soft) or Analog Science Fiction & Fact (if Hard)
Writers of the Future Contest
Tor.com (Average RT down to 2.5 to 3 months!)
Cicada (Children's Mag)
Grantville Gazette
Strange Bedfellows (No idea what this is)

So depending on factors, 6-10 more markets to try. Grinder

Arc (No idea what this is)

This one popped up on my radar the other day. What it is, and pardon my Klingon here, is fucking amazing.

It's a new magazine run by New Scientist, and pays goink-loads (also known asa flat fee of 1500 motherfucking POUNDS, or nearly $2400 in what passes for money here in the US). Look at their author page. China Miéville, Nancy Kress, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Baxter, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Neal Stephenson, to name a few.

Not bad for a market that's only been around for 4 issues.

Yes.

FOUR ISSUES.

(Ahem. Sorry. I got a bit excited.)

Anyway, I guess my point is that all of us should become very much acquainted with it, and make it our new holy grail.

Oh yeah! Arc! I've been meaning to submit something to them but haven't had a story available yet. I adore their submission guidelines!

10k words is hard.

Pro-payment/10K/Fantasy by fastest response time:

So depending on factors, 6-10 more markets to try. Grinder

Thanks, Actually I was going to double check one market I thought might like it but since it's not on the list probably doesn't take stories that long.

It's a fusion of UF, horror and relationships(Romance maybe??) But even though it sounds like something David might appreciate it probably has a higher rating for strong suggested sexual hijinks than he likes for WotF. The scene isn't all that graphic--I tried to imply as much as possible--but you do get the idea. And by hijinks I mean it's more of a prank.

I had forgotten that Daily takes stories up to 10,000 words.

And Cicada does too? It's not for them but still I didn't know that.

ARC I have seen but knew nothing about.

I won't go into each magazine there but I will check out a couple of them.

Checked out ARC.

Interesting. I may have up to six newer stories that I could try. Anyone seen a copy of their Quarterly publication? I may have to buy one at B&N but I was wondering how they feel about flash. If they buy flash that would up my tries to eight.

A couple older stories too but if the new ones don't work the old ones won't.

I wonder how their rejections look.

Of course they set their bar very high....anyone know of a market that doesn't? Well. The Annex maybe--they help you get that high, but that's would be the only one.

Well, I can find out if they just have one phrase for their rejections.

I see you're talking, but all I hear is:

. . . pays . . . nearly $2400 . . . China Miéville, Nancy Kress, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Baxter, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Neal Stephenson . . . And therefore not Strycher.

Checked out ARC.

Interesting. I may have up to six newer stories that I could try. Anyone seen a copy of their Quarterly publication? I may have to buy one at B&N but I was wondering how they feel about flash. If they buy flash that would up my tries to eight.

If you look at their submission guidelines in the link I provided, the lower limit is 5,000 words.

I see you're talking, but all I hear is:

. . . pays . . . nearly $2400 . . . China Miéville, Nancy Kress, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Baxter, Frederik Pohl, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Neal Stephenson . . . And therefore not Strycher.

Tish, tish. It costs nothing to play! (Or, in this case, to submit.)

Tish, tish. It costs nothing to play! (Or, in this case, to submit.)

That's true, let's look at these guidelines . . .

5 Minutes later:

My currently circulating stories break down like this:

29% Superhero Stories (Should have another one of these circulating by the weekend)
29% Fantasy
42% Science Fiction (of which 100% is Flash length)

If/when I produce something Science Fiction that's over 5K (all the way up to 40K according to Grinder! Squee!), I'll be sure to send it their way. With an average RT of less than 16 days and a payout of $2,370 it'd be pretty stupid not to.

Aye, the 5k limit does in a few of mine, too.

Still, I think this is definitely my new target market outside of the contest. SF + lengthy = banzai!

Aye, the 5k limit does in a few of mine, too.

Still, I think this is definitely my new target market outside of the contest. SF + lengthy = banzai!

It's true. And they both have really high standards, so I suspect a lot of cross-pollination would be appropriate.

I did check out the their web site but I read too fast, I thought it said under 5,000 words. Of course that is what I expected it to say so that may have helped my blunder.

That is going to cut what stories I can send them way down like from zero to four at the most. Probably closer to one or two.

Aye, the 5k limit does in a few of mine, too.

Still, I think this is definitely my new target market outside of the contest. SF + lengthy = banzai!

It's true. And they both have really high standards, so I suspect a lot of cross-pollination would be appropriate.

Could be a nice place to send Semi-s and finalists that don't make it.

Doubt my full rejections and HMs will go far though.

Two Weeks!!!!???

Sara Ellis over at IGMS probably knows my writing by now and what to expect.

That was one of my better, as in writing, newer stories too.

But it's still my writing so that isn't saying much.

Another rejection from Daily Science Fiction. I made one sale there almost exactly a year ago, and it's been nothing but rejections since then. It's very frustrating to get a taste of pro and then not be able to repeat. Of course I'll keep trying, but ... sigh.

Another rejection from Daily Science Fiction. I made one sale there almost exactly a year ago, and it's been nothing but rejections since then. It's very frustrating to get a taste of pro and then not be able to repeat. Of course I'll keep trying, but ... sigh.

According to DWS beginning writers usually have no idea why the first few stories sell. They try to do what they did the first couple of times and nothing. Eventually they get the idea, some take longer than others.

Which isn't a comment about you Jennifer, you will probably be one of those who figure it out sooner.

Notice I said a few-and I mean the far end of few-stories not a couple of stories. That seems to fit what I have observed and heard of in most writers. Of course there seems to be a couple of exceptions here but as I said it seems to fit most writers.

Form rejection from IGMS.

RANT! RANT! RANT! RANT! RANT!

Oh, well, off to Duotrope...

So Analog is still looking my story over but Asimov's has finally rejected the one I sent to them.

BUT I can't send a new story to Asimov's. They still have my old E-mail address which isn't and I can't figure out how to change it. I looked and looked. So I sent an E-mail requesting aid.

But I did send one to Arc. Not far past 5,000 but it is over. Thought about another one instead of the one I sent but it might be not quite what they want but than again so might be the one I sent. They will decide. It is a people story.

And I sent in seven other stories. The long one I referenced in an earlier note to IGMS, since it took them only two weeks to reject the pervious story, I was able to send it to them. I will see if it only takes two weeks again.

But (yeah, another one) Be nice to get into Galaxy's Edge ---WotF Finalists are taking it over evidently.

But since I can't even get to the HM level with David that's a dream.

But since I can't even get to the HM level with David that's a dream.

But I bet you haven't yet written the one about the subterranean gnomes who live half way up a cliff in the Rhine Gorge? Your dream did all right for me, remember!

But I bet you haven't yet written the one about the subterranean gnomes who live half way up a cliff in the Rhine Gorge? Your dream did all right for me, remember!

If you mean this literally, I never had a dream about "subterranean gnomes who live half way up a cliff in the Rhine Gorge". Even though if I knew more about the Rhine Gorge, I could write a story about them, I seem to be into gnomes these days...could be fun.

Nor did I have a dream about you. (No, no comment about it being a nightmare). That goes for everyone here, I may have had a dream about one person here but just one.

Now if you're talking about me being stuck half way up a mountain, we have had that conversation here before.

No, I was talking about the 194 words all on one page in AE Micro! Pretty accurate, no?

No, I was talking about the 194 words all on one page in AE Micro! Pretty accurate, no?

I'm sorry my memory or my ability to grasp things must be totally shot today--at least 99 degrees today at work, no air conditioning, not too mention no dinner yet.

I recall a dream where I saw the stories but I didn't see what they were about. Nothing about underground gnomes. Someone else had a dream also, was that you?

I did however receive a rejection from DailySF.

Talk about confused. I thought Oh boy they were very fast I just sent the story in Saturday. Everyone seems to be speeding up with my stories.

But wait come to think of it the title wasn't right. After wondering if I sent the wrong story to them and checking my cover letters and files I came to the conclusion I did send in a story back at the end of April but didn't mark it down.

Oops. Talk about my memory playing tricks again.

I would like to rant at myself for a moment: STOP CHECKING DUOTROPE/SUBMISSION GRINDER! And I don't care how tired you are, WRITE WORDS!

I feel better now.