Five Minute Rant

I have a rant as well incidentally. My semi-finalist has been rejected by nearly every pro market now, and I wouldn't mind, but after my early glowing personal "send me more" rejections from Asimov's and Lightspeed, in addition to the WotF semi, it's been form rejected everywhere! So what's with that? It's not so much that I expected to sell it , I just would have expected a few more personals...

I hear ya. We got semi in the same quarter, and I've had the same experience. My story got an acceptance right out of the box at Digital Science Fiction, which then went into hibernation before publishing my story. Since then, it has gotten form rejects galore. I have some hope for the market it's out to currently. We'll see ...

Very odd, and good luck.There's probably a few more places I can send mine. I'm up to 11 rejections now.

I have a rant as well incidentally. My semi-finalist has been rejected by nearly every pro market now, and I wouldn't mind, but after my early glowing personal "send me more" rejections from Asimov's and Lightspeed, in addition to the WotF semi, it's been form rejected everywhere! So what's with that? It's not so much that I expected to sell it , I just would have expected a few more personals...

Demonstrating yet again these core truths which we all know, but would like to somehow work around:

Every author is different.

Every story is different.

Every market is different.

Every issue of every market is different.

Every editor is different.

Every reader is different.

We can see trends and indicators and hopeful signs; but we'll never see anything that can lead to a firm conclusion.

There's probably a few more places I can send mine. I'm up to 11 rejections now.

Time to self pub it!

Not even having read it, I detect the hand of Evil Martin...

That might explain why it violates two of my writing rules. There are two ways the ending is NOT something I normally write. But maybe HE wrote it!

That's not entirely fair. The ending was the first thing I thought of. The rest of it was an exercise in "How do I reach that ending?" I tried once, over a decade ago, and failed. I built up way too much back story and dragged it out way too long. This time I chopped off everything but the last hour or so of the story, and it worked much better.

My son, who is an excellent fiction prof, just told me that the ending to my Q3 story would make a dynamite beginning. Problem is.... he's right.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the story doesn't stand on its own as well. Did he say anything there?

(Blushes ) Well... he didn't exactly read the rest. He said the 'premise' of the rest had been done a zillion times and thought I should start the story at the end. That it was unexpected and fresh. I'm currently trying to see this from different angles. It's one of those post-apocalyptic tales that can start either before, during, after, or after that. Darn... supper's done.

Update... have rejected the advice. After much squirming and puzzling, I've decided the story begins where it must. Without context, the ending as the beginning doesn't have the same punch. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself.

Hmmmm....I was promised that winning WOTF would lead to worldwide adulation and fame, as well as my own magazine (a la Brad's Bradalog). What are all these form rejections doing cluttering my inbox? Oh, and my 2010 finalist, which I love, is about to be trunked. Sigh.

And that's nothing compared to what's really making me angry at the moment; sometimes I wish I could solve the problems of the world.

That's a pretty mild-mannered rant, Nick. You're very reserved in your frustration. I respect that.

You do reinforce one of Dean's writing myths: there is no point where you've "made it". You have to keep making it, every single story and every single submission.

Hmmmm....I was promised that winning WOTF would lead to worldwide adulation and fame, as well as my own magazine (a la Brad's Bradalog). What are all these form rejections doing cluttering my inbox? Oh, and my 2010 finalist, which I love, is about to be trunked. Sigh.

And that's nothing compared to what's really making me angry at the moment; sometimes I wish I could solve the problems of the world.

May I emphatically suggest that you not trunk your finalist? If a story's good enough to have made finalist, then K.D. thought it was professional material--good prose, good story. She probably loved that story; you'd better honor her memory by publishing it as an ebook for Kindle and Nook and promoting it modestly through your author website than by simply stashing it away somewhere in a drawer to be forgotten. My two cents, anyway.

Hmmmm....I was promised that winning WOTF would lead to worldwide adulation and fame, as well as my own magazine (a la Brad's Bradalog). What are all these form rejections doing cluttering my inbox? Oh, and my 2010 finalist, which I love, is about to be trunked. Sigh.

And that's nothing compared to what's really making me angry at the moment; sometimes I wish I could solve the problems of the world.

May I emphatically suggest that you not trunk your finalist? If a story's good enough to have made finalist, then K.D. thought it was professional material--good prose, good story. She probably loved that story; you'd better honor her memory by publishing it as an ebook for Kindle and Nook and promoting it modestly through your author website than by simply stashing it away somewhere in a drawer to be forgotten. My two cents, anyway.

I agree with Alex.

Hmmmm....I was promised that winning WOTF would lead to worldwide adulation and fame, as well as my own magazine (a la Brad's Bradalog). What are all these form rejections doing cluttering my inbox? Oh, and my 2010 finalist, which I love, is about to be trunked. Sigh.

And that's nothing compared to what's really making me angry at the moment; sometimes I wish I could solve the problems of the world.

May I emphatically suggest that you not trunk your finalist? If a story's good enough to have made finalist, then K.D. thought it was professional material--good prose, good story. She probably loved that story; you'd better honor her memory by publishing it as an ebook for Kindle and Nook and promoting it modestly through your author website than by simply stashing it away somewhere in a drawer to be forgotten. My two cents, anyway.

Agreed. Your finalist is one of the most imaginative fantasies I've ever read. Even if you haven't found the right editor, there's a market for it out there.

Also kind of agree with Alex.

#

E(Extensively)TA:

Yeeesh, I just read that post and it's too rantly to allow to live.

Revision:

Illustrators--can't work with them, can sell without them. RANT RANT RANT

Okay, that's much better.

I have writing to do. A Q3 to revise and something about outlining a novel . . .

RANT RANT RANT! I still haven't heard back on my application to SFWA! They said 5 days! It's been weeks!

RANT RANT RANT! I still haven't heard back on my application to SFWA! They said 5 days! It's been weeks!

I haven't actually applied to SFWA yet, since it would cost the entire paycheck that I made on the story that qualifies me to be an Associate. How many weeks has it been?

Yep, I would call that rant-worthy. But he's young, he'll learn.

Rant:

Seriously - what is up with Tor.com? An average of more than 300 days per response? My 2011 HM is there languishing right now. I'm thinking seriously about withdrawing the story and going someplace else (I've submitted it a few other pro markets with good comments but no takers).

Any thoughts on withdrawing a story just for the sheer fact they move like pond water?

Rant:

Seriously - what is up with Tor.com? An average of more than 300 days per response? My 2011 HM is there languishing right now. I'm thinking seriously about withdrawing the story and going someplace else (I've submitted it a few other pro markets with good comments but no takers).

Any thoughts on withdrawing a story just for the sheer fact they move like pond water?

I'm of five minds on this...

1. It's just too long. I don't want any story to sit idle that long.

2. On the other hand, as I have advised others here recently, don't invest yourself into any one story. If the story is sitting there, who cares? Write another one!

3. On the gripping hand, writers I respect (and quote often around here) have said that long of a delay is simply unacceptable, and they won't put up with it. And Dean has recently advised that you should shop a short story around for about a year; and if it hasn't sold by then, self-pub it. Well, 8 to 9 months at one market chews up most of that year. He was suggesting you ought to be able to try four to five top paying markets in that year. After a year, he argues, waiting is costing you too much potential revenue.

4. On the other gripping hand (hey, this is a mutant, five-handed Motie), I have a story 237 days at Analog and counting. I really hope that length of time means it's in their "If we find a spot for it" pile. No way am I pulling that story! If I'm willing to let a story sit 8 months at Analog, it's hard to argue that 8 months is over some arbitrary limit for me.

5. On whatever hand is left: Tor.com would sure be a prestigious market to publish in! And their pay rate is outstanding!

So I can't figure out which way to go for myself; and so advising you is beyond me. But I would advise this much: if the story is already there, let it stay there. Write another one that's even better!

It's the last place I send things. Better than trunking, that's for sure. Worth trying before self pubbing too, I'd say. Let's see, five times the pay for three times the wait--the math works out in my mind.

That being said--only 75 days left before my form rejection (supposing I fall on the average). Le sigh.

It's the last place I send things. Better than trunking, that's for sure. Worth trying before self pubbing too, I'd say. Let's see, five times the pay for three times the wait--the math works out in my mind.

That being said--only 75 days left before my form rejection (supposing I fall on the average). Le sigh.

I'm thinking this is a great course of action. Leave it as the last place and then look at other options like self-publishing.

It also helps to keep in touch with the market. I skim around a lot of message boards, and the talk regarding Tor.com is that PNH was reading slush solo for a while in addition to his editing responsibilities. They've added slush readers to help him and a new submission email address so the time will eventually drop, but they have a huge back log.

Sometimes there is a reason for things.

On the subject of long submission responses, if the payout is worth it, I'll wait. I have other stories to work on anyway. I'm super anxious about my Q2 because I want to submit it sompelace specific. It's a gamble. 😉

Hmmmm....I was promised that winning WOTF would lead to worldwide adulation and fame, as well as my own magazine (a la Brad's Bradalog). What are all these form rejections doing cluttering my inbox? Oh, and my 2010 finalist, which I love, is about to be trunked. Sigh.

And that's nothing compared to what's really making me angry at the moment; sometimes I wish I could solve the problems of the world.

May I emphatically suggest that you not trunk your finalist? If a story's good enough to have made finalist, then K.D. thought it was professional material--good prose, good story. She probably loved that story; you'd better honor her memory by publishing it as an ebook for Kindle and Nook and promoting it modestly through your author website than by simply stashing it away somewhere in a drawer to be forgotten. My two cents, anyway.

I agree with Alex.

Me too, even though I haven't read it it has to be good to get that far as I understand it. Other readers will like it... just don't forget Smashwords too.

Yep, I would call that rant-worthy. But he's young, he'll learn.

Lemme guess, they move slow for processing applications?

Yep, I would call that rant-worthy. But he's young, he'll learn.

Lemme guess, they move slow for processing applications?

Actually, my response was to an earlier post that got heavily edited while I was responding. So now my post is something of an anomaly. But since we like anomalies here (Hi, Tim!), I left it up.

Yep, I would call that rant-worthy. But he's young, he'll learn.

Lemme guess, they move slow for processing applications?

Actually, my response was to an earlier post that got heavily edited while I was responding. So now my post is something of an anomaly. But since we like anomalies here (Hi, Tim!), I left it up.

Sorry. I decided that I was being too ridiculous. (ETA: This smilie has no double meaning.)

RANT! RANT! RANT!

Stupefying just rejected my fantasy story with two great characters. The problem? It was rejected back in April and slipped through the cracks and I just got the rejection notice when they were cleaning out their systems.

RANT! RANT! RANT!

Stupefying just rejected my fantasy story with two great characters. The problem? It was rejected back in April and slipped through the cracks and I just got the rejection notice when they were cleaning out their systems.

Ow! That's just not right! That deserves a TEN Minute Rant!

Then off to Duotrope, of course!

That was the next thing I did after I got the rejection.

At least they got back with me before 90 days was up (their standard query time). And I didn't have to query to find out it was lost.

218 day form rejections should not exist <img src="

That is all.

218 day form rejections should not exist <img src="

That is all.

I agree with that!

218 day form rejections should not exist <img src="

That is all.

I agree with that!

My too.

Of course I think I have waited that long only once or twice. But I have waited over the usual waiting period more than once. F&SF took two months once and maybe closer to three another time. First time I thought yea good news but nope just the usual rejection. Second time I wondered if someone was on vacation or if they misplaced my story and/or rejection slip for a while. That was when JJA was working there.

Stanley Schmidt took about twice as long once, on another forum I vented about How long does he need to read just a few paragraphs?

Well, I've slept on my Q1 rejection, and climbed out of bed to still see steam coming out of the Gator's nostrils. It looks like this is gonna be a 5 day rant, not a 5 minute one.

So....

Nice Elinor gets out her big roll of gator tape and carefully wraps it around gator jaws.

Hmph. Hmmmmmph!

There. Now just lie there quietly Gator dear, take some deep breaths and I'll put on some soothing cajun music for you.