On submission obsession

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Ok. I've got a story that's been hanging out at a magazine past the average response time. I assume, then, that a response should come any day and I'm obsessing!!! I check my email waaaay to much, and oddly, when I see that no response has arrived I feel relieved even though I'm obviously dying for one.

I know this is due to my needing a response so I can move one while also fearing rejection. I also know that rejection is inevitable in this particular market (I aimed unrealistically high). So why am I obsessing about a foregone conclusion?

Anyone else have this problem?

Lillie · Jul 27, 2011

I think we all do.

Are you tracking your subs on Duotrope?
Because that's another thing you can check a dozen times a day.
You can see if anyone else has had a response, what they got, when they got it, how long it took. *Sigh*

I have my email open on another tab so I can see straight away if a response comes in. But I still go there and refresh the page, just in case.

Anyway, hope for the best, plan for the worst, and good luck with your subs.

And yeah! Aim high, why not? You might hit it!

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Oh yes I've found Duotrope. Oh yes indeedy!

*sigh*, as you say.

I read your signature line, Lillie... 21-minute rejection! You must be very proud!

Perhaps a blessing in disguise?

What eventually happened with that story?

Lillie · Jul 27, 2011

Lol, well it was written for the Sword and Sorceress anthology and although they were quick for everyone, mine must have hit the inbox at just the right moment. I was fairly gobsmacked it came back so quick, but it was rather funny.
It went to fantasy after that and came back later that day.
So sent and rejected twice in a day.

It's been rejected twice more since then, though it did spend 43 days at BCS before they said no. So maybe they considered it.

And now it's at it's fifth place.
Maybe this time it will be lucky.

Buffysquirrel · Jul 27, 2011

Have you thought about giving it a trip to SYW? Then you can reload AW several times a minute too!

zanzjan · Jul 27, 2011

squeaky pram said:
Anyone else have this problem?

Lillie said:
I think we all do.

Agree with Lillie here (-:

I think, at least for me, that up until I get in the ballpark of the average response time, I can sort of "tune out" that submission and not pay attention to it. Once it's significantly past that window, each day that ticks by sort of ups the emotional ante and my brain gets trapped in a "Are they holding it because they're considering it? Have they lost it? What if they never actually got it?" loop. And when I get past the longest listed response time it makes me really twitchy.

I have my email open all the time anyway because I've had email since 1982 and I live and die by it, but I still don't let myself check on a story more than once a day or I'd get nothing else done. It's an effort of will, at the best of times.

Anyway, you're not alone. (-:

-Suzanne

Alchemenos Prausti · Jul 27, 2011

Squeaky,

I came up with a system. Whenever the magazine's quoted time frame has passed, I wait another month, then follow up with an inquiry. If my inquiry receives no response within a week, I consider it a rejection and move on. I've never come across a case in which I didn't receive a response to the follow-up within a week, but did later receive a response to either the inquiry or the sub. In all cases in which I eventually got a response, it came within a week of the follow-up. You may find that they're undergoing personnel changes, or the submission did get lost. But the best way I've found to deal with it is to have enough submissions of different pieces out that the relative importance of any one of them doesn't have the power to make you obsess.

zanzjan · Jul 27, 2011

Many markets will also post guidelines for when it's appropriate to query, and where possible, it's a good idea to follow them.

In general, if a place has had a piece for a ridiculously long time and hasn't responded to a query, before I send the piece on to somewhere else I do send a withdrawal letter. It may or may not matter to them, but at least I know I did the professional thing.

-Suzanne

Jamesaritchie · Jul 27, 2011

The trick is to stay so busy writing and submitting new stories that you don't have time to even think about the ones already out there.

Spend time worrying about things you can control, such as how many stories you write and submit. Worrying about things you can't control, such as a story already out of your hands, and it can stop everything else you should be doing.

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Lillie said:
And now it's at it's fifth place.
Maybe this time it will be lucky.

The "Little Story that Could": A heartwarming tale of determination and triumph!" Fingers crossed!

Buffysquirrel said:
Have you thought about giving it a trip to SYW? Then you can reload AW several times a minute too!

Now that's just an evil suggestion!

Fortunately, I haven't reached 50 posts yet so I'm safe!

zanzjan said:
Once it's significantly past that window, each day that ticks by sort of ups the emotional ante and my brain gets trapped in a "Are they holding it because they're considering it? Have they lost it? What if they never actually got it?" loop.

Yes! Yes! That's exactly it!!

Alchemenos Prausti said:
But the best way I've found to deal with it is to have enough submissions of different pieces out that the relative importance of any one of them doesn't have the power to make you obsess.

That's my goal, Prausti, but, alas, I've only two subs at present. I've only recently started writing again after a long break (14 years), and haven't built up my head of steam yet. I know that many submissions at once would feel *much* better.

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
Worrying about things you can't control, such as a story already out of your hands, and it can stop everything else you should be doing.

Yup. And that's the danger, as illustrated by the fact that I'm posting here instead of working on my WIP. :Shrug:

Phaeal · Jul 27, 2011

The only short story obsession I allow myself is this one:

When a story comes back, it goes out again the same day.

I don't bother checking on stories until they've been out twice the stated response rate. Except for mags that state in the guidelines that I SHOULD (not MAY, SHOULD) check after a certain length of time. And the mag that's most adamant about following up has never been late yet.

I check my business email twice a weekday. Most weekends, I don't check it at all. As JAR says, no use worrying about a process that's left your hands.

Project Deadlight · Jul 27, 2011

Hey, I am new to all this and having only started submitting two months ago, I am totally in the same situation. Duotrope checking, email obsession... It's fun! Am sure as time goes on I will get hardened to the process but right now I have 4 stories out there that have gone beyond the average wait time so I am edgy as hell.

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Project Deadlight said:
Am sure as time goes on I will get hardened to the process ...

In some ways yes, in some ways no. I've just returned to writing, so I think I'm experiencing a bit of the beginner's jitters again, even though I've been through the process before. In the past I learned to be a bit more sanguine about the whole thing, but now I'm kind of starting over. Weird to be going through this again!

On the other hand, I think I'll never become completely hardened (who knows? maybe I'll surprise myself!). We invest so much in this. It's only natural I suppose. I think the goal is to get better at ignoring it.

Good luck with your subs! That's great that you already have four stories circulating.

squeaky pram · Jul 27, 2011

Phaeal said:
The only short story obsession I allow myself is this one:

When a story comes back, it goes out again the same day.

I admire your self-control.

I've strayed into bad waters. I know the only answer is to write... make *that* the obsession. Let the publishing world take care of their business and I'll take care of mine. I don't know why I'm feeling so weak at the moment.

Phaeal · Jul 28, 2011

The trick is that you can FEEL however you like. However, you DO according to your plan. There've been days when I've sent a story out again in full angst-mode, but the story still got in the mail. When I was querying agents, I sometimes sat down to the weekly mail-out moaning about the futility of it all. But the queries went out.

That's the great thing about writing. Unlike actors or musicians or other performers, we get to do our work out of sight of the public. So unless you drip blood, sweat or tears on your MSS, the recipients will never know whether you were a nervous wreck or cuke-cool when you sent it.

Project Deadlight · Jul 28, 2011

Squeaky pram - today I am depressed because a mag that have been considering a story of mine for 30 days have accepted one (according to duotrope) in 17 days! My optimism about being considered has now been replaced with a conviction that they have simply forgotten about me!

Mutive · Jul 28, 2011

Project Deadlight said:
Squeaky pram - today I am depressed because a mag that have been considering a story of mine for 30 days have accepted one (according to duotrope) in 17 days! My optimism about being considered has now been replaced with a conviction that they have simply forgotten about me!

It is possible.

As is backlogs. I suspect that there's a fair amount of variation in magazine's response times based on how many submissions they get, how otherwise busy they are, etc.

squeaky pram · Jul 28, 2011

Project Deadlight said:
Squeaky pram - today I am depressed because a mag that have been considering a story of mine for 30 days have accepted one (according to duotrope) in 17 days! My optimism about being considered has now been replaced with a conviction that they have simply forgotten about me!

The second guessing can kill you, can't it? I'm doing it, too. Calculating based on other duotrope responses. Very silly of us!

I think the worst fear for me, too, is that the ms is lost and I'll just keep waiting and waiting and waiting. Every so often you see a person on D-trope who's received a form rejection after 512 days, or some such. I cant imagine waiting that long! Does your mag state a time after which you may query about submissions? If it does, hang on and when the time comes, if you haven't heard anything, you could always check in.

Try to keep your chin up, Deadlight. I don't hear any fat ladies singing yet!

Phaeal · Jul 28, 2011

Project Deadlight said:
Squeaky pram - today I am depressed because a mag that have been considering a story of mine for 30 days have accepted one (according to duotrope) in 17 days! My optimism about being considered has now been replaced with a conviction that they have simply forgotten about me!

I recommend paying no attention to the Duotrope numbers. The only number that matters to you is the mag's standard response time, if it gives one. Two weeks after that standard response time, you may query about your sub -- the extra time is a polite acknowledgement of how overwhelmed many mags get. I know only one mag that says "Query after 70 days. Don't delay." (That's a mag that's never late with its replies, in my experience.

)

If the mag gives no standard response time, wait three months after you sub before querying. A month is nothing unless you've subbed to a notoriously quick responder. In my field, for example, that's Clarkesworld (a few hours to a few days) or The Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction (a week or less.)

My oldest sub at the moment has gone over ten months -- the mag says it's just getting to stories sent back in September, 2010. This is a major pro market.

Mark the date you should follow-up on each story. Then let 'em go and forget 'em. You need your energy to write new stuff.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 28, 2011

squeaky pram said:
Every so often you see a person on D-trope who's received a form rejection after 512 days, or some such. I cant imagine waiting that long! !

I've waited almost twice this long, and received a very, very good sale because I waited. I've always believed there is no such thing as waiting. If you write and submit enough, a two year "wait" is no worse than a two week wait.

The general rule is to inquire after twice the stated reporting time has passed. Reporting time is nothing but an average, and it really can take much, much longer to accept or reject a story. Inquiring is fine, but there's just no point in worrying about it beyond an inquiry after double the reported response time.

Write and submit, write and submit, write and submit, and it doesn't take very long before you;re hearing back from one story or another every week.

blacbird · Jul 28, 2011

I no longer give a shit. Having submitted stuff for many years, and never ever ever ever ever received an acceptance, I simply assume rejection.

I've yet to be wrong.

caw

D_Cooper_Ho · Jul 29, 2011

Publishing Question....

I am very new to this whole thing. I have one short story that has been accepted by two online publications. The first one says the rights revert back to me as soon a it appears on their website even though it could still appear in the semiannual pdf version. After I received this notification (YAY!) I received acceptance from an online anthology. I informed them of my previous acceptance and asked if this would exclude me from theirs. They said that it would not since they would be publishing AFTER my publication in the first.

Does this make sense? Am I breaking some kind of rule by accepting both?

Thanks,

D. Cooper Ho

squeaky pram · Jul 29, 2011

D_Cooper_Ho said:
I am very new to this whole thing. I have one short story that has been accepted by two online publications. The first one says the rights revert back to me as soon a it appears on their website even though it could still appear in the semiannual pdf version. After I received this notification (YAY!) I received acceptance from an online anthology. I informed them of my previous acceptance and asked if this would exclude me from theirs. They said that it would not since they would be publishing AFTER my publication in the first.

Does this make sense? Am I breaking some kind of rule by accepting both?

Hi D. First of all, congratulations!!!

Second, it's a good question, and I'm not sure I have a good answer. I think it's ok from what you've said. You may want to check back with the first place just to be sure. The anthology may have to include an acknowledgment to the first mag ("This story was first published in ____"). But I'd wait to hear from some of the more experienced folks here.

You might get more responses on this if you started a new thread specific to the question. This thread was about my (and others'?) neurotic tendencies.

Besides, I think it's probably petering out.

Good luck! Sounds like you're off to a good start!

squeaky pram · Jul 29, 2011

blacbird said:
I no longer give a shit. Having submitted stuff for many years, and never ever ever ever ever received an acceptance, I simply assume rejection.

I've yet to be wrong.

caw

An undiscovered genius in our midst!

Seriously, I salute your perseverance. You must be made of very hard stuff indeed. This is such a capricious business. I know a number of people, all excellent writers, who've never managed to publish. I'm certain, however, that the ones who are still at it will one day succeed. Are you still submitting?

On submission obsession

oldie turned newbie

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