Hello! I'm a newbie to this forum, so I apologize in advance for any dumb questions (like the one that follows). I'm wondering about response times for short fiction contests (Glimmer Train's Fiction Open, and a couple of others sponsored by lit mags). Do they hold onto your work until their posted "results announced" date or, if you're going to get rejected or bounced, do they let you know as soon as you're "out"? Thanks for any advice or info you can give. --mlw
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Hi!
It's not a dumb question, but it's not easy to answer, either. Some will let you know as soon as you don't make the cut; some will wait until the end of the contest; and some will never let you know, and assume that you found out by reading the list of winners when they post.
My advice is to keep writing and keep sending things out so you can take your mind off waiting for replies. And set up a system for tracking your submissions. I use a spreadsheet (Excel)--it's easy to add new rows beneath a story title for additional markets I've sent it to, and I shade the acceptance/rejection cell yellow until I've heard from them so I can easily see which stories are still out. Good luck!
It's not a dumb question, but it's not easy to answer, either. Some will let you know as soon as you don't make the cut; some will wait until the end of the contest; and some will never let you know, and assume that you found out by reading the list of winners when they post.
My advice is to keep writing and keep sending things out so you can take your mind off waiting for replies. And set up a system for tracking your submissions. I use a spreadsheet (Excel)--it's easy to add new rows beneath a story title for additional markets I've sent it to, and I shade the acceptance/rejection cell yellow until I've heard from them so I can easily see which stories are still out. Good luck!
Thank you
Thanks, Siddow, for the prompt and solid advice. Nothing more exciting or humbling than those first few seconds after hitting the Send button, but the silence afterwards is distracting, as you correctly guessed. It's true that I need to just focus on the drafts and revisions on deck NOW. The spreadsheet is a great idea; my notebook approach is getting untidy. Today is a writing day, so I'll tape your message to the desk here and get at it. Thanks again, and have a great week!
mlw
Thanks, Siddow, for the prompt and solid advice. Nothing more exciting or humbling than those first few seconds after hitting the Send button, but the silence afterwards is distracting, as you correctly guessed. It's true that I need to just focus on the drafts and revisions on deck NOW. The spreadsheet is a great idea; my notebook approach is getting untidy. Today is a writing day, so I'll tape your message to the desk here and get at it. Thanks again, and have a great week!
mlw
Sometimes it takes a long, long, long time for responses. www.ralan.com is a good place to check out if you write in the speculative (fantasy, science fiction) genre for news about markets (backlogged or whatever), or there are sites like the black hole or duotrope (sorry I don't have web addresses off the top of my head) that track response times. I tend to post something out, make a note of it and try to forget it's out there. Best thing is to work on the next project, that way a rejection isn't too devastating and an acceptance is so unexpected it sends me into orbit. And I use a combination of notebook and computer records to keep track.
Too late I registered that you were asking about contests - duh! I don't enter many but those that I do, I don't generally give any indication of how the process is going until I receive rejection/acceptance.
I think I need another coffee to wake up
Too late I registered that you were asking about contests - duh! I don't enter many but those that I do, I don't generally give any indication of how the process is going until I receive rejection/acceptance.
I think I need another coffee to wake up
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thanks, Jenny
Jenny,
Thanks for the references. I'd heard of black hole, but the other sites were new to me.
Contests-- I've only entered a couple, and I don't know why it seems harder to wait on a rejection from those than from a standard submission. But the best medicine, as you and another writer said in an earlier post today, is to just keep writing. Sooo... off I go.
Hope your life and your writing are being good to each other this week. Thanks again.
mlw
Jenny,
Thanks for the references. I'd heard of black hole, but the other sites were new to me.
Contests-- I've only entered a couple, and I don't know why it seems harder to wait on a rejection from those than from a standard submission. But the best medicine, as you and another writer said in an earlier post today, is to just keep writing. Sooo... off I go.
Hope your life and your writing are being good to each other this week. Thanks again.
mlw
Most competition rules have a sentence saying when longlisted entrants/shortlisted entrants/winners will be notified. If it doesn't, then I tend to give it 4 months past the deadline date. If I don't hear anything by then, I take it as read that I haven't won and move on.
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