Middling It

O'Dandelo

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To anyone who has submitted to One Buck Horror: how long did it take for your rejection/acceptance? 30 days is the query mark, and it hasn't been enarly that long for me, I'm just impatient curious.

They seem to fluctuate between 15-30 days, more often than not in the mid-20s.

Have you discovered Duotrope yet? If not, check it out and begin obsessing in earnest!
 

gettingby

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To anyone who has submitted to One Buck Horror: how long did it take for your rejection/acceptance? 30 days is the query mark, and it hasn't been enarly that long for me, I'm just impatient curious.

You can check recent stats on duotrope. That might give you what you are looking for.
 

defcon6000

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To anyone who has submitted to One Buck Horror: how long did it take for your rejection/acceptance? 30 days is the query mark, and it hasn't been enarly that long for me, I'm just impatient curious.
The earliest I've been rejected was 20 days, the latest was 37 days. Then there's times in-between. I've never bothered to query them since they aren't notoriously known for keeping you waiting.
 

GreenRoom

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To anyone who has submitted to One Buck Horror: how long did it take for your rejection/acceptance? 30 days is the query mark, and it hasn't been enarly that long for me, I'm just impatient curious.

Someone on twitter (@peggywriter) posted this back in June: 27 days out. Don't know if that is a good sign or a bad one as I wait for the verdict on my submission to @OneBuckHorror

This is the response from Onebuckhorror:
18 Jun One Buck Horror ‏@OneBuckHorror
@peggywriter Only a sign that I'm behind in the queue! 40+ days is always good, though.
 

Niccolo

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Thanks everyone! So glad I joined this site now. :D

I've heard about Duotrope but haven't checked it out myself yet. Thanks again for all the help.
 

gettingby

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Speaking of duotrope I have quite a few submissions in the red. A few of them have been out over 100 days. I feel like responses slow down in the summer (ay least for lit fic). I hope they don't all hit me at once unless it's good news.
 

O'Dandelo

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So it definitely seems that Apex's slushies are all out of sync these days, huh? 2-day form R, 62-day form R.

I just submitted to them for the first time since my second story back in November (eek!), and it's good to know that Duotrope-watching will not apply much with them.
 

Niccolo

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Just sent off the latest horror short to Clarkesworld. I have a feeling I'll be off to Rejectomancy within the next few days :rolleyes
 

W.L. Marks

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Just got bumped up to the second round at ASIM. I've never subbed there before, so their system is pretty new to me. I think I like it though. It's fun to watch and makes a lot of sense. Nice that they keep it clear for us writers.

Of course, it would be depressing to sit in R3 for however many months and then not be picked wouldn't it?
 

Eliza C

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Just got bumped up to the second round at ASIM. I've never subbed there before, so their system is pretty new to me. I think I like it though. It's fun to watch and makes a lot of sense. Nice that they keep it clear for us writers.

Of course, it would be depressing to sit in R3 for however many months and then not be picked wouldn't it?

Yes, it was. ;)
It happens. I think they say if you make it to round 3, your chances are about 1:20. But considering what our odds are when we first sub, that's not too bad. I've gone 50/50 there -- one got pub'd, one got a form R at about 130 days. But at least you know where you stand with them.
 

alexshvartsman

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Of all the stories I've submitted to ASIM, I only made it to the second round a few times, and only once to the third round. Then the story got bounced from the third round after 3 months.

They're a tough nut to crack, but I'll keep trying.
 

W.L. Marks

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Oh, I know regarding A&A! I'm at 82, and I'm worried that my piece might have gotten lost in the shuffle, since they did that big reject recently for everything at the 70 day mark. I was at 71 days at the time I think.

Crickets are the most vicious of bugs.
 

CL_Hilbert

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Oh, I know regarding A&A! I'm at 82, and I'm worried that my piece might have gotten lost in the shuffle, since they did that big reject recently for everything at the 70 day mark. I was at 71 days at the time I think.

Crickets are the most vicious of bugs.

Well, in 8 more days, you can query. Let us know how that goes if you do. I'm interested in hearing if they're just backed up, if a 70+ wait means they've lost us, or if we're actually being considered.

A girl can hope, anyway.
 

mhaynes

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My Criminal Element submission turned 1 today.

They said a couple of months back that they were going to be trying to get a handle on their submission queue/process. I guess I'll follow up and see if they have any news for me.
 

Aggy B.

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I'm sitting at 71 days at Abyss & Apex. And 11 days at Ideomancer (which isn't really very long but they've been sending out 8-10 day Rs over the weekend).

[And let me say (one more time) those 2 day Rs that show up at Apex (or other normally slower markets) are likely to be stories whose cover letter reads: Dear SpeculativeFictionMarket, I know you don't normally print romance/westerns/YA thrillers, but I think if you just read my story you'll love it.

There IS a pre-slush (if you will) where things that are not the right genre (or have clearly been sent to the wrong magazine) get pulled from the queue and sent a form rejection.]

Aggy, not a slush conspiracy theorist
 

mhaynes

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Aggy, that may be true of some markets. (I believe that Stupefying Stories, specifically, has said that they either do that or have done it in the past.) It may even be true of Apex.

However, at least as far as Apex goes, I'm virtually certain it's not the whole story.

I sent a story to Apex on June 12th with my usual minimal cover letter. I received a reply in six days. I submitted another story on June 21st and have not heard back yet. Admittedly, it's *possible* that my most recent story has been held for further review, but when I look back at my other responses, the patterns (or lack thereof) seem to fit more closely with inconsistent performance across slush readers for that market. (For example, my two quickest responses -- neither of which would've been for a romantic YA western :) -- both came from the same slush reader.)

I don't necessarily think of this as a conspiracy theory, but as the explanation that makes the most sense to me for the data I have at hand. (Which, I suppose, is probably what most people who believe conspiracy theories thing. Stop looking at me like that!) ;)
 

alexshvartsman

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Round 2 bump at DSF this morning, and it seems I survived the slush purge at Buzzy, at least for now. Assuming that they read chronologically. They may have set my story aside for another day as its rather long.
 

defcon6000

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I also survived the Buzzy onslaught, though that doesn't give me much hope. I think the editor can only get through so many at a time. Still waiting on another middle story, now at 133 days.
 

Eliza C

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Not sure if I survived the slush purge at Buzzy or not. My story is 13-days out today, just a day or so under what they purged. I might have to wait for the next round of R's to know one way or another.
 
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J.W. Alden

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Sitting on 105-days at Drabblecast and 73 at Abyss & Apex.

I feel like I jinx myself every time I post in this thread though, so maybe I'll get rejections today. :tongue
 

Aggy B.

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Aggy, that may be true of some markets. (I believe that Stupefying Stories, specifically, has said that they either do that or have done it in the past.) It may even be true of Apex.

However, at least as far as Apex goes, I'm virtually certain it's not the whole story.

I sent a story to Apex on June 12th with my usual minimal cover letter. I received a reply in six days. I submitted another story on June 21st and have not heard back yet. Admittedly, it's *possible* that my most recent story has been held for further review, but when I look back at my other responses, the patterns (or lack thereof) seem to fit more closely with inconsistent performance across slush readers for that market. (For example, my two quickest responses -- neither of which would've been for a romantic YA western :) -- both came from the same slush reader.)

I don't necessarily think of this as a conspiracy theory, but as the explanation that makes the most sense to me for the data I have at hand. (Which, I suppose, is probably what most people who believe conspiracy theories thing. Stop looking at me like that!) ;)

I'm sure that there is a "which slush reader did I get?" factor in response times. But those "mystery" 1-2 day Rs in otherwise slower markets are probably not because something landed with an uber fast slushie.

I know that Stupefying Stories has said they assign slush in batches so the difference in turnaround is sometimes based on overall volume. (Fewer stories coming in the door can result in slightly LONGER wait times, not SHORTER. Then there's a happy median where the stories are getting assigned quickly, but the readers aren't overwhelmed. Then the "OMG! Where did all this come from?" slushpile.) Don't know if the other markets do batches of slush as well.

There are other factors as well. Did a story get "misdirected"? Did a slushie put it to one side for a second read, then decide it wasn't worth passing up the food-chain? I suspect that longer stories tend to hit the outside edges of the "response" bell-curve - either being rejected very quickly or more slowly depending on whether the first-reader hits the long or short stuff in the stack first.

But the point is, none of that is something I can control. And therefore isn't something I waste time worrying about. The numbers are fun to watch, but they don't really mean anything to me or my story. Yes is yes and no is still no. Whether it took eight days or eighty.

Aggy, still waiting on A&A
 

CL_Hilbert

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But the point is, none of that is something I can control. And therefore isn't something I waste time worrying about. The numbers are fun to watch, but they don't really mean anything to me or my story. Yes is yes and no is still no. Whether it took eight days or eighty.

Aggy, still waiting on A&A

You are so zen! LOL. I end up every morning staring at my Duotrope stats and devising conspiracy theories.

78 at A&A. 38 at Asimov's. 21 at ASIM.