Rejectomancy

[alexshvartsman]

Hildegarde: I recently had a 0-day R from Apex, so don;'t feel badly about 5 days.

Forms today from FFO and Lightspeed. FFO was over 20 days. Was hoping for at least a personal at this point.

[Marzioli]

I did it! 3 rejections, two days in a row, for a whopping 6 total. Clarkesworld did the honors. :/

[Lillie]

Two rejections today.

11 day personal from FFO, first personal I've ever had from them, and the longest I've ever stayed there.

And another R where it didn't meet their needs. Well, it wouldn't. I sent a fantasy story to a SF anthology. Lol.

[alexshvartsman]

8 day form from Strange Horizons.

[O'Dandelo]

Hugs to all the rejectioneers. Still crickets here.

Anyone have recent experience with Shock Totem? As in how long does the average submission stay in the "In-Progress" status before it's declined or accepted?

I've been "In-Progress" for two days but don't know if I should take that as a good sign or if it's routine for the slush to take that long.

[Hildegarde]

Originally Posted by alexshvartsman

Hildegarde: I recently had a 0-day R from Apex, so don;'t feel badly about 5 days.

Forms today from FFO and Lightspeed. FFO was over 20 days. Was hoping for at least a personal at this point.

0!! Well, when they keep them forever, we moan about that, too.

Don't worry, I'm sure you deserved a personal! Being on the receiving end of a full InBox at work most days, I know for a fact there is sometimes just a "clear at all costs" attitude. I'm sure slushies and editors must have those days frequently.

[Adam Israel]

Originally Posted by O'Dandelo

Anyone have recent experience with Shock Totem? As in how long does the average submission stay in the "In-Progress" status before it's declined or accepted?

I've been "In-Progress" for two days but don't know if I should take that as a good sign or if it's routine for the slush to take that long.

My only (recent) sub to them was there 22 days, and it was sitting in-progress for something like 12 or 17 of those days, iirc.

[Marzioli]

Originally Posted by Adam Israel

My only (recent) sub to them was there 22 days, and it was sitting in-progress for something like 12 or 17 of those days, iirc.

That's definitely a step up from "received," which is what my Shock Totem status is. Usually, if nothing else, doesn't that indicate someone opened the file?

[GreenRoom]

Originally Posted by Marzioli

That's definitely a step up from "received," which is what my Shock Totem status is. Usually, if nothing else, doesn't that indicate someone opened the file?

From my past experience with them, they seem to batch reject. So I've had stories that have stayed under review there for more than a week, but I believe that had more to do with how they send out responses than with the stories getting any extra attention.

So, for example, I would look at duotrope and make the following totally unfounded guess: the last batch reject went out on February 28th (which would be the 29th for people like Izz). Your story went under review after that. If your story survives as under review after the next batch of rejects, I'd start to wonder if it was being seriously considered.

I'm expecting a rejection from Strange Horizons any day, and the WotF responses for last quarter have finally started going out -- so I could hear on that anytime in the next month.

I also have a sub out at an SFWA-qualifiying mag that is in more of a middling it status: it's held the max days waiting spot on duotrope for a few months now, and I did query a while back, and it has been passed on to the head editor. That's the submission that has me on edge.

[O'Dandelo]

That is extremely helpful, GreenRoom and Adam. Thanks so much. I'm with you, Marzioli. If something says "In-Progress," that should mean it's been opened and is being read pretty damned soon. Rather this makes it sound like it only means my story is in the queue instead of being considered.

Shock Totem has definitely stepped it up recently as far as response times are concerned. So I suppose this "batch reject" concept is their new system. I'd gotten my hopes up because of two days-plus with the "In-Progress" status, but now I shall have to lower them back to normal.

[Marzioli]

Originally Posted by O'Dandelo

I'm with you, Marzioli. If something says "In-Progress," that should mean it's been opened and is being read pretty damned soon.

I've had a story "In progress" at Nameless Magazine for weeks now. But they haven't rejected a single story yet, as far as Duotrope is concerned. So, as has been said, I suppose that status is meaningless, especially for a fledgling mag. After almost seven months, I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm not as obsessive about these minor status changes. I'm not to the point of not checking yet, but, in another six months, who knows?

[defcon6000]

*hugs* Marzioli, Lillie, and Alex.

Received a 4-day R from Ellery Queen.

[Sai]

The James White award shortlist was released today, and my story wasn't on it. Time to figure out where to send it next.

[Marzioli]

Thanks Defcon, same to you for your R.

Originally Posted by GreenRoom

I'm expecting a rejection from Strange Horizons any day, and the WotF responses for last quarter have finally started going out -- so I could hear on that anytime in the next month.

Me too, on both accounts. Although I hear if you win the WotF contest, they give you a phone call. My phone ain't ringing. The best I can expect is some honorable mention.

[O'Dandelo]

Originally Posted by Marzioli

I've had a story "In progress" at Nameless Magazine for weeks now. But they haven't rejected a single story yet, as far as Duotrope is concerned. So, as has been said, I suppose that status is meaningless, especially for a fledgling mag. After almost seven months, I think I'm finally getting to the point where I'm not as obsessive about these minor status changes. I'm not to the point of not checking yet, but, in another six months, who knows?

Exactly! Well said.

[klc]

Bah, first rejection of a sub came in today. Clarkesworld, so I was expecting it, but... bah. I feel your pain, Marzioli.

[mhaynes]

The crickets went away. R's today from Penumbra (Politics issue -- interestingly, this one was directly from the head editor rather than going through an assistant) and C&C.

[J.W. Alden]

I got an R from Clarkesworld a few days ago, but sent three new stories out into the wild on the same day, so I felt like I came out ahead somehow. :P

[Adam Israel]

All crickets for me, but I'm expecting a small swarm soon. I've got six subs out and all of them will likely be back within 20 days or so.

[loldoc]

Originally Posted by mhaynes

The crickets went away. R's today from Penumbra (Politics issue -- interestingly, this one was directly from the head editor rather than going through an assistant) and C&C.

I got one, too, and since it is Not A Done Thing to reply to a rejection for any reason whatsoever, I'll do it here:

Thank you for a really thoughtful, very valuable analysis that came along with this rejection. It will help me quite a lot to write better.

[Lillie]

Got an R from Untied Shoelaces.

I know some people don't want the comments, but they fascinate me. And sometimes they have been really useful. Like this one.

[J.W. Alden]

Got another R, this one from Lightspeed. I actually haven't received the mail yet, but the story is marked as rejected on their submission tracker.

Off to another market it goes.

[pangalactic]

Lots of crickets here. Lots.

[SmallThing]

Hugs on the latest round of rejections. Yay on helpful comments for Lillie and Loldoc!

Nothing here. A painstaking study of Duotrope stats leads me to believe that I can predict a response on one story to arrive within the next day or two, and have absolutely no idea with the rest.

Actually, that's not completely true. I know one story will be in an editorial meeting mid-March. It's a little weird to know exactly what day a sub's future will be determined.

[Marzioli]

One from Journal of Compressed Fiction and one from Fantasy & Science Fiction. The latter is possibly a higher tier, if the "code" is still accurate. Different editor this time.

Regarding my entry to Journal, I'm very sad to see creative non-fiction isn't tracked by duotrope, unless they also publish fiction. Sent that sub to Brevity (which, sadly, charges a reading fee. However, I'm new to the genre and I didn't see anywhere else that accepted such things. If anyone has an idea where pro-level creative non-fiction submissions go, I'd be glad to hear it.)