Middling It

Thanks Aislinn and Project Deadlight - that helps, so for now I think I will wait - as you say, I submitted in good faith, and it may not turn into an acceptance. If that happens I can actually look at the contract. Simon, I remember your debacle with the W@shington P - not impressive! But, as you say, at least it made it easier to reject the A!

bump at Ap3x, here's hoping!

Keeping good thoughts for all the nail-biters.
V1c - That's one of my favorite venues. Wish you well with it.

Fihr -- Sounds like a good plan. I'm less experienced than some of the others, so I'll only add that of my four recent pro bumps, not one ended in an acceptance. Not to sound discouraging, just to add the perspective PD brought up -- pay rates could be a non-issue. By the time they decide, maybe they'll have a better idea of their finances. BTW, you're wise not to name the publication. These posts show up in searches & Google alerts.

Years ago, I avoided new places because in addition to the risk of non-payment, there's the risk of an accepted story never being published. Often not out of any bad intent -- people new to publishing often make mistakes and go under. I'm more flexible now, yet I still usually wait. And even the best venues sometimes don't survive.

I'm bummed that Bew*re the D!rk isn't making it. In December, the owner posted: "I feel terrible (if issue #2 is the last one) about the people whose work I've already accepted. But if people aren't buying the mag then their work isn't going to be seen so it doesn't really make any difference if it's published in BTD anyway. The bottom line with anything really is that if people aren't interested then you have to cut your losses." And this is an excellent mag by a fine publisher.

Now 112 days at Spinetingler. Their most recent rejections averaged about 85 days, and neither Duo nor Grinder show other pending stories. I'll query in a few days (after 120) to learn whether I got bumped or lost.

Hey Fi,
I agree with the others. If it were me, I'd wait it out (assuming they don't hold it too long). If it's an R, then problem solved and if it's an A, you can decide then what to do based on what they offer. Hope it works out the best possible way

Thanks, Eliza and Batspan. Yes, I'm waiting - we'll see what happens.

Eliza - you must be looking forward to the ceremony! I am looking forward to reading a write-up on your blog. No pressure or anything…!

fihr said:

Thanks, Eliza and Batspan. Yes, I'm waiting - we'll see what happens.

Eliza - you must be looking forward to the ceremony! I am looking forward to reading a write-up on your blog. No pressure or anything…!

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I am! I leave on Monday for my WotF week. The big gala is Sun the 13th. Should be quite a week! This year is the first time they're dropping the writing essays in the book and adding bonus stories by past judges, so I'll share a TOC with Orson Scott Card, Mike Resnick and Robert Silverberg! I don't know if Robert Silverberg will attend this year or not, but the other two are slated to be at the event

Eliza C said:

I am! I leave on Monday for my WotF week. The big gala is Sun the 13th. Should be quite a week! This year is the first time they're dropping the writing essays in the book and adding bonus stories by past judges, so I'll share a TOC with Orson Scott Card, Mike Resnick and Robert Silverberg! I don't know if Robert Silverberg will attend this year or not, but the other two are slated to be at the event

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Congrats, Eliza! Enjoy! And what a fabulous ToC to be part of

Fihr, I know you've entered WoTF before. What would you do about the ceremony if you placed? (And aren't there writing seminars too, or something like that?) Do you think you'd be able to fly over? One of the reasons I haven't entered (as well as writing very short stories lately) has been the issue of not being able to take advantage of those benefits even if I managed to place. I'd be interested to hear what you think...

Aislinn said:

Congrats, Eliza! Enjoy! And what a fabulous ToC to be part of

Fihr, I know you've entered WoTF before. What would you do about the ceremony if you placed? (And aren't there writing seminars too, or something like that?) Do you think you'd be able to fly over? One of the reasons I haven't entered (as well as writing very short stories lately) has been the issue of not being able to take advantage of those benefits even if I managed to place. I'd be interested to hear what you think...

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The cool thing for us Australians is they fly you over there at their expense. Australians have been among the winners in the past, and it seems they even accommodate a bit of extra time to get over the jet lag. And yes, there's a workshop, with successful authors that we'd never normally have the chance to see/hear/meet/learn from directly over here. I think it all lasts for about a week.

Plus, a nice non-material benefit is when you tell your friends who know you 'write on the side', a trip to LA is a very validating prize - not that its the reason you write or anything, but when I mentioned I was a finalist last year and the nature of the prize, I found suddenly people viewed my writing activities as if they might actually have potential, rather than just like someone's scrap booking hobby if you know what I mean. (No offence to those who enjoy scrap booking!)

If I ever won, I'd just tell hubby to look after the kids for a week and go! The biggest hassle would be arranging childcare for after school etc but I'm sure something could be done. I'd love to have that particular problem one day! So, you should enter if you can… the only downside is that you do have to wait a while to get your results back from the competition.

Thanks Aislinn.

Yep, what Fihr said. This year we have a writer winner from Finland and one from Australia, and the illustrator winners are usually far more international than the writers!

The contest is amazingly generous, from prize money and pro payment, to the workshop, and most of all, the very elaborate awards ceremony. There's nothing else like it that I know of at this level (non-SFWA qualifying), that preps you for things like talking with pros, doing interviews and book signings, and getting up on stage at a big awards ceremony. It's called the American Idol of writing for good reason. I would totally encourage writers to submit there!

fihr said:

The cool thing for us Australians is they fly you over there at their expense.

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Oh!!! That is amazing. I had no idea !!!

*Off to enter WoTF*

Aislinn said:

Oh!!! That is amazing. I had no idea !!!

*Off to enter WoTF*

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Whoa yeah!!

An iota of middling hope: I'm 121 days at Dark Discoveries and Grinder shows they just sent a 115-day rejection.

You're welcome, Fihr. Vibing on a good ultimate outcome.

Eliza -- Congrats and enjoy!

Aislinn -- Go!

Peter -- Hope it's a good word.

I'm trying to ignore the ones I have out past the usual R stage. I ignore them by looking at Grinder and my email daily. Making myself write more new ones is the only thing that helps.

I got a 'hold request' from ASIM, saying my story made it through the second round of readers. It also said approximately 1 in 20 go from this shortlist to publication. That info will keep me grounded!

Now I'm going to try to write something new while I still have a little middling-it buzz.

Aislinn -- That's exciting news from Asimov's. I can only imagine what the odds are on getting to hold status! You made it out of a major, top-notch slush pile.

Yes, onward with the next story.

I like ASIM (pst, batspan, I think she means Andromeda Spaceways - still top notch!). They were one of my first publishing credits. Cool people, there. Best of luck to you Aislinn!

Thanks, V -- My dyslexia is showing. I for Inflight. Yes, also a cool venue!

I'm a few days past the usual response times on two subs. Trying not to get hopes up.

If anyone else is waiting on Start a Revolution, the editor posted an update. He still plans to respond to everyone by April 30:
http://michaelmatheson.wordpress.com/start-a-revolution/

V1c said:

I like ASIM (pst, batspan, I think she means Andromeda Spaceways - still top notch!). They were one of my first publishing credits. Cool people, there. Best of luck to you Aislinn!

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Haha, that's right, V1c, and thanks.

Thanks, Bat. (I have a cherished memory of a personal R from Asimov's - a hold request would also be very nice!!)

I have so many stories that have been out there for ages, it's good to get even a little bit of news (and quickly in this case).

Congrats and good luck with ASIM, Aislinn. I like their tiered submission process!

Have a flash piece that made it to second round at DSF today. That's never happened before. Here's hoping.

I'm im the second round at ASIM!

I've had a story out at Penumbra for 65 days now. The call for the theme ('isolation') has closed and still no word. I think I'm going to query today and see what's up.

Crossing fingers for the middling list.