Rejectomancy

squeaky pram

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Sung to the tune of "My Generation":

People try to put me d-d-d-down (talkin' 'bout my form rejection)
Just because my words ain't s-s-s-sound (talkin' 'bout my form rejection)
They say "Thanks but we re-gr-gr-gr-gr-gret... (talkin' 'bout my form rejection)
We get a lot of crap like that (talkin' 'bout my form rejection)
My form rejection! My form rejection, baby!

Sigh. 29 days at S-S-S-S-S-Slice. Don't know whether to revise first or just send it on. Will have another look today.
 

squeaky pram

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Ha ha ha ha!!!

Thank you, PD!... (imagine this being hollered from stage at end of song). I thrive on an appreciative audience! :tongue

(p.s., 'course now I'm going to have that song in my head all day).
 
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Niccolo

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3-day from Grim Corps and a 73-day from Everyday Fiction. The Grim Corps short is getting mixed reviews, some very positive and others up in the air. The one from Everday Fiction, on the other hand, is getting trunked.

Onward and upward we go :)
 

JBClemmens

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I wouldn't worry about Woman's World. Their stories are cookie cutter types. I'm sure you have more twists and imagination. Keep trying everywhere you can.
 

Marzioli

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I wouldn't worry about Woman's World. Their stories are cookie cutter types. I'm sure you have more twists and imagination.
Whereas I think they're a respectable market that offers a whopping paycheck ... (Also, psst, she's sold to them at least twice already so ixnay on the ookiecay uttercay alktay. ;) )
 

Sai

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I wouldn't worry about Woman's World. Their stories are cookie cutter types. I'm sure you have more twists and imagination. Keep trying everywhere you can.

Heh, thanks. This rejection stung a little bit more than usual just because I've sold a few stories to them in the past. I thought I had cracked the code, so to speak. It's just a good reminder that just because you've sold a few stories to a market, it doesn't mean you're always going to have it locked down.
 

fihr

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10 day rejection from Shimmer.

Sorry to hear about the WW R, Sai. That would sting. I would love to sell a story there (and so would many romance writers) but I cannot write romance genre at this stage. I'd like to develop the skill, so I can master the romantic thread when I attempt longer fantasy/SF stories. (Margo Lanagan apparently wrote romance for a while when she started out, and she is now an awesome author.)

I've been to a couple of romance workshops to get tips. They were fun workshops!
 

Niccolo

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Woke up to a 28-day Shock Totem form, after a really weird dream. Note to self: do not have really weird dreams, they lead to rejections :D
 

J.W. Alden

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1-day from Clarkesworld, which means the submission process has officially begun for a new story. That makes 10 out on sub now, which is the most I've ever had out in the wild at once.
 

squeaky pram

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Woke up to a 28-day Shock Totem form, after a really weird dream. Note to self: do not have really weird dreams, they lead to rejections :D

They can also lead to new stories!
 

O'Dandelo

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Yet another sad little R from the EIC at Shimmer. I get nearly all my Rs from Ms. Tobler these days. This one was passed around the board without me ever learning of the second-round bump. She had very nice things to say but still I fell just short. Not speculative enough, essentially, which I can't deny.
 

soapdish

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Woke up to a 28-day Shock Totem form, after a really weird dream. Note to self: do not have really weird dreams, they lead to rejections :D
Then I'm doooooomed! :e2faint:

Really weird dreams are, like, where half my story ideas come from. :rolleyes: :D


Sorry to hear about all the rejections, folks. My suspicion is that you all just haven't found *the* market for the stories you're selling. Yet. :Hug2:
 

Marzioli

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Yet another sad little R from the EIC at Shimmer.
Is she the EIC now?!? I keep addressing mine to Beth Wodzinski. Ms. Tobler has responded to two of my subs before, without any sort of notice of middling success.
 

alexshvartsman

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Yet another sad little R from the EIC at Shimmer. I get nearly all my Rs from Ms. Tobler these days. This one was passed around the board without me ever learning of the second-round bump. She had very nice things to say but still I fell just short. Not speculative enough, essentially, which I can't deny.

Gah sorry to hear about the R. How long did it take? I've had something in second round there for what feels like a very long time (a month or so) even if it really isn't.
 

Brynn

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I got a DSF form with the PS "Made our second round." I didn't know they still did those--I thought they always sent that good news/bad news e-mail. Has anyone else had this vary?

Anyway, I was quite pleased by the PS. My sub was long story (very close to their 10k limit) and I didn't think much of its publication chances as DSF usually prefers flash, but I had to try. Getting it second-rounded at that length makes me think it must be pretty good.

I also got forms from Lore and Strange Horizons today. 3-R day, but the DSF one raised my spirits.
 

Eliza C

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Sorry for the recent R's everyone - especially to O'Dandelo and Brynn for those close but not quite ones. They sting - I know - but you're right to take heart Brynn from DSF liking yours at that length. Have you tried WotF with it? They don't seem to have any prejudice about lengthy stories. (BTW- how long did L0RE take for your R? I have something there at about 80-days.)

Samuel - my recent Shimmr editorial board one came from Pam Wallace, but according to their website Beth is still EIC, and who I address to in my subs.
 

O'Dandelo

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Sorry, I meant "senior editor." I believe Ms. Tobler is the right hand of Ms. Wodzinski, who's more of the publisher.

Alex, it was only 15 days. Nearly every rejection I get from them comes from her, and she likes to compliment my stories she reads at OTHER markets. She just doesn't want my stories in her own. ;)
 

Brynn

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Eliza, the Lore R took 34 days. I did send it to WotF some time ago, and never received a response. I was guessing at the time that was a "silent rejection," and didn't query. At this point I sort of wish I had queried, so I would know whether I could submit it again (if they never got it).

12-day R from Shimmer today. "While we found the writing compelling, we wanted something to offset the emotional heaviness of the piece." It's the most encouraging R I've had from them, and of I'm reading it right, that's a very helpful piece of information. Maybe I should try some of the "dark" markets.
 

Eliza C

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Eliza, the Lore R took 34 days. I did send it to WotF some time ago, and never received a response. I was guessing at the time that was a "silent rejection," and didn't query. At this point I sort of wish I had queried, so I would know whether I could submit it again (if they never got it).

Thanks for the L0RE info.
You should receive both an acknowledgement and a result (rejection, HM, Finalist, whatever) from Joni Labaqui when you submit to WotF. Responses do sometimes get overlooked, but Joni is awesome about responding to queries. Regardless of if your story was considered there or not, you can resubmit revisions to them (or in your case, just resubmit if you want to). This quarter's deadline is March 31, so at least your wait wouldn't be as long right now.
 

O'Dandelo

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(BTW- how long did L0RE take for your R? I have something there at about 80-days.)

My L0RE slush theory: They expanded from just the two editors to a small team of slush readers (per Facebook), who started with the newer submissions of the past couple of months. Meanwhile, the two editors are still working their down from the 180ish-day subs. In my theory world, that explains the rash of very long Rs and the under-60-day Rs. They're all starting to meet in the middle, where I am at 93 days.

Since Aggy pointed out that (at least in her single case) they do send second-round emails, I'm going with my theory, even though it suggests my story hasn't been read yet, contrary to what I'd hoped. Man, I wish I didn't pay attention to stuff like this.