Questions about Submissions/Queries that have gone Astray or Wait Times

Melinda Moore

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I see questions like this posted in various threads, so I thought I would start one specifically for it. Admins, please delete if I missed the specific topic where these go.

I submitted to Fantasy Scroll at the end of March and realized this weekend that I had not received an acknowledgement. Their site says to query if you haven't heard in 2 days (not in the spam folder either). So I queried and haven't heard on the query. My email address has eaten emails in the past, but it hasn't happened in awhile. Should I redo the whole submission from a different email address, or just send another query from a different email address?

Thanks in advance for the help.
 

ACFantasy

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I'd go with 'different query from new email address' myself.
 

Melinda Moore

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I received a response to the first query right after I emailed the second query. Feel slightly like a dork but also that the editor was reading my mind. Maybe that's a good sign for the story ;)
 

Aislinn

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Has anyone else had problems with the Buzzy Mag submissions email address? I got what I think was a bounce-back and I think I may need to re-send my submission (though I'll probably give up if I get another bounce-back.)

It would also help if anyone could tell me if Buzzy sends out an acknowledgement of receipt? TIA
 

Melinda Moore

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I didn't get an acknowledgement for mine back in September. I haven't submitted since then. Good luck.
 

fihr

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I subbed to Buzzy on April 3, and received a confirmation email the same day. I think it's worth resending. Strange to get a bounce-back.
 

Batspan

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Melinda - Good idea for a thread -- these questions do pop up in a few different places.

Glad you and the editor are on a wave-length.

Aislinn -- Like Fihr, I had a same-day confirmation from Buzzy, that was on the 15th. It's my first sub there.

I used the email address on their current GLs: Send E-Subs to submissions(at)buzzymag.com -- putting in the @ symbol, of course. Yours may have run afoul of a server issue. You might try sending it from a different email address.
 

Aislinn

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Thanks, guys. I'll try again, and if I get another bounce-back I'll try from another email address.
 

Aislinn

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Ok, submitted again doing everything the same, and this time got a confirmation of receipt auto-response.
 

fihr

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Glad to hear it worked out this time, Aislinn. This forum is invaluable at times for this kind of situation.
 

Batspan

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Good going, Aislinn! More evidence that persistence furthers, as the I Ching says. Now we all get to wait together for the buzz.
 

gringo

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Here I was with this one question which I was unsure where to post, and suddenly this nice new thread pops up. (Thanks for reading my mind, Melinda!) To wit:

Anybody know anything about wait times at F&SF? I've got something that's been there since mid-March, and the Grinder is showing lots of Rs since then. (The most recent, a 26 day R on April 30). I know better than to automatically assume that's a good sign, so I imagine it's probably been lost...which leads me to the next question:

Am I right in thinking that F&SF only takes queries by snail mail? Because if so, lame.
 
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Melinda Moore

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Glad to help out Gringo :) I haven't submitted to F&FS in over a year, but back then they were really fast especially considering it was over snail mail. I track them occasionally and the wait times seem longer now. I would assume to that you have to query snail mail, but I'd go over the submission guidelines just to make sure.
 

Ephiny0

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Yes F&SF is still postal submissions only (though the recent submission call for the guest-edited issue by CC Finlay was an exception). I've never submitted there, because I can't figure out what to do about the return postage for international submissions...

Does anyone know what the 'reserved' status means for Daily Science Fiction submissions? My best guess is that it means something like it's been assigned to a first reader -- though they've had my story for nearly a month, which is the longest I've been there without getting either a form rejection or a second-round note (usually they're quite prompt with their initial response, in my experience, though they can take a while on the final decision).

I don't mind waiting as long as it takes -- just curious to know what's going on with my submission!
 

alexshvartsman

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Gringo: You can query F&SF via email (web form on t heir site) after 60 days or so. They lost my sub once, and responded to the query in about 2-3 days to let me know that the story was rejected, and when. However, if your story made it past the initial reader, the waits of 30+ days are not unusual to hear back from GVG.

Ephiny: My most recent sale at DSF was "reserved" for a couple of weeks before it got passed up to round 2. I think it means that it has been assigned to the reader but not read yet, but I don't know this for certain.
 

gringo

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Thanks for the tip, Alex. Looks like we'll twiddle our thumbs a bit longer and keep the hopes down before querying...
 

SEConn

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Does anyone know the best contact method to query DSF - I have a story sitting at 5 weeks with no rejection or second-round notification, and its status is still at 'reserved'. Think it might be worth a query, but not sure how best to go about it.
 

alexshvartsman

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SEConn: There's a web form on their site, but I would advise against querying yet. They are running a bit behind.

My most recent submission there took approximately 40 days to go from submission to the round 2 bump (and also spent much of that time marked as Reserved), but then they bought it only a few days after the round 2 bump.
 

Ephiny0

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Well my DSF story eventually got a form R after a few weeks in the 'Reserved' status, so I think 'assigned to reader' is probably the most likely interpretation.

It seems like response times can vary and some stories take a bit longer than others for whatever reason (I've had an acceptance after an almost 80-day wait) but they do seem to have a reliable system and always get back to you eventually. I've never needed to query or had anything go astray there.
 

StormChild

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Yes F&SF is still postal submissions only (though the recent submission call for the guest-edited issue by CC Finlay was an exception). I've never submitted there, because I can't figure out what to do about the return postage for international submissions...

Ephiny, you can buy a book of US stamps on the USPS website--I think they even take Paypal. They'll ship to your UK address, and you can just attach them to your SAE as normal. It's a hassle, but if you buy the forever stamps they'll never lose their value.
 

Aislinn

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Ephiny, you can buy a book of US stamps on the USPS website--I think they even take Paypal. They'll ship to your UK address, and you can just attach them to your SAE as normal. It's a hassle, but if you buy the forever stamps they'll never lose their value.

Great tip, thanks!
 

Ephiny0

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Unfortunately it doesn't look like they'll ship postage stamps to non-US addresses (I'm pretty sure I tried this before), unless I'm doing something wrong. There's a drop-down box for 'Country' in the checkout form, but the only option is United States (and if I don't check this, it tells me my address is 'undeliverable').

It just occurred to me to look on eBay though, and there are people selling US stamps on ebay.co.uk, so that may be the way to do it!

(not that F&SF are at all likely to ever accept anything of mine, but you never know unless you try :))
 

alexshvartsman

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I was under the impression that F&SF is willing to respond by e-mail to international submissions? You would still have to mail the manuscript, but without the need for a SASE.

I don;t know this for a fact as I'm in the US, but I do recall reading that somewhere.