Submission Updates

I mentioned "The Machine" getting a very friendly and helpful PRL from On Spec in my last post, but I just realized I didn't tell you guys about the rest of the stories I have out.

"Glory in the Wasteland" was rejected by Asimov's Science Fiction on November 17...the same day "Broadcasting Live From Bensk" was rejected by Pedestal Magazine. Yes, that's right: A double-whammy, two rejections in one day.

"All Debts Public and Private" was sent back by Ploughshares on November 20th.

"...And Other Significant Junkies" rejected on November 27th. Four rejections in ten days.That one, believe it or not, is not a record: From September 27th to October 5th, I received 5 rejections, a record which came very close to toppling in November, but did not.

Only "The Machine" has been sent submitted elsewhere; the stories listed above are all on hiatus. I don't know why I didn't send them out. I guess I was feeling down about my writing and thought it was pointless. But part of it is also that I just don't know how good these stories actually are. When I went back and reread "The Machine," I knew I had a good story. Even with the apparently-confusing introduction, the story itself is strong, and I still enjoy reading it. I need to sit down and read these stories again to know if any of them are ready.

And not just if they're good, but if they're in my voice. If they read like I wrote them. I have always been told that there are no rules, but I guess I never really understood what that meant until I read McCarthy. That book ("The Road', and subsequently, "Blood Meridian") showed me that there are no rules. Here's a man who writes a story and doesn't give a fuck if there aren't enough commas for your liking, doesn't care that there isn't one quotation mark to be found. Fuck your rules, this is my voice, is what he says with his writing.

Well, now I know, finally, that I can take the mask off. I always tried to dress my writing up so it looked like it fit, like it belonged, but to hell with all that. I'm not doing that anymore. The quirks that made my writing unique and appealing to my teachers when I was growing up, that stayed with me into my 20s, and were pounded out of me by every bit of writing advice I've received (save one, of course: "there are no rules"), are all back. I'm back. I'm not going to force my writing into a niche anymore just because that's the "right" way and my way is the "wrong" way.

To quote Romany Malco's character in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (no, seriously!) "What's felt right to you don't work; it's time to try some wrong, dog."

The Waiting Game

Submitting your work for consideration takes a kind of courage some writers don't possess. I was one of those writers for the better part of my 20s. Now, just a few months from my 30th birthday, my urgency to get published wins over fear of rejection. But some things don't change, no matter how many times you take that leap and submit your work.

Waiting is the worst. Well, okay, it's the second-worst. I currently have seven stories making the rounds right now. Thanks to places like Duotrope Digest, writers now have some idea of how long they can expect to wait for a response, which is both a blessing and a curse. When a story nears the estimated response date, I can't help but get nervous. A decision, most likely, is imminent. It's like waiting for the guillotine to drop. 

A perfect example is my story "Glory in the Wasteland", which is currently on submission at Lightspeed. One of the quickest turnaround times in all of genre fiction, Lightspeed's average response time is something like two days--a day and a half for rejections, five and change for rejections, and I think it's somewhere like three days for rewrite requests--so you know from the moment you submit that you're going to hear back quickly. 

Being the pessimist that I am, my first fear is "I hope I don't hear back today," because it will invariably be a rejection, and who wants to set a person record for quickest rejection? But I've been "Under Consideration" for two days now, which, if you listen to Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld magazine, could mean good things. ...or it could mean that the editor took the weekend off, and hasn't gotten around to sending my rejection letter yet.

I have been driving myself crazy with this submission, but this seems to happen every time an estimated response date nears; I will find myself checking my hotmail account every five minutes, checking submissions systems every ten minutes (if applicable), opening and closing and reopening tabs just in case it isn't refreshing properly, etc.. 

Does anyone else go through this? I suppose it would be easier if I had kids to worry about, or some other real life issue to take up my time, but unfortunately (or fortunately) I have most of my time to dedicate to writing. And yet when these dates roll around, the one thing I can't do is concentrate enough to write! 

Anyway, here's a list of my open submissions and where they currently are:

The Bright Walk / The New Yorker / 83 days waiting / 134 day mean average RT / 90 day EstRT

Postcard From Arborville / Tor.com / 50 days waiting / 190 day mean average RT / no EstRT (this could be out a year)

The Machine / On Spec / 17 days waiting / 134 mean average / 180 EstRT

All Debts Public and Private / Ploughshares / 14 days waiting / 76 mean average / 150 EstRT

Broadcasting Live From Bensk / Pedestal Magazine / 13 days waiting / 39 mean average / 60 EstRT

...And Other Significant Junkies / Glimmer Train / 6 days waiting / 66 mean average / 90 EstRT

Glory in the Wasteland / Lightspeed Magazine / 4 days waiting / 2 mean average / 14 EstRT

Updates

Seems like I've fallen a bit behind on submission updates, and the like, so here's a snapshot of where I am today.

Since the last time I gave an update, Asimov's has rejected "The Machine," while Daily Science Fiction has rejected "Live From Bensk." Both are back out on the market and under consideration. "All Debts Public And Private" is under consideration, as well. 

"The Bright Walk" is still in the slush at that particular (unnamed) magazine, and has been for 71 days, which is very close to Duotrope's 90 day estimated response time...but barely halfway to their "average" response time of 140 days. So I'll either be hearing from them this month, or more than two months from now.

"Postcards From Arborville" is 38 days out, but there's every chance I don't hear back for 8 or 9 months, maybe more. This market gets a ridiculous amount of submissions, and as such has notoriously slow response times. 

"The Cantina" was rejected by Strange Horizons on September 29, and after rereading it, I really don't think this one is ready. So, as of that rejection, I have "trunked" the story. I might give it a rewrite in the future, or pick its bones for material, but as it is now, it's not going back out. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

"Magic Words," as I think I've mentioned, has been at Basement Stories since August 11, and despite the the site's claim that everyone who submits will hear back by September 15, I have yet to receive a response. About a week ago, I sent a query, but have yet to hear anything. My guess is that it maybe got lost along the way, but I did go back and check my outbox just to be sure, and everything is in order. So either they deleted it, it went to their spam box, or it got lost in the shuffle. Whatever the case, I'm left hanging, and it's very discouraging. I understand long response times, but not hearing anything back almost a month after the date promised is tough. If I don't hear something back within the next week, my next communication to them will be to withdraw it.

What else? Well, my time at the Hothouse has been extremely educational and productive. I'm a better writer already, and I haven't been there more than a month, I don't think. It has been tremendous. Other than that, I'm still writing, still submitting.