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Hi, I just sent in my second WOTF entry today. My first entry last year got rejected. I went to the WOTF award ceremony last year and enjoyed it -- it was great getting to meet the WOTF winners and say hello and get my anthology signed!
Not sure if I’m going to go this year - I’m tempted but family plans may get in the way. Congrats to this year’s winners! Encouragement to the rest of us. Writing sci fi is hard but interesting. Way to go to everyone for sitting down and writing!

Hi Ms. Luck,
Great handle. Hope it's prophetic.

Hi SueD,
Sorry about the litigation. <Rim shot>
Very cool being able to meet the winners.

Welcome to the Forum!

Huh “litigation”? Did you mean to type “rejection”?

The rejection is ok. It was my first sci fi story and to figure out the conventions, I read an anthology of the greatest sci fi short stories of the last century. Which meant that I ended up writing a really nice sci fi story that followed the conventions of 1945
if you’re curious to read the rejected one it’s up at
http://funbasedlearning.com/stories/Bit ... Apple.html

This time I did my research and read several recent volumes of WOTF first and the style is like that instead

Which anthology did you read?

Here is the anthology I read. I really enjoyed it. I wish this kind of writing was still in style. The details are below - it’s in the Orange County, California library system.

The science fiction century
by Hartwell, David G.
Edition 1st ed.
Publication Date 1997
Preferred Shelf Number SCIENCE FICTION CENTURY
Format: Books
Excerpt: / Roger Zelazny -- Swarm / Bruce Sterling -- Beggars in Spain / Nancy Kress -- Johnny Mnemonic / William

Here is the anthology I read. I really enjoyed it. I wish this kind of writing was still in style. The details are below - it’s in the Orange County, California library system.

The science fiction century
by Hartwell, David G.
Edition 1st ed.
Publication Date 1997
Preferred Shelf Number SCIENCE FICTION CENTURY
Format: Books
Excerpt: / Roger Zelazny -- Swarm / Bruce Sterling -- Beggars in Spain / Nancy Kress -- Johnny Mnemonic / William

SueD, are you a fellow OC'er?

Yep, I am a fellow OCer and SCWA member.

Hi my name is katie and I got into writing when I was in separation for the Navy. I found out about this contest about a year back. I am hoping to enter my story HIVEMIND in July. My New Years goal is to get that story ready for publication. I’m
Nervous about entering this contest since I never done something like this before.

Hi Katie! Welcome and good luck in the contest! I should warn you though that because submissions are anonymous and some judges check these forums, you should try to keep the details of your story secret.

Hi, all. My name is Phoenix and I entered WOTF for the first time yesterday. I completed the first draft of my first novel late last year and after sending it to collaborators to read it and give feedback, I found out about this contest. Just working to enter this contest has been a lesson in editing, time management and story length control. I feel like I'm a better writer just for going through the process.

Good luck to everyone who entered!

-Phoenix Hays

Welcome Katie and Phoenix!

I would second what Jeremy said: Best to keep details about your story (title, plot points, ect.) secret, or at least off these particular forums where judges might look. It's a small chance, but breaking anonymity could result in disqualification.

...Just working to enter this contest has been a lesson in editing, time management and story length control. I feel like I'm a better writer just for going through the process...
-Phoenix Hays

Totally agree!
I just spent the past two weeks finishing and finalizing my story. I really enjoy the process, and am grateful to the contest for continuing to continue in order to make that happen - for all of us.

Welcome a-board!

My name is Jason. I submitted my first entry to WotF for the first quarter of 2018 and am eagerly awaiting to see if it makes any headway. Question for the veterans here: how do they let you know that you got any of the awards? Do they call? Email? Do they send it back with critique? Or do they simply wait til you see it online?

My name is Jason. I submitted my first entry to WotF for the first quarter of 2018 and am eagerly awaiting to see if it makes any headway. Question for the veterans here: how do they let you know that you got any of the awards? Do they call? Email? Do they send it back with critique? Or do they simply wait til you see it online?

Hi! I'm new as of this year, as well. They let you know via email, they're behind on even reading through first quarter entries.

There is a topic Q1 vol 35 that is good to follow for writers in the same boat as you. Many of us are pretty much dying in anticipation.

I'm going to ask if they offer a critique as well, because I've wondered that! Welcome and good luck. Best advice I've read is to keep writing. I regret not having an entry for 2nd quarter and intend to focus on 3 and 4.

Thanks so much!

My name is Jason. I submitted my first entry to WotF for the first quarter of 2018 and am eagerly awaiting to see if it makes any headway. Question for the veterans here: how do they let you know that you got any of the awards? Do they call? Email? Do they send it back with critique? Or do they simply wait til you see it online?

Hi! I'm new as of this year, as well. They let you know via email, they're behind on even reading through first quarter entries.

There is a topic Q1 vol 35 that is good to follow for writers in the same boat as you. Many of us are pretty much dying in anticipation.

I'm going to ask if they offer a critique as well, because I've wondered that! Welcome and good luck. Best advice I've read is to keep writing. I regret not having an entry for 2nd quarter and intend to focus on 3 and 4.

Do they send it back with critique?

Okay looks like 8 stories get critiques, semi-finalists only.

Welcome!

The eight finalists in every quarter get notified with a phone call. Everyone else gets notified via email.

The only people who receive critique are the semifinalists. This also bars you from re-entering that story, since getting personal critique from Dave is kinda an unfair advantage.

Hello - I'm Alex from the UK. I tried to register here a couple of years ago so it's good to be here at last.
I've been a reader of the WotF anthologies for a few years, and when I saw the advert for submissions inside, I wanted to be a part of it! I made my first submission last quarter, though I have a question about that I'll post elsewhere.

I've been writing as a hobby for about 10 years, and have started to take it more seriously over the past 18 months or so. I'm a hobbyist photographer, musician and 3D artist and used to get overwhelmed with so many interests - how do I fit them all in? I feel better since I put most of my efforts into one of them - writing. I've spent hours reading and re-reading David Farland's excellent advice over the past year. I'm sure there's much more out there by WotF authors, but I've read some great advice on Matt Dovey's website too.

I also love to travel - I'm currently almost half way through a one-month trip around south east China. My current location is the beautiful Huangshan mountains. As soon as I get home I'll be honing my Q2 submission.

My favourite WotF stories I've read so far are by Sharon Joss, Steve Pantazis, Matt Dovey and Stephen Merlino.

Welcome Alex, though fair warning: if you keep this up Matt’s going to start blushing. 😉

Welcome Alex, though fair warning: if you keep this up Matt’s going to start blushing. 😉

Ah, maybe two mentions in one post was too much? 😉

I'm a Brit too so I probably know how he feels.

A round of applause to our new members, Dragon, TLB, Amy, Pang, Luck, and anyone else I've missed. Michelle Pang, congratulations on being a finalist AND selling to F&SF, that's the gold standard! To all, stop twitching and write your next and send it out, not just here, but to other pro markets as well. If this is the only market you focus on, you won't know that you could have also been selling to F&SF at the same time! : )

Again, welcome. Lots of good information here that can not only help you with winning WOTF, but in launching a pro career in speculative fiction.

Keep writing. Keep sending. Keep believing.

~Moon~

Hello! Everyone I know calls me Autumn. I've been writing for more years than I'll admit to but this is my first go at short stories. I wrote my first epic fantasy novel in the middle grade that thankfully never saw the light of day. Life happened and now that things have settled down I'm in a place where I can put my writing first again. After silently watching the forums here I know I have a LOT to relearn and I can't wait to get started.

Hello! Everyone I know calls me Autumn. I've been writing for more years than I'll admit to but this is my first go at short stories. I wrote my first epic fantasy novel in the middle grade that thankfully never saw the light of day. Life happened and now that things have settled down I'm in a place where I can put my writing first again. After silently watching the forums here I know I have a LOT to relearn and I can't wait to get started.

Welcome, Autumn! This is a friendly place where people are not only trying to win Writers of the Future, they are working hard at advancing their writing skills to become professional writers, and are helping others alongside them on the path. You'll find many members already have pro sales to their credit, and many have a wealth of information on both the contest and the publishing industry in general, so it's an excellent resource to help you with your own endeavors. It's nice when life changes work out to give you more time to write, and congratulations on taking advantage of that. We wish you much success!

Keep writing. Keep sending. Keep believing.

~Moon~

Hello all,

My pen name is Stan Michaels, and it is exciting to join this forum and hopefully enter a story by the June 30th deadline. I'm a noobie with much to learn, but eager to absorb.

Hi everyone!

My name is Dylan Cary, but feel free to call me "Hey you" or "Who?" I'll answer to both, I swear. I'm fairly new to the trying-to-get-published business, and I'm hoping to have my first submission to WotF in Q3 of this year. I'm also waiting to hear back on a couple lit journal submissions, but all that's come of that so far is helluva lot of nothing. That's essentially my 2018 writing career in a nutshell.

Since you all seem really friendly, I can't help but ask: how long does it usually take to hear back about a submission? And do you think there's any particular word count that works best?

Thanks, and happy wording!

Dyl

Hi everyone!

My name is Dylan Cary, but feel free to call me "Hey you" or "Who?" I'll answer to both, I swear. I'm fairly new to the trying-to-get-published business, and I'm hoping to have my first submission to WotF in Q3 of this year. I'm also waiting to hear back on a couple lit journal submissions, but all that's come of that so far is helluva lot of nothing. That's essentially my 2018 writing career in a nutshell.

Since you all seem really friendly, I can't help but ask: how long does it usually take to hear back about a submission? And do you think there's any particular word count that works best?

Thanks, and happy wording!

Dyl

It's usually three months for a reply back, but it gets shorter for later quarters. Q1 entries were getting notified a week or two after Q2 closed. Finalists were notified shortly after that, and they've just recently heard back. So, if you win, 4.5 months. If you don't make it into the final eight, 3.5 months.

Advice I've heard about this contest is that they don't get as many humorous entries as they'd like. General advice for anthologies is that sometimes a shorter piece can fit in better than a longer piece. I don't have a magic number, but my Q2 entrant was 13.5k words.

Also, hello!

My name is John. I've entered this twice now (HM in Q3 16, ? Q2 18) and I'm nervous as heck all about this latest one.

: goes back to twiddling thumbs :

Also, hello!

My name is John. I've entered this twice now (HM in Q3 16, ? Q2 18) and I'm nervous as heck all about this latest one.

: goes back to twiddling thumbs :

Welcome! I think I remember your username from when I used to hang out at AW - yes? Believe I used "KateJJ" over there as it was before I'd settle on my author name.

Welcome! I think I remember your username from when I used to hang out at AW - yes? Believe I used "KateJJ" over there as it was before I'd settle on my author name.

Galloping to the crossroads. Nice to see you again!

I still occasionally visit AW but mostly just to flyby. Burned out on query letters a while back.

Also, hello!

My name is John. I've entered this twice now (HM in Q3 16, ? Q2 18) and I'm nervous as heck all about this latest one.

: goes back to twiddling thumbs :

Hello John, nice to meet you!

It's natural to be nervous, but I bet your story is way better than you think. I haven't even submitted my entry for this quarter yet and I'm already worried sick about it. I don't even know if I'll work up the nerve to submit *this* quarter, and instead wait for the last one of the year. Though I suppose a lot of people do that!