Success!

Thanks Matt. I've now done that.

I have to confess it's a weird experience to be published and not realise the fact. However these two take me to five so far this year and ten in all, assuming we count 1 podcast = 1 publication.

My pile of acceptances that have not yet been published is down to four and all four have confirmed relatively recently that they still intend to go ahead. Pretty soon I shall have no alternative but to write some new stories.

Since I got back from holiday I've been editing, using some of the helpful advice easily available on the web. I recently had the pleasure of working with a really good editor who helped me realise the number of old-fashioned idiosyncrasies that litter my text. Then I got a personal from CCF saying "it seemed like there was an interesting premise here, but the narrative developed momentum too slowly for me". I cut 600 words from 8,000 as a result and I'm pleased that the pace picked up significantly without any great loss of atmosphere. Too bad I didn't think to do that before submitting.

If I do find myself having to submit to Q4 in a hurry at least I should have a good story to hand.

Congrats to everyone since the last time I posted - which is a bunch of you! So many stories to read...

And it seems like this summer is going to be very nice to me and even though some things aren't out in the world yet I'm just going to lump them all here - because soon they should be.

Lackington's took one of my stories for their Summer issue with the theme of Possessions (out now). And it has art!
First of Frost

Parsec's Triangulation: Beneath the Surface will have When an Angel Molts

And also (not SF, but) I'll have a story in Flame Tree's Crime & Mystery anthology (out in August-ish) - which has a few other names in the TOC you may recognize from around here. (TOC at link)

But wait, there's more (well, one more). Too Poor to Sin is in the Mysterion antho (out soon-ish) - which also has a few familiar names in TOC. There's an except from my story at the link if anyone's interested. (It, um, is also about angels, but not the same type as the Molting story mentioned above - I went thru a phase.)

I will say that one of these garnered an HM from the contest and one was a straight first-wave reject (but not which was which - I'm making a but of a point here re: editorial tastes & the contest, which others have said before, but throwing my two cents into the ring.) I didn't change either story besides maybe fixing some missed typos or swapping out a word or two.

Oh, and the angel molting beginning was exchanged in the 450 thread swap at one point. I'm not sure how many of you who commented are still around here, but if it sounds familiar to you, it is!

Congratulations, HL!

Congrats hlf. That's a great list.

Well done, hlf!

P.S. What's your name? Or should we just call you hlf? Or HL?

Multiple Congratulations HL.
By the way, did you notice the story you critiqued for me finally made a pro sale in Cosmic Roots recently?

Thanks, all.

By the way, did you notice the story you critiqued for me finally made a pro sale in Cosmic Roots recently?

I did! And I'm a big fan of seeing stories I got to preview in the wild.

...should we just call you hlf? Or HL?

HL is fine. So's Fullerton. But I'll answer to hlf, too.

Ooh, hlf is our mystery person. Is it really a person? Perhaps the writing world is being taken over by genius aliens who will sweep WOTF, thereby creating a new reality in the world and finally guide humanity to a peaceful existence.

Congrats, HL!

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

wotf054

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

Awesome job!!!!!

wotf054

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

Congrats! Ninth time's a charm.

Congrats Emily, never stop trying.

wotf054

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

Congratulations, Emily. What a wonderful title!

wotf054

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

That is awesome! You are an inspiration! (and I really mean that - I've been giving up on a story after 2 or 3 rejections). Thanks for sharing

wotf054

This morning I had a story called "A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" accepted to Unsung Stories!! This is the 9th place I sent it out to, and was starting to believe no one would want it, but there it is, the acceptance letter!

It's coming out this Friday...I'll give you guys the link when it comes out. Yay!

Congrats, Emily! Unsung Stories is one of the best places for short fiction (and I'm saying that as a reader, not as a writer -- almost all of the stories they publish are great.)

Congrats, Emily! That's awesome!

Thank you all so much!!!

"A Sound Like Glass Raindrops" is out at Unsung Stories!!!

Wow! That's a remarkable tale Emily. Well done.

Nice job keeping me in suspense on that one, Emily. Also, vivid writing.

I have a new story out--"Claimed by the Sea" in the August issue of Deep Magic. I think I mentioned this before, but this was one of my Writers of the Future HMs that I only revised slightly before submitting elsewhere.

I have a new story out--"Claimed by the Sea" in the August issue of Deep Magic. I think I mentioned this before, but this was one of my Writers of the Future HMs that I only revised slightly before submitting elsewhere.

Awesome! Congrats.

I just noticed that my Nature story has been translated into German:
Spectrum.de

Not a new sale, but I think it's cool that something I wrote has been translated.

Very cool, Aaron!

Well done Beth and Aaron.

DM looks to be a good new market.

I'm also suitably impressed by translation into German. Did that come included in your original contract or was it a new one?

Well done Beth and Aaron.

DM looks to be a good new market.

I'm also suitably impressed by translation into German. Did that come included in your original contract or was it a new one?

The contract allows them to publish the story in various formats and publications without further payment although I don't recall this one in particular being called out.

Congrats, Beth and Aaron!

Here's an interesting happenstance. I received an email saying that the status of my submission to Recompose had changed, and when I logged on I discovered it had been changed from Pending to Accepted. Thus far there's been no other contact, but I'm hoping it isn't a case of someone accidentally hitting the wrong button!

If it works out, this is another Flash (900 words) at pro rates, making my third such and fifteenth story acceptance in all. Still waiting for four of those to be published though.

Here's an interesting happenstance. I received an email saying that the status of my submission to Recompose had changed, and when I logged on I discovered it had been changed from Pending to Accepted. Thus far there's been no other contact, but I'm hoping it isn't a case of someone accidentally hitting the wrong button!

If it works out, this is another Flash (900 words) at pro rates, making my third such and fifteenth story acceptance in all. Still waiting for four of those to be published though.

Here's to hoping. I think it probably is a genuine acceptance and they haven't got around to sending you a formal letter yet.

I've just broken a long dry spell (since January and about 150 submissions) and have been accepted at Perihelion Science Fiction.

Good for you Aaron. I confess I was beginning to wonder if the well had run dry myself.

Perihelion is one I've been trying to crack for a while. I've had a couple go over 70 days recently but no joy ultimately.

Of my current total of submissions I've got 8 over 200 days. Whenever this sort of thing happens I'm scared to query because a couple of times it's simply been a rejection that's gone astray. Of course not querying doesn't make any difference to the fate of the story, but we writers can be a terribly superstitious bunch, can't we?

I see from The Grinder there was a Recompose 99 day rejection yesterday. Mine was 99 days as well!