Quarter 4 Writers and Illustrators of the Future Vol 36

Just submitted my story.

really like what I sent in.

Submitted: 25 September 2019
Won: (just kidding)

Submitted September 27 2019.

Silver Honorable Mention November 23, 2019.

In on September 30.

Submitted 9/30/19

Submitted 9/30

Submitted 9/30

Rejection 11/23   

How long does it take to know?

How long does it take to know?

On average, about three months.

EDIT: Submitted September 24th. Got The Call on November 22nd at 9:06 EST. Ended up taking 4th place.

Thank you, disgruntledpeony. Do they rank all stories, or only the top 3?

I am worried that my story was disqualified. I read a requirement AfTER I submitted the story. It appears that no commercials or copyrighted material can be used in a story. I often use historical media to define the time frame of a story without bluntly saying "It's 1967."

First, it’s recommended you delete any identifying information regarding your story from your post. The contest is anonymous. Second, you’re probably fine. Mentioning historically relevant details as milieu is isn’t the issue, it’s borrowing from them wholesale without attribution.

Thank you, disgruntledpeony. Do they rank all stories, or only the top 3?

They tell you if you didn't place (which is referred to on the forum as an R, because it's basically just your standard rejection letter), or if you got one of the following: an honorable mention (HM); a silver honorable mention (SHM), which is better than your basic HM; semi-finalist (SF), or finalist (F), in which case you get a phone call. Finalists get a second phone call when it's determined which of the eight stories made the top three, and non-winning finalists sometimes get the option for their story to be held in case the contest needs a published finalist to fill out the book that year.

Exact timing for who gets what notifications when tends to vary, but they do eventually publish results for HMs and up on the official blog.

First, it’s recommended you delete any identifying information regarding your story from your post. The contest is anonymous. Second, you’re probably fine. Mentioning historically relevant details as milieu is isn’t the issue, it’s borrowing from them wholesale without attribution.

Thanks.

Thank you, disgruntledpeony. Do they rank all stories, or only the top 3?

They tell you if you didn't place (which is referred to on the forum as an R, because it's basically just your standard rejection letter), or if you got one of the following: an honorable mention (HM); a silver honorable mention (SHM), which is better than your basic HM; semi-finalist (SF), or finalist (F), in which case you get a phone call. Finalists get a second phone call when it's determined which of the eight stories made the top three, and non-winning finalists sometimes get the option for their story to be held in case the contest needs a published finalist to fill out the book that year.

Exact timing for who gets what notifications when tends to vary, but they do eventually publish results for HMs and up on the official blog.

Interesting. So pretty much when a new contest begins, the notification letters are sent for not the quarter just ending, but for the one previous to that? (3rd quarter in this case.) People seem to know the silver honorable mention past winners and whether they visit specific blog or not. I wonder how many authors compete? I suppose thousands do...

Thanks again.

Thank you, disgruntledpeony. Do they rank all stories, or only the top 3?

They tell you if you didn't place (which is referred to on the forum as an R, because it's basically just your standard rejection letter), or if you got one of the following: an honorable mention (HM); a silver honorable mention (SHM), which is better than your basic HM; semi-finalist (SF), or finalist (F), in which case you get a phone call. Finalists get a second phone call when it's determined which of the eight stories made the top three, and non-winning finalists sometimes get the option for their story to be held in case the contest needs a published finalist to fill out the book that year.

Exact timing for who gets what notifications when tends to vary, but they do eventually publish results for HMs and up on the official blog.

That should be a macro. : ) Perfect summary of how results work.

Thank you, disgruntledpeony. Do they rank all stories, or only the top 3?

They tell you if you didn't place (which is referred to on the forum as an R, because it's basically just your standard rejection letter), or if you got one of the following: an honorable mention (HM); a silver honorable mention (SHM), which is better than your basic HM; semi-finalist (SF), or finalist (F), in which case you get a phone call. Finalists get a second phone call when it's determined which of the eight stories made the top three, and non-winning finalists sometimes get the option for their story to be held in case the contest needs a published finalist to fill out the book that year.

Exact timing for who gets what notifications when tends to vary, but they do eventually publish results for HMs and up on the official blog.

Interesting. So pretty much when a new contest begins, the notification letters are sent for not the quarter just ending, but for the one previous to that? (3rd quarter in this case.) People seem to know the silver honorable mention past winners and whether they visit specific blog or not. I wonder how many authors compete? I suppose thousands do...

Thanks again.

The exact number of contestants is a closely guarded secret. Joni doesn't want people to get scared off from submitting because of the volume of submissions. But David Farland has said "thousands" of submissions each quarter in his posts, and "thousands" in his published intros in the WotF volumes, so that's public. It is the largest contest of its kind in the world. It still boils down to this: if you write an original, professionally crafted story, it will get in front of Dave, and he will decide.

And that's the case at any professional publication. The difference here is that you are only competing against aspiring writers, not pro's.

Best of success!

Moon

Which stories are put into the anthologies? The finalists? Semi-finalists? Silver Honorable Mentions?

Just wondering,
Candice

Which stories are put into the anthologies? The finalists? Semi-finalists? Silver Honorable Mentions?

Just wondering,
Candice

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are chosen from the eight finalists and those stories are placed in the anthology. Sometimes they publish a non-winning finalist or two if the book needs extra padding or balance, but they haven't gone that route for the last two volumes.

Submitted Sep 26
HM Nov 23

Honorable Mention, November 23rd.

HM

HM for me

SHM woot! 11/23

I got a letter saying I did not place. Is this the rejection letter?

wotf017
I got a letter saying I did not place. Is this the rejection letter?

Yes, sorry. It normally takes some time to make HM if we are still building up our skills through the act of writing and studying. The good news is that you got past a hurdle--you had the courage to send your story out, instead of putting it in a drawer. Do listen to the WotF podcasts. You will find almost every winner submitted to this contest for many years--some decades--building up HMs and higher over time.

How did they win? They found a way to get past the rejections and kept submitting.

You do the same.

All the beast,

Wulf Moon

Thank you Wulf. Your encouragement means a lot to me.

Submitted 9/30
Rejection 11/23