Discussion: Q1 Volume 38

Posted by: @doctorjest

Posted by: @jennifleck

SHM. I knew I was kind of going "off-brand" a bit with a spec fiction piece slanted a bit more toward horror, but I wanted to get a submission in.

A SHM sure doesn't sound like it went terribly off-brand...

My SF last quarter was urban fantasy/horror. As long as there are fantasy or sci-fi elements twined with the horror, Dave is good for it. SHMs are only a hair away from winning, these days. The contest has grown immensely over the last few years. I've gotten SHMs on stories that are better constructed than my first Finalist was. Also, we never know what Dave is looking for to pass on to the other judges from quarter to quarter.

Posted by: @henckel

Congratulations!  

@henckel congrats

Posted by: @thekingsguard

I got an honorable mention for my story... my second. Submitted a cyberpunk story last time, went sword and sorcery this time. I lovingly refer to the tone and style as "Howard/Lovecraft by way of the Shaw Brothers".

Admittedly frustrated, same story was a Baen Fantasy Adventure Award finalist last year, and I was hoping it would do better than my prior story.

I know it's something to be proud of all the same, but there's still that frustration, you know? Is that abnormal?

That's not abnormal at all--I totally get it. I've had poor luck getting my SFs and Fs from this contest out into the world. The thing is, every editor is looking for something different, and every editor has different preferences. If your story made Finalist at Baen, it's damn good. Be sure to keep it circulating to other markets!

This piece was lighter than my usual style with a heavy emphasis on banter and not as much on world building, so I am not really surprised it didn't do better.    

Now back to revising my entry for this quarter.

Posted by: @madeline

First time submitting, received an HM!

I'm new to short fiction and the submissions process is pretty confusing--am I able to keep submitting this story to other magazines since it wasn't chosen to print?

Yes! Absolutely. If you need help on figuring out how to go through that process, feel free to PM me and I can show you the ropes.

@nvhaskell. Congrats on your HM, NV. You must be thrilled.

Now we need to push higher

@dragonchef thank you!

I was hoping for better, but that sounds kind of lame and I know I should be happy considering this was only my fifth submission. I'll keep doing the work and pushing to do better. 

Fingers crossed for Q2 and Q3, right?

Posted by: @nvhaskell

@dragonchef thank you!

Congrats to you as well. Fingers crossed for Q2 and Q3, right?

Amen to that  

Has everyone gotten their result? I’m staring at an empty inbox.

Edited to add: AND empty spam folder

Posted by: @yorgolee

Has everyone gotten their result? I’m staring at an empty inbox.

Edited to add: AND empty spam folder

I'd recommend giving it a bit of time, but if you haven't heard anything within a week, definitely query Joni.

New to the forum. Been lurking the better part of a year and thought I'd finally join in the fun! 2nd HM and thrilled to be recognized. I've taken the online workshop, which was great. Hoped I would place higher this round as I had a gut feeling about this story, but perhaps I was just hungry.

I'm signed up for Superstars next Feb and excited to get to know many of you! Love your Secrets thread @WulfMoon. I've learned so much!

@yorgolee   That’s happened to me a few times. Joni said it might be because of the email address. Their system has troubles with some carriers. Mine was msn.com and live.com. I had to email Joni to find out my result.

This is my second submission and my second HM. I feel like I'm treading water here. I'm taking Dave's 318-R course, and got good feedback on the first chapter of my novel, so it I feel like I'm close, but missing something. It's a 'known unknown'. Does anyone have any suggestions, other than keep writing (which I most assuredly will do) on how improve my craft?  

@jenny  Congrats on the HM, Jenny. Awesome feeling, isn’t it? Time to strive for better.

Posted by: @idelaney

This is my second submission and my second HM. I feel like I'm treading water here. I'm taking Dave's 318-R course, and got good feedback on the first chapter of my novel, so it I feel like I'm close, but missing something. It's a 'known unknown'. Does anyone have any suggestions, other than keep writing (which I most assuredly will do) on how improve my craft?  

You might consider doing a story trade with writers here--some do first 500 exchanges, others exchange drafts for review. It's a great way to get some insight into your strengths and weaknesses, doubly so if your writing partner has experience and form in the contest in particular.

@idelaney 

First of all, congrats on the HM.

Second...not that I am an expert at moving up in ranking; but, keep taking classes and read the anthologies. Wulf Moon’s “Secrets” are the best place for all your contest (as well as ALL writing) questions. A priceless wealth of information. You’ll find them in the forum.

BOL

For a story that I thought was going to get an R for being too much inside baseball, I got the H. Woke up to the result and more motivation for Q3. Here's to hoping one of the forum members can't submit again!

Posted by: @idelaney

This is my second submission and my second HM. I feel like I'm treading water here. I'm taking Dave's 318-R course, and got good feedback on the first chapter of my novel, so it I feel like I'm close, but missing something. It's a 'known unknown'. Does anyone have any suggestions, other than keep writing (which I most assuredly will do) on how improve my craft?  

Trading critiques with other writers is generally a good way to go. If you find someone who groks your work and helps it grow, keep trading with them. Sometimes critique groups form out of bonds like that, but even if not, it's good to have a group of trusted readers.

Reading books on writing can help, although no one book is perfect for everyone. I could offer lots of recommendations, depending on what angle you're working on. For example, when it comes to working out broader story concepts as opposed to the specifics of prose, I'm a big fan of Chuck Wendig's "Damn Fine Story". But, good lord, I could go on and on.

Reading recent WotF volumes can give a good benchmark for the kinds of stories that have won in the past (although it's not a predictor of what will win in the future). Reading other short fiction magazines can help, too. (I'm a big fan of Apex, lately. They skew toward a more adult audience and therefore deal with some really difficult issues in their fiction, but that's part of what interests me. Check out "Mr. Death" on their website for a story that will probably tug your heartstrings.)

@idelaney

I'm happy to take a look, too, if you'd like. Swapping critiques with fellow writers is one of the best ways to grow. We can often see weaknesses in other writer's stories that we're blind to in our own, and getting outside eyes on our stories is really helpful for the same reason. Send me a PM if you'd like to swap.

Pulled off an HM on a story I definitely thought was going to net me an R. I'll take it!!

Congratulations to everyone who got a certificate! I love seeing so many newcomers get an HM on their first entry. Keep submitting!

And, to my fellow rejectees--we'll get 'em next time! Or maybe the time after that. But it's gonna happen!  

@henckel Congrats on getting SF! That's awesome.

@axeminister I'm sorry the result wasn't what you'd hoped for, Dustin (and Beth!). It certainly sounded like a promising collaboration--maybe a different market will be the lucky one that snatches it up.  

@disgruntledpeony Thanks! I'd love to do a crit trade! The more feedback the better.

Let me know what your schedule allows. I'm sure it's hectic with twins (my brother has triplets & they can be a handful).

@madeline Yes, you can submit it to other markets.

@rschibler  Are there critique groups here on the forum?  Or does everyone just do a swap?

I'm new to the forum & would love to have a few critique partners.

Congratulations to all who placed.  

Posted by: @yorgolee

Has everyone gotten their result? I’m staring at an empty inbox.

Edited to add: AND empty spam folder

There's several reasons for this, yorgolee: 1. It got lost in the shuffle. With thousands of entries every quarter, stuff happens. Don't ask me how I know. 2. You paper subbed. They take longer, because they have to be hand typed into the system. The electronic entries do not. 3. You are in another wave, as results are often sent out in batches. 4. You are a Finalist, and Joni couldn't get ahold of you personally and doesn't like to leave messages and will keep trying. 5. You are a Semifinalist.

May it be one of the latter. Semifinalist results are held back now until Joni can call all Finalists and make sure they accept and aren't disqualified in some way. The reason why is that they always judge eight Finalists per quarter, and if they come up short, they pull from the Semifinalists. I know of a couple of winners that got in this way. Which also shows you there's winning stories within those Semifinalists. Dave simply has to narrow it down.

I encourage all to let the process flow, and not to be quick about writing to Joni. It's great that she's accessible, but she is always buried in work and why unnecessarily increase it? Especially not at this stage, where there are very good reasons some may not have heard yet. 

Patience is a virtue. May yours have a wonderful reward!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Posted by: @ceciblack

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. 

This was my first attempt. At short fiction. At WotF. Not too shabby. 

Ceci, that's a GREAT first attempt! Both at short fiction, and at submitting for the first time to this Contest! Well done!

I know we make HMs look like a dime a dozen here, but I assure you, it is not so easy to earn those. Kevin J. Anderson entered this contest maybe seventeen times, and never got one! And who wouldn't want his career? So be proud, frame it, and put it on your wall to remind you that you have THE RIGHT STUFF!

And send that one out and write a fresh story for this quarter! 

Cheers!

Posted by: @madeline

First time submitting, received an HM!

I'm new to short fiction and the submissions process is pretty confusing--am I able to keep submitting this story to other magazines since it wasn't chosen to print?

Congratulations, Madeline!

That's a great first result! We only see so many HMs in this writing group because the Forum attracts the best. As I've said before, it means you've got THE RIGHT STUFF! 

This Contest is like any other market in that once you are notified of where your story placed, you are free to submit it anywhere else you desire. I am glad you are thinking like that--many have a hard time getting past submitting only to this Contest, but there's a bigger world out there, and writers should be testing those waters.

Best of success sending your HM out to market! Write a fresh one for this quarter so you can take a shot at that bullseye again!

And welcome to the Forum!!!

Wulf Moon
Forum Moderator

Posted by: @jennyperrycarr

New to the forum. Been lurking the better part of a year and thought I'd finally join in the fun! 2nd HM and thrilled to be recognized. I've taken the online workshop, which was great. Hoped I would place higher this round as I had a gut feeling about this story, but perhaps I was just hungry.

 

I'm signed up for Superstars next Feb and excited to get to know many of you! Love your Secrets thread @WulfMoon. I've learned so much!

 

 

Welcome to the Forum, Jenny Perry Carr! Glad that you announced you are here!

Smart lady to do the WotF Online Workshop. It's taught by the same instructors I had at the WotF workshop! You can't get better! In fact, one of them--Tim Powers--will be speaking here today at our AMA starting at 1 p.m. PDT. Don't miss it!

As a Superstars member I will also say welcome to the Tribe! I'll see you there next year!

Finally, thank you for your nice words on my SUPER SECRETS here in the Forum. I wrote those to help all of you, and I know it's working because I get so many wonderful letters, and so many winners and even writing careers are coming out of the workshop! That makes me very happy, because I've spent much time on the project. If you'd like to see where the SUPER SECRETS are going, you can read a sample of one of the chapters, published by DreamForge Anvil in Issue #2. It's there in my signature. "Nail Your Opening" has some excellent advice for all. As to the books, they're coming out this fall through my publisher. Here's some info. http://thesupersecrets.com

Thanks again for sharing your results and I look forward to meeting you!

Cheers!