Discussion Q2 Volume 39

Posted by: @empressed

@wahlquistj I have a question about the semi-finalist. Does Joni call you along with the finalists? It seems like she would, but I wondered. And congratulations on that!

No it's an email.

Posted by: @empressed

@physa Yeah, I know what you mean. I tried referring to magic throughout, but there wasn't any blatant magic until about halfway through. That might have stabbed me in the foot. With a magically enhanced blade, of course.  

A good rough tool to use is "Is the genre of the piece evident in the first five pages?" Readers (and editors) like to know what they're in for.

Posted by: @empressed

@physa Yeah, I know what you mean. I tried referring to magic throughout, but there wasn't any blatant magic until about halfway through. That might have stabbed me in the foot. With a magically enhanced blade, of course.  

Depending on the story and the POV, you might be able to foreshadow the magic. Have a trustworthy character believe that magic is in play.

Posted by: @empressed

@wahlquistj I have a question about the semi-finalist. Does Joni call you along with the finalists? It seems like she would, but I wondered. And congratulations on that!

No, I only received an email. It was my first WotF entry a few years ago so I had no idea that this contest was kinda a thing. Since then I’ve gone backward (SHM, then HM) but I hadn’t really been writing to the contest. As someone said above, WotF is a market. Hopefully I’ll crack the code one of these days!  

Re: are HM / SHM / Semis weeded out of the finalist pile

For HMs - occasionally. Sometimes the opening is great and the story gets chunked into the 'Evaluate for finalist' pile, but when we go back into it, the pacing lags a bit in the middle, or the writer doesn't stick the ending, or the story doesn't quite live up to its promise in some other way. It's still a good story, mind you, just not one of the top 8.

Silver / semi - frequently, but not always. Sometimes we know a silver is just shy of the finalist mark when we read it, so the story gets silver without ever being considered for more. Sometimes a semi has a fixable flaw that would make it great, so it goes to semi without being considered for finalist.

Example: I remember a fantasy story where there were two POVs, one from a regular human, and one from a minor deity. The regular human POV was spot on, really well done, perfect, really. The minor deity POV was stilted. If all of it had been at the level of the human POV, it would have made finalist. Instead, it got semi so we could tell the author that the the deity POV wasn't working as well as it could.

Sometimes silvers are particularly well done executions of common tropes (e.g. a werewolves, vampires, 'chosen one' fantasies, etc.) that just aren't original enough to get past silver.

@karyenglish  

<pops out head from pillow fort sniffing for emails.>
<settles for latte, and the start of KYD>

Can we just assume at this point all phone calls went out? I’m not so sure I want to bury that hope knowing things are clearly delayed longer than expected.

No complaints. New head judge. New quarter. I get it. Just wanna know if I can set that hope aside and look for emails or if calls are still happening….

NNINN.

I assume calls went out, but no news is no news. Try to set the hope aside and write your next.

Posted by: @jmabey

@rschibler Not sure what NNINN means (I do love NIN though 😏), but you’re right.

No News is No News!

Hey guys!

My forum account got nuked during the shift to this "new" format and I slacked forever in talking to the admins to get it fixed.  But I'm back now, and happy to see all y'all again.

FWIW I was scrambling around enough to totally miss the Q3 deadline this year, and haven't heard anything yet about Q2.  Fingers crossed, right?

V/R,

Michael

@michaelkingswood welcome back. We are awaiting results.

Posted by: @jmabey

I’m just extra anxious because this is my last opportunity before my book contracts are signed and I’m no longer qualified to participate. And yes, this is my first time applying too. The art world isn’t always convenient in its timing. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

FWIW, you are eligible until the day you are notified that your novel has sold 5,000 copies for money. Freebies don't count. As long as your entry is in before said notification arrives, you remain eligible for the whole quarter.

Grats on the book contracts!

Posted by: @rschibler

NNINN.

 

I assume calls went out, but no news is no news. Try to set the hope aside and write your next.

This just reminds me of Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

(said with a lisp by executioner) "No noose is good news"

<Checks email. Not yet. Back to work>

@michaelkingswood Welcome back, Michael! Glad we got you squared away, your original account name and all! Have fun in the Forum; best of success on your Q2 results!

Take heart folks. I'm sure Thursday is just around the corner. There must be a hard to get a hold of finalist. It's not me. My phone has not rung in at least a week I would say.

Thanks @karyenglish for your kind answers regarding entry placement and behind the scenes information on how the stacks are made. It's quite intriguing to say the least. Good luck with your Q3 reading, And congrats about the book deal extending David Farland's Rune Lords series.

As for the length of our current wait... it's not really been that long. Not really. Results will come. NNINN and EDIT. We are lucky to get any hints at all as to when Thursday may be.  

Back in my day... Thursdays used to appear out of nowhere without warning!

Posted by: @rschibler

Back in my day... Thursdays used to appear out of nowhere without warning!

And the results came in waves spread over a month. The twitching was intense and the blanket fort stocked with all sorts of goodies. Just when I thought all the Rs must have been sent out, I'd get that dreaded... "did not place" email, usually in my inbox as I woke up, and I'd have to rebuild myself back up.

Hope they get ahold of all finalists soon.

Welcome back (@michaelkingswood). Glimmer Vale was a good read. Congratulations on your success.

Thanks @storysinger!  FWIW, book 6 of that series is releasing on the 15th.  😎 

On the bright(?) side, haven't passed the 5,000 copies sold mark yet so still eligible here!

<popped out of pillow fort to see if Tues was actually a Thursday in disguise>
<checked phone and email. Alls quiet on in the east>

[Brings a tray of freshly cooked brownies to the pillow fort]

[Leaves it on the table for everyone to enjoy]

[hunkers down for Thursday]

[thinking it could be anytime now]

[pulls out my laptop and tries to concentrate on my WIP]

[coming up with characters and situations is tough]

[and the all important speculative element, :)]

<Walks in, sees all the bodies, walks back out>

<See’s the brownies across the room>

<Is so consumed by the smell of chocolate didn’t notice the bodies>

<trips over one of them and screams all the way back to pillow fort>

<rocks back and forth, telling herself Is Not Thursday>

[Pulls out burning lavender scented candles and places them in a hexagon while chanting an enchantment to ward off flat out rejections. After all it is almost Thursday.]

Posted by: @craydimensional

[Pulls out burning lavender scented candles and places them in a hexagon while chanting an enchantment to ward off flat out rejections. After all it is almost Thursday.]

You think we're going to get rejections if we haven't received notifications by now? Hmm. Well, as I've said before, the nature of my story will probably warrant a rejection, even though I think it's a pretty good story. I'll speak more on the particulars after the notification comes in.

Posted by: @lambenttyto

Posted by: @craydimensional

[Pulls out burning lavender scented candles and places them in a hexagon while chanting an enchantment to ward off flat out rejections. After all it is almost Thursday.]

You think we're going to get rejections if we haven't received notifications by now? Hmm. Well, as I've said before, the nature of my story will probably warrant a rejection, even though I think it's a pretty good story. I'll speak more on the particulars after the notification comes in.

Once upon a time, rejections were the first things that went out. But these days, aside from the finalist phone-calls, everything from DQ through to semi-finalist comes out pretty much at the same time. And if anyone had been receiving any notifications of their placement (aside from super-schtum keep-it-secret shiny finalists, of course), you can bet they'd have been posting about it by now.

So, I don't think any of the non-finalist results are out just yet, and radio silence is no indication of placement at this time.