Hurry Up and Wait

There is a lot of waiting in the writing business than I imagined. On August 19, I submitted a very short story to Writers Digest. Sixty days later, they still haven't revealed the five finalists. I also submitted "I Will Save You" to Uncanny Magazine on 31 August. I am still waiting to hear back 48 days later. Submissions are due for the F(r)iction contest on 1 November, but winners will not be announced until 18 April. 

To be clear, I am not faulting any of these magazines for the length of time. I get it. There are so many entries that reading and reviewing must take forever. I am sure losers or rejected contestants do make the job easier.

I raised this because it was something I was not expecting. I've read a lot about preparing myself for rejections, but I've not heard that those rejections often come after a lengthy hold. I can see the buildup of anticipation deepening the emotional investment. In many cases, the stories can only go to one publisher at a time, focusing authors on a single decision at any given time. Pieces will also take much longer to go through the rounds of all the possible publishers and restart the cycle of submit/reject each time it is submitted. 

I am not deterred. I will be cleaning up plenty of material to run through this process. 

Churning them out

I mentioned last week that I was going to take time this month to get some ready for a few competitions. I am happy to report that I've been progressing slowly but steadily. In addition to "The Pod Chaser" and "Last Era of Mankind," I am about halfway through the internal editing of my first novelette, tentatively called "Burn it Down" (I am not thrilled with the title). I am also through my second round of edits on "Amelia and the Butterfly," thanks to Dusti's feedback.  

I never explained why I am attempting to churn these out (relatively) quickly. Quite simply, I wrote a lot of cool ideas that are only partial stories—eleven to be exact. I challenged myself to turn seven into works I could submit to publishers and other competitions before the Writers of Future Awards Gala on 4 April 2025. I plan to do that while still writing new content like "Burn it Down" and "The Right to be Forgotten" (which is in pre-writing now).

I am still waiting to hear back from Uncanny Magazine about "I Will Save You." In the meantime, I am still looking for readers to help me refine "The Pod Chaser" while I send "Last Era of Mankind" to the editor. 

October Sprint

I love October. This is the time of year that I am most likely to take off from work and enjoy myself. With contest deadlines looming, I also plan to get some stories ready for release. It will be an intense month that is already underway. I spent my first long weekend of the month behind the keyboard. These are two of the four stories that I am considering for the Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize and the F(r)fiction competition. 

• I just finished the first draft of "The Pod Chaser, " in which a cosmic biologist investigates Earth's fate. I am looking for beta readers, so if you have time, I have some questions for you that will help me better shape the story.
• I also finished my revised draft of "Last Era of Mankind." I incorporated my editor's comments, beta reader feedback (thank you, Violet, Dusti, James, and Sarah), and a new opening scene. Let me know what you think. 

What else is on tap this month? 

• I will be taking another look at my first short story, "Hiding Inside," to see if it might be ready for those two competitions.  I would love to hear your thoughts on that.
• I am also going to revise a very short story I wrote several years ago called "Amelia and the Butterfly." This is not sci-fi, but I have high hopes for it in the Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition.

The final story I am considering is "I Will Save You." I cannot do anything, however, until I hear back from Uncanny Magazine. 

Capclave 2024

Wait, wait, wait. Did I hear correctly that the DC area hosts a short-form sci-fi/fantasy convention? Yes. Yes, I did hear correctly. It is called Capclave and was held on 27-29 September 2024 in Rockville, Maryland. The show was pricey for the size and venue, but I met some incredible people. I heard interviews with Matt Dinniman and Sheree Renee Thomas and attended a workshop given by Martin Wilsey. The highlight for me was a panel of publishers that included Neil Clarke (I subscribe to Clarkesworld). I am new to the industry, so I appreciated the education.  

I also met three L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future winners. Over the last few weeks, I've been talking to more past winners, and they have been great. I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet three of them (all from the DMV). They had some great stories.
     "Yellow and Pink" by Leah Ning (WotF Vol 36)
     "Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Carbonfiber" by James Davies (WofF Vol 40)
     "Son, Spirit, Snake" by Jack Nash (Golden Pen, WofF Vol 40)

Last week, I said I needed to get out there and learn more about the community. I didn't realize the turn-around would be that quick.