voodoo_em
from England is reading All the books by Ira LevinMarch 10, 2014 - 3:06am
The Dirty Napkin, Word Riot, Jersey Devil Press, Juked, Dark House Press (anthology), Cease Cows (Hallow competition entry) Revolt Daily (1 story rejected & 1 story accepted)
Stats:
18 submissions
11 rejections
1 pending
1 withdrawal by author
5 accepted
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksMarch 10, 2014 - 6:28am
Had to jump in on this. Fun Stuff.
Over the last 5 months since I've started submitting:
46 Submissions
30 Rejections from places like The Molotov Cocktail (3), Word Riot (2), Clarkesworld, Nightmare Magazine, Kzine, Jersey Devil Press, Shotgun Honey and Bartleby Snopes.
Been accepted at WeirdYear, Red Fez, Fiction on The Web and three others that should be seeing publication in a few months. Actually withdrew a piece I sent to Juked since it was accepted elsewhere.
8 submissions are currently pending, but I'm expecting soul crushing news on a few later this week.
Brandon
from KCMO is reading Made to BreakMarch 10, 2014 - 7:16am
PANK is one of those venues where they're considered a top tier publication, and yet I never ever ever see anyone's stories being circulated or shared...and half my social circle are people in the publishing industry or avid readers. I haven't thought about those guys in months up until Rob mentioned them.
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksMarch 10, 2014 - 7:50am
PANK chooses quality work, but I can't say anything I've ever read has stuck with me after the fact. Doesn't matter, I'm a genre guy and I'm not fond of getting symbolic. Don't see myself going anywhere beyond reader with them.
kward
from Alberta is reading Off To Be the WizardMarch 12, 2014 - 12:10pm
In a world... where every struggling writer is rejected by a varied list of literary publications, comes an editorial board... that purposely rejects almost every outside submission in favour of publishing their own stories printed under pseudonyms. Fasten. Your. Seatbelts. <cue orchestra crescendo, large orange explosions>
Pete Hammond calls 'Publishers Ponzi' "one of the year's best thrill-rides, an absolute 10!"
Entertainment Weekly proclaims: "drop everything, even your child - and you'd better jetpack - don't run - to the multiplex, this film will break. your. existence. - Justin Bieber delivers a tour-de-force performance!"
'Publishers Ponzi', now playing.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 12, 2014 - 2:00pm
Could be worse, I suppose.
TheScrivener
from Seattle is reading short stories March 12, 2014 - 6:50pm
the burned off part in the corner is a nice touch.
justwords
from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick HornbyMarch 16, 2014 - 11:13pm
Wow, Gordon, is that real? Don't blame you for almost torching it.
On a different note, there's a publishing company called Graywolf Press (graywolfpress.org) that's a nonprofit and celebrating their 40th anniversary. It's a leading nonprofit publisher of novels, short stories, memoirs, poetry collections, and translations. Their mission is to "champion aspiring authors whose works are often overlooked by larger publishers." They're working on the premise that "all outstanding writers deserve to be heard in America's crowded literary marketplace, where five publishing houses now produce 80% of the books."
Anyway, check it out. What have you got to lose? :)
Linda
from Sweden is reading Fearful Symmetries March 17, 2014 - 3:55am
I have a flash fiction piece that's been rejected by Flash Fiction Online and another place but I can't remember which one. I don't submit a lot, but atm I've got one pending.
here's every rejection i've ever gotten. pardon the horrible formatting:
I'm a bit late with this, but damn that's an impressive (and inspiring) list.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 17, 2014 - 6:26am
The SubPop letter? Just something I found online. I've never sent any of my music to a label before.
justwords
from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick HornbyMarch 17, 2014 - 2:10pm
Gordon-
Guess I took the hook and line, huh? Do you write music as well as stories?
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 17, 2014 - 3:32pm
Yep yep. Got a little home studio, been in bands on and off since college. The rejection percentage there is far lower, mostly club owners who—while dicks in their own right—primarily have to say no to our faces.
justwords
from suburb of Birmingham, AL is reading The Tomb, F. Paul Wilson; A Long Way Down, Nick HornbyMarch 17, 2014 - 6:05pm
Good on you! Double dose of creativity. Believe it or not, we have a decent music scene here, and several venues that are comfortable.There's a great local FM channel, Birmingham Mountain Radio, that's gotten national attention lately.
melmurphy
from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore VidalMarch 18, 2014 - 9:44pm
Places I've been rejected? Hmmm, I keep that tally on Duotrope.com. I know they went over to the dark side and started charging 5 bucks a month but it's still worth it.
One that sticks out in my mind is Red Fez. I workshopped a short story at Hugo House in Seattle in fall 2011. Everybody loved it. I submitted it to Red Fez and got a really mean rejection.
So a year later, in the midst of submitting to a ton of other places, I submitted another short story to Red Fez under a pseudonym with a made-up bio. They emailed me back 6 days later and said they wanted to run it. http://www.redfez.net/fiction/485
I was just talking to this guy who co-runs Subtopian. I asked if he thought the more traditional, high-brow literary anthologies pick bios over stories? He agreed. When was the last time you saw a writer featured in the Iowa Review, the Missouri Review, Ploughshares or the Boston Review who did not have MFA in their bio?
I think a lot of the literary journals associated with universities are just ads for their respective MFA programs.
Richard
from St. Louis is reading various anthologiesMarch 20, 2014 - 10:30pm
732 rejections in the past six years. 311 different markets. 100+ stories published. insane. :-)
voodoo_em
from England is reading All the books by Ira LevinMarch 21, 2014 - 2:32am
^wow. There's some stats.
SConley
from Texas is reading Coin Locker BabiesMarch 21, 2014 - 7:16am
It's to the point where i forget about stories i've sent out until i get a response. Rejections rarely bum me out anymore, with the exception of a place or two that i really thought would like something.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 21, 2014 - 8:19am
A few nightclubs, Chuck E. Cheese, a courtroom, electoral college, airplane lavatory during landing, countless skateboard decks, basketball hoops, and a womb 40 years ago.
Class Director
Rob
from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update thisMarch 21, 2014 - 8:49am
@melmurphy, I got a rejection on a story from Red Fez, a couple of years back—and it was kind of mean. Not that I think you should have gotten that, but at least we know we're not alone. I guess that's their thing.
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksMarch 21, 2014 - 8:53am
Funny, just got a rejection from Red Fez last week that was a little mean.Thinking it's sort of their way.
@Gordon That Chuck E. Cheese one must have been heart rending.
melmurphy
from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore VidalMarch 22, 2014 - 8:46pm
@Rob and Angel. Hmmm, what are the odds the three of us got snotty rejections from Red Fez?
I did a little looking around for info about that site a couple years ago. I ran the founding members' names thru Wikipedia and discovered that some were once associated with McSweeney's.
Their site design is so butt awful, it's hard to care. When I did get accepted the second time with the nom de plume and the fake bio, I forwarded links to friends and they all complained. Who the hell uses red text on a white background or yellow on black?
Red Fez reminds me of when I tried for Project Greenlight in it's very first year (1999). I spent months fighting to upload my script and then months reading every awful script I could find, etc., etc. In the end, I literally had to beg for my promised 5 peer reviews. And they were all awful. One was a guy with an ax to grind who spent his entire critique telling me how my story premise was utterly impossible. Another was, I think, a made-up person/Greenlight bio who acted as though they couldn't comprehend basic English. One comment literally was: "I know likey ur story".
Thank gawd Red Fez isn't the only game in town. There's tons of literary sites and indy publishers out there. But I do wish this supposed publisher revolution (like the indy music producers) would kick into higher gear.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 22, 2014 - 9:31pm
Project Greenlight, oh yes, I remember that. That's back when I was really into screenwriting. I didn't enter the contest, but I followed it. That inspired a short film I made that screened at a few festivals. A mockumentary about a PG-type contest winner who was a total hack and being followed around by a professional film crew.
melmurphy
from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore VidalMarch 23, 2014 - 4:08pm
I caught one or two eps of the documentary show that Project Greenlight spawned. That Chris Moore guy (Damon and Affleck's buddy) was a giant a-hole.
The nice thing about Project Greenlight is I totally washed my hands of Hollywood and that stupid rat race a long time ago. You'd be better off spending your money on Lotto tickets versus SASEs and query letters.
I went to a meeting of the Seattle Screenwriters in 2009 and listened to this slimy nitwit from Pasadena run on about how his production company was doing a music videos and commercials. He told one sweet old lady in the audience he "was hoping to pay nothing" for a good script idea. I think I got up and walked out right after that.
SConley
from Texas is reading Coin Locker BabiesMarch 25, 2014 - 4:38am
Those Feast movies came from Project Greenlight though, and they were pretty cool.
Mess_Jess
from Sydney, Australia, living in Toronto, Canada is reading Perfect by Rachael JoyceMarch 25, 2014 - 12:45pm
Feast as in the gore-fest with Henry Rollins as the self-help talker? I loved that movie.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreMarch 25, 2014 - 2:48pm
Yes.
Project Greenlight also gave us Shia LeBoeuf. *ducks flying tomatoes*
Mess_Jess
from Sydney, Australia, living in Toronto, Canada is reading Perfect by Rachael JoyceMarch 26, 2014 - 11:37am
We all make mistakes.
melmurphy
from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore VidalApril 2, 2014 - 12:14pm
Just got rejected from Booth magazine.
booth.butler.edu/
Oh well, as Celine Deon sez 'my heart will go on.'
;P
Class Director
Rob
from New York City is reading at a fast enough pace it would be cumbersome to update thisApril 4, 2014 - 8:32am
Caketrain Journal! Got the e-mail just as I was falling asleep. Which is probably better than getting it when I woke up, right? Might have bummed me out more if it was at the start of the day...
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksApril 4, 2014 - 9:06am
Just checked Caketrain's site. Disappointing lack of cake and/or trains. Not worth it unless you get cake when accepted.
Nick
from Toronto is reading Adjustment DayApril 4, 2014 - 1:08pm
Just got the ol' RJ from Black Clock Magazine. I don't want to say how long it took them to get back to me (quite a while) but theirs was one of the most encouraging rejections I've received.
EDIT: Does anyone find it a bit vain to name drop places that bloodywell didn't accept you? What kind of desperate attention whore started this thread?
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreApril 4, 2014 - 3:15pm
As I recall, Black Clock takes something like a year to get back to you. At least they did when I had something in their subs queue.
MattF
from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected FictionsApril 4, 2014 - 6:29pm
Nick, can we compare notes on Black Clock?
Three days ago I received a message that my story had been received. I sent it exactly five months ago. The submission manager now shows the status as being received and read by two readers. Did you go through that intermediate step before they rejected it? Also how long did it take? (I'm in danger of feeling half-way hopeful about that submission).
Received rejections from the Mid-Amercian review and One Story on the same day this week.
I have one submission out for eleven months now, to a non-sim-sub market...
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksApril 4, 2014 - 7:15pm
Wow, have a sub at Black Clock too. Didn't bother to sign into the sub manager at all. Thanks for the heads upo, Matt. Looks like I'm in the same boat. Maybe we've passed the first "round"?
As for sim subs...I do it even if it's not allowed, especially if one is on submittable. Pretty easy to withdraw if you have to.
Sure, it's "frowned" upon, but writing is a hustle. Rules are meant to be broken - sometimes - especially if you believe in a piece.
*Edit: Am I the only twelve year old removing the "L" from "Clock" almost EVERY time I read it? Paging Doctor Freud.
MattF
from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected FictionsApril 4, 2014 - 10:35pm
Angel, yeah, having it read twice at black cLock and not yet rejected does seem like a good sign. And it's always fun to get the hopes up to make the ultimate rejection that much more crushing--standard rejection just doesn't do it for me anymore...
As for the sim-subs, agreed, I'm going to have to shift my thinking. As a rule, I never submit to no sim-sub markets as a kind of personal protest/boycott, because I think it's shitty policy. Conversely, the rare times that I do (this is a themed issue that my story seemed peculiarly suited for, and it's a good mag), I feel like I made the choice, I didn't have to submit there, so I should honor their (shitty) policies. But eleven goddamned months is testing my better nature. They answered my follow-up saying it could take up to sixteen.
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksApril 5, 2014 - 5:29am
16 months? Ugh, I'd be foaming at the mouth by then.
Gordon Highland
from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreApril 5, 2014 - 5:46am
Same here; won't even send to anyplace that's NSS for the same reason.
Brandon
from KCMO is reading Made to BreakApril 5, 2014 - 10:46am
Sorry, but being paid in an issue and token stipend (when they can afford it) doesn't justify that long of a wait time. You'd be better off shooting for an anthology, or at the very least, something with guaranteed payment.
Nick
from Toronto is reading Adjustment DayApril 5, 2014 - 4:32pm
@ BT I agree in theory, I can think of no good reason for that type of practice. But what would ultimately prove more beneficial to Joe or Jane Writer--an encouraging RJ from Black Clock or an acceptance from the Buttfuck Review?
TheScrivener
from Seattle is reading short stories April 5, 2014 - 5:57pm
an acceptance from the Buttfuck Review
I need this.
Angel Colón
from The Bronx now living in New Jersey is reading A Big Ol' Pile of BooksApril 5, 2014 - 6:07pm
I'm in agreement. I'd make it the only publish mentioned in my bio.
TheScrivener
from Seattle is reading short stories April 5, 2014 - 7:04pm
Then be sure to send that bio to ploughshares.
Wendy Hammer
from Indiana is reading One Night in SixesApril 5, 2014 - 10:07pm
I'd be more entertained by the inclusion of a rejection from said review in an author bio. Adds pathos.
Or maybe it's the bourbon talking...
TheScrivener
from Seattle is reading short stories April 5, 2014 - 10:19pm
Well this is the pastis...
Dear Fiction Editor:
I have read your journal for years. I really loved the story "Insesticide" from the Summer 2013 issue, I found the tone of Uncle Cousin's relationship outstanding. I finally have a piece that I think is a perfect match! It was, however, recently rejected from Buttfuck Review. Fortunately it was a personal rejection, and I took their feedback to retool this piece into the artistic juggernaut your now have before you.
Thank you for considering my work.
MattF
from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected FictionsApril 5, 2014 - 10:26pm
It's a sucker's game, but I think you still need to have a strategy. I don't care about 2 copies or a hundred bucks. I want to make a case for myself as a writer, and I want to equal (or better) the writers I most admire.
Black Clock regularly publishes Delillo, Lethem, Bender, Vollman, and getting published there would mean you're throwing down with the best of them.
Everyone has different motivations, and the Buttfuck Review is a fine goal--you're in the game, you're being read--it offers its satisfactions, but it's not what drives me. It might be vain, random, or even a false indicator, but I want to appear alongside the writers I most respect and admire. I want to take the bastards down.
Wendy Hammer
from Indiana is reading One Night in SixesApril 5, 2014 - 10:49pm
There shouldn't be a problem with that. There are all kinds of reasons to submit to particular markets. If they are meaningful to you, you dig their work, or whatever...it's all worthy.
Aim high, right?
But, oh, the waiting. It's brutal and I don't think I'll ever get over it.
I'm expecting a real soul-crusher from a dream publication. I've made the short-list and that feels crazy awesome, but I can't help but think how hard the slap is going to be at the end. Then again, I can't regret trying for it. I've spent 80 days in worse ways.
Nick
from Toronto is reading Adjustment DayApril 6, 2014 - 8:48am
It might be vain, random, or even a false indicator, but I want to appear alongside the writers I most respect and admire. I want to take the bastards down.
Then again, I can't regret trying for it. I've spent 80 days in worse ways.
Yes.
Shannon Barber
from Seattle is reading Paradoxia: A Predators Diary by Lydia LunchApril 6, 2014 - 6:00pm
I just got rejected from The Black Market Lit and Blue Monday Review. I have one more outstanding. My submission rate is suffering while I work on a project. My poor rejection list is feeling neglected and lonely. I'm only 16 into my next 150. I'm a tad disappointed in myself.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigApril 7, 2014 - 1:03pm
Ok... let's see. According to Duotrope and in whatever order they've ordered them...
Kindle Singles (KDP)
Crossed Out Magazine
The Way of the Buffalo Podcast
The Boiler
A Bad Penny Review
Word Riot
Menacing Hedge
The Misfit Journal
Little Fiction
AGNI
The Indiana Review
Black Warrior Review
Stupefying Stories
The Again
And last (but not least) Dark House Press (Hi, Richard! hahaha).
Granted, I've withdrawn from a lot of places that might have eventually rejected me given sufficient time. But screw 'em, all but one of these stories has been placed elsewhere, and that one is a weird length, so it was only subbed to 2 places.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigApril 7, 2014 - 1:08pm
Also - no sim subs? Fuck 'em. They might have hundreds upon hundreds of subs to choose from, but I don't have the rest of my life to publish one story. Long waits for nonpaying journals? Also fuck 'em. I don't have a problem with nonpaying markets if the editor/owners aren't also getting paid, but if I see a nonpaying market with a 6 month wait time they don't even make my list. You have to whittle the list down somehow. That's one of my variables.
The Dirty Napkin, Word Riot, Jersey Devil Press, Juked, Dark House Press (anthology), Cease Cows (Hallow competition entry) Revolt Daily (1 story rejected & 1 story accepted)
Stats:
18 submissions
11 rejections
1 pending
1 withdrawal by author
5 accepted
Had to jump in on this. Fun Stuff.
Over the last 5 months since I've started submitting:
46 Submissions
30 Rejections from places like The Molotov Cocktail (3), Word Riot (2), Clarkesworld, Nightmare Magazine, Kzine, Jersey Devil Press, Shotgun Honey and Bartleby Snopes.
Been accepted at WeirdYear, Red Fez, Fiction on The Web and three others that should be seeing publication in a few months. Actually withdrew a piece I sent to Juked since it was accepted elsewhere.
8 submissions are currently pending, but I'm expecting soul crushing news on a few later this week.
PANK is one of those venues where they're considered a top tier publication, and yet I never ever ever see anyone's stories being circulated or shared...and half my social circle are people in the publishing industry or avid readers. I haven't thought about those guys in months up until Rob mentioned them.
PANK chooses quality work, but I can't say anything I've ever read has stuck with me after the fact. Doesn't matter, I'm a genre guy and I'm not fond of getting symbolic. Don't see myself going anywhere beyond reader with them.
In a world... where every struggling writer is rejected by a varied list of literary publications, comes an editorial board... that purposely rejects almost every outside submission in favour of publishing their own stories printed under pseudonyms. Fasten. Your. Seatbelts. <cue orchestra crescendo, large orange explosions>
Pete Hammond calls 'Publishers Ponzi' "one of the year's best thrill-rides, an absolute 10!"
Entertainment Weekly proclaims: "drop everything, even your child - and you'd better jetpack - don't run - to the multiplex, this film will break. your. existence. - Justin Bieber delivers a tour-de-force performance!"
'Publishers Ponzi', now playing.
Could be worse, I suppose.
the burned off part in the corner is a nice touch.
Wow, Gordon, is that real? Don't blame you for almost torching it.
On a different note, there's a publishing company called Graywolf Press (graywolfpress.org) that's a nonprofit and celebrating their 40th anniversary. It's a leading nonprofit publisher of novels, short stories, memoirs, poetry collections, and translations. Their mission is to "champion aspiring authors whose works are often overlooked by larger publishers." They're working on the premise that "all outstanding writers deserve to be heard in America's crowded literary marketplace, where five publishing houses now produce 80% of the books."
Anyway, check it out. What have you got to lose? :)
I have a flash fiction piece that's been rejected by Flash Fiction Online and another place but I can't remember which one. I don't submit a lot, but atm I've got one pending.
I'm a bit late with this, but damn that's an impressive (and inspiring) list.
The SubPop letter? Just something I found online. I've never sent any of my music to a label before.
Gordon-
Guess I took the hook and line, huh? Do you write music as well as stories?
Yep yep. Got a little home studio, been in bands on and off since college. The rejection percentage there is far lower, mostly club owners who—while dicks in their own right—primarily have to say no to our faces.
Good on you! Double dose of creativity. Believe it or not, we have a decent music scene here, and several venues that are comfortable.There's a great local FM channel, Birmingham Mountain Radio, that's gotten national attention lately.
Places I've been rejected? Hmmm, I keep that tally on Duotrope.com. I know they went over to the dark side and started charging 5 bucks a month but it's still worth it.
One that sticks out in my mind is Red Fez. I workshopped a short story at Hugo House in Seattle in fall 2011. Everybody loved it. I submitted it to Red Fez and got a really mean rejection.
So a year later, in the midst of submitting to a ton of other places, I submitted another short story to Red Fez under a pseudonym with a made-up bio. They emailed me back 6 days later and said they wanted to run it. http://www.redfez.net/fiction/485
I was just talking to this guy who co-runs Subtopian. I asked if he thought the more traditional, high-brow literary anthologies pick bios over stories? He agreed. When was the last time you saw a writer featured in the Iowa Review, the Missouri Review, Ploughshares or the Boston Review who did not have MFA in their bio?
I think a lot of the literary journals associated with universities are just ads for their respective MFA programs.
732 rejections in the past six years. 311 different markets. 100+ stories published. insane. :-)
^wow. There's some stats.
It's to the point where i forget about stories i've sent out until i get a response. Rejections rarely bum me out anymore, with the exception of a place or two that i really thought would like something.
A few nightclubs, Chuck E. Cheese, a courtroom, electoral college, airplane lavatory during landing, countless skateboard decks, basketball hoops, and a womb 40 years ago.
@melmurphy, I got a rejection on a story from Red Fez, a couple of years back—and it was kind of mean. Not that I think you should have gotten that, but at least we know we're not alone. I guess that's their thing.
Funny, just got a rejection from Red Fez last week that was a little mean.Thinking it's sort of their way.
@Gordon That Chuck E. Cheese one must have been heart rending.
@Rob and Angel. Hmmm, what are the odds the three of us got snotty rejections from Red Fez?
I did a little looking around for info about that site a couple years ago. I ran the founding members' names thru Wikipedia and discovered that some were once associated with McSweeney's.
Their site design is so butt awful, it's hard to care. When I did get accepted the second time with the nom de plume and the fake bio, I forwarded links to friends and they all complained. Who the hell uses red text on a white background or yellow on black?
Red Fez reminds me of when I tried for Project Greenlight in it's very first year (1999). I spent months fighting to upload my script and then months reading every awful script I could find, etc., etc. In the end, I literally had to beg for my promised 5 peer reviews. And they were all awful. One was a guy with an ax to grind who spent his entire critique telling me how my story premise was utterly impossible. Another was, I think, a made-up person/Greenlight bio who acted as though they couldn't comprehend basic English. One comment literally was: "I know likey ur story".
Thank gawd Red Fez isn't the only game in town. There's tons of literary sites and indy publishers out there. But I do wish this supposed publisher revolution (like the indy music producers) would kick into higher gear.
Project Greenlight, oh yes, I remember that. That's back when I was really into screenwriting. I didn't enter the contest, but I followed it. That inspired a short film I made that screened at a few festivals. A mockumentary about a PG-type contest winner who was a total hack and being followed around by a professional film crew.
I caught one or two eps of the documentary show that Project Greenlight spawned. That Chris Moore guy (Damon and Affleck's buddy) was a giant a-hole.
The nice thing about Project Greenlight is I totally washed my hands of Hollywood and that stupid rat race a long time ago. You'd be better off spending your money on Lotto tickets versus SASEs and query letters.
I went to a meeting of the Seattle Screenwriters in 2009 and listened to this slimy nitwit from Pasadena run on about how his production company was doing a music videos and commercials. He told one sweet old lady in the audience he "was hoping to pay nothing" for a good script idea. I think I got up and walked out right after that.
Those Feast movies came from Project Greenlight though, and they were pretty cool.
Feast as in the gore-fest with Henry Rollins as the self-help talker? I loved that movie.
Yes.
Project Greenlight also gave us Shia LeBoeuf. *ducks flying tomatoes*
We all make mistakes.
Just got rejected from Booth magazine.
booth.butler.edu/
Oh well, as Celine Deon sez 'my heart will go on.'
;P
Caketrain Journal! Got the e-mail just as I was falling asleep. Which is probably better than getting it when I woke up, right? Might have bummed me out more if it was at the start of the day...
Just checked Caketrain's site. Disappointing lack of cake and/or trains. Not worth it unless you get cake when accepted.
Just got the ol' RJ from Black Clock Magazine. I don't want to say how long it took them to get back to me (quite a while) but theirs was one of the most encouraging rejections I've received.
EDIT: Does anyone find it a bit vain to name drop places that bloodywell didn't accept you? What kind of desperate attention whore started this thread?
As I recall, Black Clock takes something like a year to get back to you. At least they did when I had something in their subs queue.
Nick, can we compare notes on Black Clock?
Three days ago I received a message that my story had been received. I sent it exactly five months ago. The submission manager now shows the status as being received and read by two readers. Did you go through that intermediate step before they rejected it? Also how long did it take? (I'm in danger of feeling half-way hopeful about that submission).
Received rejections from the Mid-Amercian review and One Story on the same day this week.
I have one submission out for eleven months now, to a non-sim-sub market...
Wow, have a sub at Black Clock too. Didn't bother to sign into the sub manager at all. Thanks for the heads upo, Matt. Looks like I'm in the same boat. Maybe we've passed the first "round"?
As for sim subs...I do it even if it's not allowed, especially if one is on submittable. Pretty easy to withdraw if you have to.
Sure, it's "frowned" upon, but writing is a hustle. Rules are meant to be broken - sometimes - especially if you believe in a piece.
*Edit: Am I the only twelve year old removing the "L" from "Clock" almost EVERY time I read it? Paging Doctor Freud.
Angel, yeah, having it read twice at black cLock and not yet rejected does seem like a good sign. And it's always fun to get the hopes up to make the ultimate rejection that much more crushing--standard rejection just doesn't do it for me anymore...
As for the sim-subs, agreed, I'm going to have to shift my thinking. As a rule, I never submit to no sim-sub markets as a kind of personal protest/boycott, because I think it's shitty policy. Conversely, the rare times that I do (this is a themed issue that my story seemed peculiarly suited for, and it's a good mag), I feel like I made the choice, I didn't have to submit there, so I should honor their (shitty) policies. But eleven goddamned months is testing my better nature. They answered my follow-up saying it could take up to sixteen.
16 months? Ugh, I'd be foaming at the mouth by then.
Same here; won't even send to anyplace that's NSS for the same reason.
Sorry, but being paid in an issue and token stipend (when they can afford it) doesn't justify that long of a wait time. You'd be better off shooting for an anthology, or at the very least, something with guaranteed payment.
@ BT I agree in theory, I can think of no good reason for that type of practice. But what would ultimately prove more beneficial to Joe or Jane Writer--an encouraging RJ from Black Clock or an acceptance from the Buttfuck Review?
I need this.
I'm in agreement. I'd make it the only publish mentioned in my bio.
Then be sure to send that bio to ploughshares.
I'd be more entertained by the inclusion of a rejection from said review in an author bio. Adds pathos.
Or maybe it's the bourbon talking...
Well this is the pastis...
Dear Fiction Editor:
I have read your journal for years. I really loved the story "Insesticide" from the Summer 2013 issue, I found the tone of Uncle Cousin's relationship outstanding. I finally have a piece that I think is a perfect match! It was, however, recently rejected from Buttfuck Review. Fortunately it was a personal rejection, and I took their feedback to retool this piece into the artistic juggernaut your now have before you.
Thank you for considering my work.
It's a sucker's game, but I think you still need to have a strategy. I don't care about 2 copies or a hundred bucks. I want to make a case for myself as a writer, and I want to equal (or better) the writers I most admire.
Black Clock regularly publishes Delillo, Lethem, Bender, Vollman, and getting published there would mean you're throwing down with the best of them.
Everyone has different motivations, and the Buttfuck Review is a fine goal--you're in the game, you're being read--it offers its satisfactions, but it's not what drives me. It might be vain, random, or even a false indicator, but I want to appear alongside the writers I most respect and admire. I want to take the bastards down.
There shouldn't be a problem with that. There are all kinds of reasons to submit to particular markets. If they are meaningful to you, you dig their work, or whatever...it's all worthy.
Aim high, right?
But, oh, the waiting. It's brutal and I don't think I'll ever get over it.
I'm expecting a real soul-crusher from a dream publication. I've made the short-list and that feels crazy awesome, but I can't help but think how hard the slap is going to be at the end. Then again, I can't regret trying for it. I've spent 80 days in worse ways.
Yes.
I just got rejected from The Black Market Lit and Blue Monday Review. I have one more outstanding. My submission rate is suffering while I work on a project. My poor rejection list is feeling neglected and lonely. I'm only 16 into my next 150. I'm a tad disappointed in myself.
Ok... let's see. According to Duotrope and in whatever order they've ordered them...
Kindle Singles (KDP)
Crossed Out Magazine
The Way of the Buffalo Podcast
The Boiler
A Bad Penny Review
Word Riot
Menacing Hedge
The Misfit Journal
Little Fiction
AGNI
The Indiana Review
Black Warrior Review
Stupefying Stories
The Again
And last (but not least) Dark House Press (Hi, Richard! hahaha).
Granted, I've withdrawn from a lot of places that might have eventually rejected me given sufficient time. But screw 'em, all but one of these stories has been placed elsewhere, and that one is a weird length, so it was only subbed to 2 places.
Also - no sim subs? Fuck 'em. They might have hundreds upon hundreds of subs to choose from, but I don't have the rest of my life to publish one story. Long waits for nonpaying journals? Also fuck 'em. I don't have a problem with nonpaying markets if the editor/owners aren't also getting paid, but if I see a nonpaying market with a 6 month wait time they don't even make my list. You have to whittle the list down somehow. That's one of my variables.