So Long Gone

How long is too long to wait for a response from an editor. That is the question posed by K.C. today. With a book I can see waiting up to a year for a response. I mean, it is a book. Lots of pages and yours isn't the only one out there so literally thousands of pages get sent in every day to some of these publishers.

I am sure some of the literary markets have the same problems. I can't imagine the slush that Crazyhorse (I know they get over 1000 stories a month) and Fantasy and Science Fiction (at least they are quick about weeding out what they don't want) get every day. It can't be healthy. I don't know what a smaller market would get, although we could ask Aaron about Sand and their slush pile. I guess the question remains, how long is too long to wait. I can understand a five month wait. Not a problem, I can handle that. Eight months? Okay, we are pushing it. Ten months? A year?

Aaron brought up an interesting point. K.C.'s book has been out 431 days. I have a short out 392-ish days. Aaron says he has one that is right up there (I wonder if it is to the same market). Since I subbed out to that market my writing has evolved. A lot. Once it comes back, if it is a rejection and at this point I am counting on it, it is going into my dead story file. It was a bad story. The line was sloppy, the characters unbelievable, the dialog craptacular. The description was pretty good but that does not a good story make. There was no plot to go off of. It was just a rambling description. Not unlike this post.

Wwhat do we expect out of our editors and does it have anything to do with what the story could pay if it is accepted? It does with me. I waited eight months with Crazyhorse because they are a prestigous market and I know they get a lot of submissions from the best in the country. I wasn't going to piss that chance down my leg by bothering the editor. Now if a non-paying or token market is going to try the same thing I am going to inquire. There is no reason for it. (For all I know the response got lost in cyberspace somewhere, as what happened with a tale I sent to Black Ink Horror.)

Sorry to ramble on. Happy Thursday!

Rambling man

Okay, a multitude of completely non-related things today.

First off- My daughters school play was last night, she is in kindergarten and was snowflake like the rest of her class. I was amazed that the class, as a whole, could carry a tune. Much better than the first graders but not as good as the third graders. It was a fun and brief time. While we were in the school gymnasium though ice was accumulating on the roads outside so the drive home was slick and very slow. I was thankful that I live on a road that doesn't get a lot of traffic. Meanwhile, this morning, every school around my district called school off or had a two hour late start but we were right on time. The bus slid to stop in front of our house and I haven't heard of any bus accidents yet so they must have made it.

Second- I have seven stories out that have been at their perspective markets for over 100 days (I actually just deleted the word years) one has been out for 337 days and From the Asylum has had a story for 297 days (They still seem to be up and running so I don't know what is going on there) The others have either just hit the 100 day mark or are one 30 or 40 days over that. I think I have hit an editorial black hole. (Yes one of those markets is Boston Review at 130 days now. So much for their average of 57 days.) The rest I didn't expect to hear back from yet so I won't name names here. I knew they had long lead times and I am fine with that. (I have also had one at Apex Digest for 40-some days now. I only mention that because I really like the story I sent them. It received an Honorable Mention, along with one of Cate's stories, in the Return to Luna Antho which I need to order)

Third thing- I am taking a couple of days off from novel writing to work on a short story for the Devil's Food Antho. The story is really starting to go places that I like and despite the antho's title I am not making this story a bloodbath. It is actually coming along quite nicely (well, people are going to die but the story is coming along nicely, although my main characters true colors have yet to show.) I hope I like the end result as much as I like the way it has started. I don't know what it is reminding me of yet. maybe a Mark Twain meets Hemmingway meets Brian Keene. (You figure that one out) Needless to say it is, stylistically, unlike anything I have written before and I am really enjoying the process.

I also want to thank everyone who had an opinion on yesterdays post. I thought it was something that needed saying. I am sorry if it sounded like a lecture by Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.