This is topic Writers of the Future Q1 in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.


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Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
The first set of honorable mentions isn't up on the blog yet, but it is here:

http://boston.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/California/2010/03/04/LA65310

Honorable mention for me. That breaks a two-quarter streak of rejections, so yeah!

Anyone else see their name?
 


Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
Congratulations Jennifer!!!

Did you get your story in early? Is it the 'twins' story?

quote:
The second and final set of Honorable Mentions will be announced next week

Really??

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited March 04, 2010).]
 


Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
I put my story in the mail Dec. 5 - not up against the deadline, but not too early, either. The 'twins' story is my entry for this quarter (which I'm going to put in the mail tomorrow). This HM is for a story called "The Wedding."

It looks from the press release that the rest of the honorable mentions will be announced next week, so if you're not on this list, you don't have long to wait for the next one.

[This message has been edited by JenniferHicks (edited March 04, 2010).]
 


Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
Well done! Any other Hatrackians on the list?
 
Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
I think a lot of us are in the 2nd set. Seems most of us in the group mailed the entries off during that final week.

Also, I remember last quarter that the press releases werent completely matching up with the WOTF blog lists.

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited March 04, 2010).]
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
Nice job, Jennifer.


 


Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :
 
Congrats Jennifer!
 
Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
 
I wonder why the WotF blog hasn't posted this list? It makes me question the validity. Not to take anything away from you: Congratulations, Jennifer!!!

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited March 04, 2010).]
 


Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :
 
The same thing happened last quarter - it was published elsewhere first. If I remember correctly, it took a day or three more for the blog to update.
 
Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
The list is legit (and I'm not just saying that because I'm on it <g> ). At my newspaper job, I keep an eye on all the press releases and articles that move on our wires system, and the WoTF release was in there. I wouldn't have known to look for it, otherwise. Its source is prnewswire.com, which distributes press releases for just about everything.
 
Posted by billawaboy (Member # 8182) on :
 
Wow! Congrats Jennifer!

I didn't even know so many hatrackers were writing to WOTF.

Though I do feel sorry for the guy in the Honorable Mentions named DJ Cockburn...Yikes, what a name. Hope that didn't affect his story...
 


Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
 
Congrats, Jennifer! I'm not on this list, we shall see next week...
 
Posted by MAP (Member # 8631) on :
 
congrats Jennifer.
 
Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :
 
Congratulations.

 
Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
Thank you for all the kind words, but honestly, I'm a little embarrassed because that wasn't what I was looking for when I started the thread. If anyone is deserving of praise, it's Brad and Skadder, who both won the contest. And there might be among us a semi-finalist or finalist this quarter, but it isn't me. My purpose with this thread was to find out whether anyone else from Hatrack was on the first list. It sounds like most of the others who entered did so late in the quarter, though, so we won't know more until next week.

[This message has been edited by JenniferHicks (edited March 05, 2010).]
 


Posted by billawaboy (Member # 8182) on :
 
From rejections to HM among a lot of serious works submitted- that means your story caught the eye of many of the famous authors and serious critiquers in an already competitive contest. They saw *something* good.

Congrats deserved.
 


Posted by LlessurNire (Member # 8781) on :
 
Congrats on the HM Jennifer! I remember reading your wedding story and it deserved that HM!

I didn't make this list, but then, I haven't received a rejection in the mail yet either....*fingers crossed*

I did mail my story on the last day of the quarter, and the previous quarter I didn't receive my rejection until long after all the results had been posted.
 


Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
I'm not on that list and have yet to hear anything. I suspect I'll get a reject because the fantasy element isn't introduced until about the bottom of page 3. Probably chose the wrong story to send in.

Must finish the polish on the story for Q2 as the deadline is looming.
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
Hey tchern!

Where have you been? Do not count yourself out. The list you saw is only the first one. KDW may not have unburied yours from the pile yet. Patience. Hope you get second this quarter.
 


Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
Blog has posted the list now

http://wotfblog.galaxypress.com/
 


Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
Congrats to those who recieved honorable mentions

crossing fingers for those who still have yet to hear

And kicking my own ass for not submitting in over a year



 


Posted by InarticulateBabbler (Member # 4849) on :
 
Well, the most recent news is: She's done with the first reading.

[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited March 17, 2010).]
 


Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
Second round of honorable mentions announced:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/second-round-of-honorable-mentions-announced-in-international-writers-of-the-future-contest-88440452.html

Any Hatrackers?
 


Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
Yeah...

I spotted:

Tchern...

Snapper

IB

Congratulations!
 


Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
Way to go Snapper, Tchern, and Babbler

[This message has been edited by Bent Tree (edited March 18, 2010).]
 


Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
Yeah! Congratulations!

And I'm crossing my fingers for those who have not heard anything yet.
 


Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :
 
Congratulations all. I think I see Crank on there, too.
 
Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :
 
quote:
And I'm crossing my fingers for those who have not heard anything yet.

All my fingers. And my toes. I'd cross my eyes, too, but it's hard to get through a work day like that!
 


Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
 
Ever try typing with your fingers crossed?
 
Posted by aspirit (Member # 7974) on :
 
Congrats to Jennifer, tchern, snapper, IB, and Crank on your honorable mentions! Best of luck to those of you who are still waiting.
 
Posted by WriterDan (Member # 6456) on :
 
And here I thought I was on top of things for posting about the advance leaks of the second set of Q01 honorable mentions. Guess I only missed first post by about 7 hours though. lol. Congrats, everyone! Great job!

[This message has been edited by WriterDan (edited March 19, 2010).]
 


Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
OK, better get my next entry in, then.

And better shop that story somewhere else.
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
You better wait until you get it back, tchern. No official word yet. Maybe they just announced the list of people whose stories she is keeping for the finalist spot.

(okay, just wishing)
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
Anyone catch this?


quote:
"Out of the thousands of stories that get submitted to the contest, a small percentage make it this far," Wentworth said.

Is that a 1000, plural? Coudl it be they get a lot more entries than previously believed?
Don't ever believe I have heard anyone at WotF ever give any hint on how many stories they get a quarter.


 


Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
I saw that, too, Snapper. I've always heard that about 10 percent of entries per quarter reach the level of honorable mention or higher. Maybe the "thousands" is referring to the number of entries over the entire span of the contest.
 
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
My understanding is that HM is generally the top 10-15%.

Still goes down as a rejection on my spreadhseet, though. However, the last time I got an HM, the story sold to a pro-rate market on the next submission, so fingers crossed for a repeat of that.
 


Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
quote:
Is that a 1000, plural? Coudl it be they get a lot more entries than previously believed?
Don't ever believe I have heard anyone at WotF ever give any hint on how many stories they get a quarter.

I believe I heard on a few occasions that the amount of entries varied a lot by quarters, but on average it was between six and eight hundred. Could be that this was one of the big quarters or as mentioned by someone else, it could be a reference to the entire amount of entries over the year.

quote:
My understanding is that HM is generally the top 10-15%.
Still goes down as a rejection on my spreadhseet, though. However, the last time I got an HM, the story sold to a pro-rate market on the next submission, so fingers crossed for a repeat of that.

You are right about the percentage. I am still shopping my HM from the last time I entered about a year ago, but the problem with mine I think is the word count. It was pretty long, also it is milieu based, and I have since altered some info now that the milieu has been further developped and therefore it has made the story a little off according to my world so I have since tossed it to the side.

I realize that K.D. Wentworth has to read all the entries and therefore doesn't have time to offer her crit on anything but the semifinalist, but I wish there we could at least get the point system she uses like 7/15 or whatever, but even more valuable and seemingly reasonable request would be for her to list the elements she judges and just a simple checkmark next to the elements she conidered needed strengthening. It seems that she would make notes like these anyway simply for her own use in refering back to the stories that she read. I would be thrilled to get that simple report card. I think writers would really find that valuable to their advancement and it wouln'd be that difficult for her to do. Hell, she could even make a stamp with

with a simple numerical value assigned that she could pen in, that would be absolutely great in my opinion.

Granted there are stories according to her, that she knows pretty much in the first two pages that is going to get chucked to the reject pile, but even to know that was the fate of your story would be a valuable thing to know about your story.

I really can't complain though. I have enormous respect for her ability to read all those stories and still maintain a succesful writing career. She did say that even if she knows it is bound for the bin, she still reads them all through to the end. Not even slushpile readers give us that honor.

[This message has been edited by Bent Tree (edited March 20, 2010).]
 


Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :
 
Having graded a number of papers in my career, you would not believe the amount of mental energy and time it takes me just to assign a number to a piece of writing. It's even worse if I also have to figure out which element - exactly - isn't quite working. It certainly isn't as bad as a full critique, but it takes long enough that I would hesitate to ask for it even for just the HMs.

That said, of course it drives me crazy when I can't figure out for myself why a piece HM'ed. What did I do right? What did I do wrong? Argh. :-)
 


Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
From what I have been told, the number of entries runs into the thousands usually. HMs are given to the top 5-15%.

In the last quarter , there were 121 HMs. If that was 5% then the total number of entries was 2360, if it was 15% then it would be 800.

I'm not sure if was Joni or Kathy that said it, but the reason people aren't told how many entries there are is because they would find it 'disheartening' to know how many entrants there are.

Just enter your best stories and read the advice about creating a story that will win--especially Kathy's, as pleasing her specific tastes/requirements will get you in the top 8.
 


Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
I see your point Kay-Ti. Fotunantly or not, I typically understand my failings, once I look at them, but comparing notes with the judge is always nice
 
Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :
 
quote:
I see your point Kay-Ti.

Wasn't me! Twas Kitti. Similar, but different people entirely.

I'd love to have some clue why a story of mine was rejected vs. HM'd, or even more detail, but there's simply no way. I know from reading Flash Fiction Online slush I often reject in the first few paragraphs (though in our case because stories are 1000 words or less, that may mean 20% of the way through the story or more.) I can't always put my finger on why, though I do give some kind of wording around my rejections to the coordinating editor. Usually things like unlikable MC, laughable/unbelievable premise, gross, annoyed by withholding, issues with writing/communication (e.g., excessive use of colloquial spellings.) I imagine KDW has her own list that is something along the lines of what you posted, Bent. Plot, characterization, plausibility, grammar/language use, etc.


 


Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
oOops:

Sorry KayTi and Kitti. I need to sleep more.

[This message has been edited by Bent Tree (edited March 21, 2010).]
 


Posted by Crank (Member # 7354) on :
 

My second consecutive HM. Considering the level of talent I was up against, I'd say I did a decent job.

Of course, that story is back in circulation already. In fact, I just got back. Normally, taking my packaged story from my job to the post office across the street is called "The Walk of Joy." Today, I renamed it: "Drive in the Rain Because I Left My Jacket at Home...But Still I Drive with a Sense of Joy." I'll work on shortening the title some other time.

Congrats to everyone else who placed!

S!
S!

 


Posted by WriterDan (Member # 6456) on :
 
I once asked Kathy if she'd consider putting an "X" at the spot where she stopped reading the story. Simple, I thought, and effective in relaying information to the author. She declined, mostly on the idea that there would be some people out there that freaked out that she had written on their manuscript (in a bad way). Jim Hines backed her up, so I dropped it. Anyhow, I've been told that Kathy will make hand-written comments on the top of HM's that got very close to the semi-finalist pile. Just read that last week or so. I got one of those two quarters ago and it made me totally re-evaluate that story. From what I understand, comments like that are about all the feedback she does give, and/or will give, to non-semi-finalists.
 
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
Well, I marked my MS as disposable, and only sent a #10 SAE, so I'm not expecting anything.

In general, the advice of any editor who has rejected a story should be looked on cautiously. Just because they dislike it or stop reading does not necessarily mean that another editor will do the same (as noted, my first WOTF entry got an HM, then a pro-rate sale at its second market: whereas this one has already been rejected by one pro-rate market but was described as "probably the best-written story I have ever had to reject" so I have some hope for it yet).

Unless it is pretty obvious a story has a major flaw, I don't consider revising until I've had 5 or 6 rejections. Rewriting to the taste of an editor who's already rejected it, after all, is pointless, and runs the risk of changing something that another editor might actually have liked more.
 


Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :
 
The list of semifinalists and finalists is now up:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/finalists-announced-in-1st-quarter-2010-of-l-ron-hubbards-international-contest-for-writers-89033502.html
 


Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
Anyone from Hatrack?

 
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
 
Brennan Harvey looks familiar, but I'm not certain.

I can't believe I haven't entered in a year. I am mad at myself!
 


Posted by Brad R Torgersen (Member # 8211) on :
 
Brennan has been a Finalist before. I am pulling for him. He used to post at the WOTF forum a lot.
 
Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :
 
I must say this makes the contest look even more formidable.

Slush - untold hundreds
HM - 100+
Semi - 9
Final - 9
Winners - 3

I guess all you can do is write the best story possible and hope for the best. Still, makes me wonder how many really good stories are out there...
I assume the 15 non winners of the quarter all submit to other sources and put "semi-finalist" or "finalist" in their query letter making them stand out even further.

Axe
 


Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
I guess the superstitious and anxious of us, me included, can start posting again. Wow the WOTF groups have been quiet the last week while we all waited. I wish some more Hatrackers were on the finalist lists.

Now, back to that rewrite...

ps...100 HM? Did I miss a list? I only counted about 70 between the two lists Jennifer posted from the newswires.

[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited March 24, 2010).]
 


Posted by Brad R Torgersen (Member # 8211) on :
 
Joni has been known to do HM lists after posting the Finalist and Semi-finalist lists.

Lately, she seems very behind on the blog.
 


Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :
 
That was kind of interesting. I found Helen Venn's blog and touched base. Who knows, it might result in finding an in-person writing group around town somewhere.
 
Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
Blog is finally updated....Silver Honorable Mention?

http://wotfblog.blogspot.com/

Official congrats to

Snapper
JenniferHicks
InarticulateBabbler
Rick Novy
tchernabyelo
Kitti

and all those who managed through the real life slushpile to get an entry in.
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
Joni gave me an extra F in my name. I wonder what it stands for?
 
Posted by Brad R Torgersen (Member # 8211) on :
 
Silver Honorable Mention, that's a new one.

Must have been a story right on the fence, between the top end of the HM pool and the bottom of the Semis.
 


Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
New review of last years anthology. Check out what this jealous hack had to say.

http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=1250
 


Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
"Jealous hack" seems a harsh characterisation. He's frank, and he does himself no favours with some embarrassing errors (eluded for alluded is particularly cringeworthy), but he makes some interesting points as long as you take it - as reviews should be taken - as one person's opinion.
 
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
Not sure if you know, but Frank and snapper are one and the same being.
 
Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
 
Oh I got a giggle out of that one lol
 
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
Damn skadder,

You just ruined all my fun.
 


Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :
 
quote:
"Jealous hack" seems a harsh characterisation. He's frank...

Sometimes a person can be their own worst critic, especially when they're frank (or Frank).


Spaceman (Rick Novy) once posted an interview he had done with Stanley Schmidt. A Hatracker, unaware that Spaceman was the "interviewer", responded to the post in a truly cringeworthy way. I believe that the response was shortly edited after a helpful Email.
 


Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
 
No, clearly I didn't know.
 
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
 
It's okay, tchernabyelo. Snapper has such a quirky sense of humor that I recommend being extra wary with regard to his posts.
 
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
 
quote:
It's okay, tchernabyelo. Snapper has such a quirky sense of humor that I recommend being extra wary with regard to his posts.

There is a joke in there somewhere, I just haven't found it yet.

I really am bummed. I would have struck up a whole new this is how much of a hack he is conversation.

I do thank you though, tchernabyalo. Nice to know that you would defend me from me, even if you weren't aware it was I that I was slandering.

[This message has been edited by snapper (edited April 15, 2010).]
 


Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
 
Slightly off-topic but: Does anyone know what happened to the WOTF message board? Every time I've tried to go there today, I've gotten a "page not found" message. Did it move?
 
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
 
No, but I have emailed Joni to ask.
 


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