posted
I tried to fight off my curiosity, but alas, it has finally gotten the better of me. Scott, if it is not too much trouble, I would very, very much like to read some of your work.
posted
F&SF is known for being particular, that's true. A friend of mine, who is a seasoned pro at short story writing, made it his goal last year to sell *something* to them because he just couldn't figure out what they were looking for. He ended up selling them two stories. He, like me, had Ellen Datlow as a Clarion teacher and has sold her a few stories for anthologies, but has only just managed to sell a story to SciFiction, and that was with George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozios cowriting.
I'm not sure if the "reading only the first word" allegation about F&SF is true. People often speculate about why they're so speedy, but it may just be that Van Geldar runs a really tight ship. A lot of editors can read fast and bear in mind that many other magazine editors, like Datlow, Dozios (though he's just finished his stint at Asimov's) and Shawna McCarthy (Realms of Fantasy) make it their jobs to read more than the slushpile. They select the Year's Best, which means reading every issue of everything, and yes, they do claim to read every pro market, or in McCarthy's case, she's an agent on the side.
I just got another rejection from Ellen Datlow! A nice one though Posts: 700 | Registered: Feb 2000
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-that John Joseph Adams gives a story five pages, and if it doesn't grab his interest, he doesn't send it on to GVG. That's not half-bad, considering most editors give it the first paragraph.
It would be funny if he did read only one word. In that case, I wonder what word would be sufficient to capture his attention?
Posts: 407 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Well, I personally know that the word cannot be one of the following:
'They' 'When' 'Anthem' 'Another'
So, for all you aspiring writers-- do not begin any story that you intend on submitting to F&SF with the above words.
BTW-- got a form rejection back from another agent for 'Wild Land.'
BTW part II-- To everyone who has requested a copy of what I've written: All of my work is pending response from an editor or agent right now. It's my personal policy not to send stuff out to be critiqued/read when I have a line for that story in the water.
Sorry for the inconvenience, etc, etc. . .
[ September 07, 2004, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: Scott R ]
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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The Other Scott says that we have so many pages of dreck in us to get out first. Maybe we have so many rejection letters to get before It happens, too, and you aree just chewing your way mightily through your allotted slew.
Thanks for sending me "Mouse and Elephant" for SCIFICTION. It's a well-told story and I like it but I'm afraid not enough to buy for the site. Good luck selling it and I hope to see your next.
Ellen Datlow Fiction Editor SCIFI.COM
Rats. I'm going to try Strange Horizons after I gather enough emotional strength to format the story and cut some words. . .
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
I hope they give it due consideration. I worry that your rejections may be because your stories aren't read thoroughly -- it is the likeliest explanation I have, and the hardest to do anything about.
You might have discussed this before, but had you considered an agent? Has that been useful to people in the past?
*fingers crossed for you
Posts: 2919 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I talked with a couple folks on Codex, and they think that the above was (at least) not a form-form letter, and I think that most of the editiors in professionally paying mags DO read thouroughly-- at least, I have faith they do.
Though, I've really gotta question about the slush pile readers-- do THEY read thouroughly? I just don't know how F&SF has such quick return times if they ARE reading thouroughly. Or maybe John Joseph Adams is just a phonomenal individual with super-reading prowress.
End ramblings.
Anyway, Strange Horizons has a return time of about a month, so here's hoping.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Sara-- I've tried five agents for my children's story, 'The Wild Land,' with form rejections from all of them. I DON'T think any of them read thoroughly ( ).
But you don't really use agents for short stories, and at the moment, that's all I'm writing. I don't even have a novel on the backburner. . .
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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quote:The reason our response came so quickly is because we devote time to it every day, rather than let it pile up. In many cases, we do in fact read and reject manuscripts on the same day they arrive.--JJA
posted
ae-- Thanks for the link. That is a very interesting discussion.
What I've concluded (perhaps erroneously) about JJA is that he is looking very specifically for certain types of stories in the slush pile. Thus, the critiquing mechanism is not 'Is this a good story?' but one of 'Does this story meet my needs?'
The one would require him to read through the whole story; the other allows him the freedom to look for what F&SF needs in a story, and determine very quickly whether or not the story meets the criteria.
Unfortunately, all my current stories are rather long. I should have taken the hint years ago-- the one story that reached Van Gelder was under 5000 words. I'm beginning to suspect (and in fact, the discussion on the thread you linked to confirms it) that shorter = better for new writers.
:whine: But there's just so much PLOT to my stories. . .
Maybe I should just stop putting the word count on the first page. But then, I'd probably be rejected for bad formatting. . .
[ September 20, 2004, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: Scott R ]
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Man... now I want to read the newest version. But... darn it all. I procrastinate way too much when it comes to critiques or just sending a "loved it" email.
posted
How can the judges not love Blackberry Witch? It's smart, dark, and a little sexy. Darn it, now I have to read it again when I get home. See what you've done, Scott?
Please let us know how we can pick up a copy. I'd love to support any contest that recognizes how great Blackberry Witch is.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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