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Author Topic: WotF Critique Group -- 2011 Q02
Brendan
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quote:
Too bad some bozo had to attempt a lame bribery offer to get her attention but she ignore it like the professional that she is.

What? Again? You'd think that that person would learn by now and offer at least half the prize money. It's like he doesn't really want to know her price.

Edit because the tongue didn't work.

[This message has been edited by Brendan (edited June 08, 2011).]


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LDWriter2
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I was wondering how she was doing.

I'm eager to send out the correct version of that story.

But I can recall that bribe.... Thought for sure she would take it. She could get two large-Venti cups of coffee at Starbucks to help her stay up late and work on those stories.


Of course one story would probably wake her up for either of two reasons. How good it is or how badly written it is.


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JenniferHicks
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Hold onto your hats, folks, because the results are starting to go out. Duotrope lists five form rejections received in the last 10 minutes ...
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LDWriter2
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Surprised, I haven't received mine yet. Unless of course they did respond to my request for changing versions but I never received it. Just like a couple of people from last quarter.

But I know where I'm sending my story next... the right version this time.

Been waiting for this rejection so I could send it out.


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dtn
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Got a rejection at 4:20 Mountain time today.
Better luck next time to me and anyone else in my situation...

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mrmeadors
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I'm going to be waiting very VERY impatiently... I can be the most patient person in the world, until I find out that things are ABOUT to happen. Then all bets are off.
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Osiris
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Same here mrmeadors, I haven't heard anything yet either. Took me forever to get to sleep last night.
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JenniferHicks
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Strangely enough, I feel no impatience whatsoever, but it is a little early for me to be chomping at the bit. If I don't hear by the middle of July, then I'll start going quietly nuts. (Besides, I'm pretty sure what I'm getting this time around, so the suspense is minimal.)
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Brendan
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Interesting... Someone at duotrope has claimed a 24 day rejection. That makes it, oh, a late entry?

[This message has been edited by Brendan (edited June 16, 2011).]


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mrmeadors
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Yes, that's what I thought as well.
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JenniferHicks
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... Or someone who got confused about which quarter they received the reject for.
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snapper
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Sorry to hear it dtn but we do appreciate that you shared news with us. Not knowing what's going on is tortuous. Hearing that some one had news helps the rest of us.
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Dark Warrior
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Seven of us placed HM or SHM last quarter. Would love to see that number increase with some finalists thrown in the mix. Have to keep our string of winning Hatrackers alive for this next volume.
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LDWriter2
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Glad, I came back and reread some of the posts. I was going to ask how many received rejections so far but I believe it's only one so far. At first it sounded like two or three.

Wonder how many entered though. There is bound to be some HMs here... at least.


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mrmeadors
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I submitted via post, so I am not expecting to hear for a little while yet. From what I can tell on Duotrope, only people who have submitted electronically are hearing things thus far.
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dtn
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Mine was an electronic submission.

And, I actually got the rejection letter twice, about a minute or two apart (I'd have to look to know exactly). Does that mean they really really didn't like my story? haha - just kidding.

I hope we get a few winners out of the group... *crosses fingers*


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LDWriter2
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Hmm, they must have gone through the first batch and working on another.
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JenniferHicks
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Second batch of rejections might have gone out tonight. A person on the WotF forum reports getting one, and they're starting to show up on Duotrope.
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LDWriter2
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Well, I heard, I can now send the story to the next place.

Haven't gotten my certificate for the last quarter either.


And Joni has a way of making a form letter sound more personal. But in this case it makes it seem like all the extra stuff they put in this quarter was because my story was
not good at all.



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Owasm
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Another rejection.

I will be sending this one out.


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mrmeadors
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Oh the HUMANITY!!!

Sorry. I am extremely impatient right now because I have had four stories out in the world since February, and haven't heard from any of them. I just want to be able to move on!!! Why didn't I e-sub it?

Sorry to the folks that got rejected, but hey, now's the chance to get those stories out there . Best of luck!

Melanie


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snapper
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Got my answer as well. I really was expecting to do better than an uncermonious rejection. Thought I wrote a winner this time.

Shows you what I know.


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JenniferHicks
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Sorry that so many got rejections tonight.

As you're all aware (but it never hurts to say it sometimes anyway), KDW's opinion is just one person's opinion. So get it back out on submission elsewhere ASAP.


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Brendan
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Sad to hear that snapper - if it was the one about the dragons, I quite enjoyed reading your story. Where will you look for a home for it?
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genevive42
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I'm anxious now. All of the replies on Duotrope are right around the same 'number of days' count as my submission. I'm really hoping NOT to get an e-mail from them right now.
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snapper
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I am thinking of sending it to [i]Beneath Ceaseless Skies[/i. I am looking at it again and making a few word changes.

I should have known it never stood a chance. I don't ever recall reading a dragon story in the anthology.

Still predicting yours will make teh final 8, Brendan. Good luck to you and everyone else still waiting.


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Osiris
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I'm sorry to hear about the rejections. I wish everyone who received one the best of luck finding a home for their stories. Like Jennifer said, its just one persons opinion. I think WoTF looks for a particular kind of story, too, so it doesn't mean a rejected story is bad.

Ditto on the anxiety, no e-mail for me today either. They've had my story for 110 days now. Average time on Duotrope is 106 days for rejections if it is an e-sub, which mine was. My RSS feed shows the most recent rejection at 86 days. Is that typical for this quarter?


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Grayson Morris
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I think the Duotrope tea leaves for WOTF are even less readable than for other markets. As far as I can tell, there is no FIFO reading of stories; a batch of rejections may contain stories submitted on the first, middle, and last days of the quarter. Not having gotten a rejection yet may mean you're in consideration for something better, or it may just mean she hasn't read your story yet. No way to know based on your submission date.
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LDWriter2
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Hmmm, maybe a couple of us can get into BCS... By the way Snapper you left off the last ] ... even though the comment about KDW being only one editor and another one may like it hasn't been true in my experience.


And even though from pervious comments this may not be true for WotF I would say, snapper, then write a dragon story with the story and writing so good they have to at least take a longer look at it. I believe you might be able to do that.


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LDWriter2
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Well, sent off my story to the next place and I also sent off last quarter's HM to Analog.


A little rushed with that note so I came back to say, While trying to format the story for Analog correctly I accidently noticed that I had left out a word in around the 15th to 17th sentence. That must have been the way I sent it to WotF, anyway I added the right word and slightly changed one sentence.

And I think I sent in the right version of the Gudknight story. I changed a couple of things in the opening. I have no idea if it really is better but at least it flows better to me.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited June 23, 2011).]


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mrmeadors
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Good luck, Louis!
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JenniferHicks
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@Snapper: Maybe you were right that you got a straight rejection because your story has dragons. A new WotF press release says:

"Every quarter the thousands of entries in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest – the world’s largest and oldest science fiction and fantasy contest – are reviewed to see what the current popular subject is. The current trend is elves, dragons and sirens. They have taken over from space flight and time travel, which were the rage for the last few quarters."

Read the whole thing here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/6/prweb8595486.htm


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BenM
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Guys, I've been watching several discussions like this the last few weeks and wanting to say something - but not really knowing if what I have to say is what you want to hear, and I don't want to come across as if I think I'm 'all that' or something, because I'm not. Maybe I should blog about it instead, but I wanted to chime in here with some feedback.

KD will never reject your story out of hand because it has dragons in it.

From critical reading of the latest anthology to talking to both the judges and publisher of the anthology at length, the most obvious criterion for winning is that your story is the best one from that quarter that will help sell the anthology. That means:
(a) readers love it: The prose is awesome, the story inspiring, the ideas fascinating.
(b) industry reviewers of the anthology, such as Locus, give it a thumbs up: The stories are original and showcase what the anthology promises - the best new SF/F.

posulliv's first-place story from the latest anthology is one of my favourites, and in some respects it's YA fantasy that someone might regard as Harry Potter-esque. And yet it's not - it's unique, brilliantly written and touches the heart.

So I'm sure someone will win with a dragon story in the near future. But it will be a fresh dragon story that throws your head in a spin, which makes you happy or sad or angry or wistful, and which makes a reader say Wow, I'm so glad I bought the anthology. And in the area of dragons, where everyone from Cressida Cowell to Anne McCaffrey to JRR Tolkien have had a shot, it's going to have to be something pretty amazing.

[This message has been edited by BenM (edited June 25, 2011).]


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genevive42
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Thanks Ben. Awesome input!
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Brendan
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quote:
I don't want to come across as if I think I'm 'all that' or something, because I'm not.

Ben, anyone that saw your speech would know that you're a genuine guy. We appreciate your comments here perhaps even more than your blog.


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mrmeadors
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I agree, Ben, didn't come across as "all that," it was informative and also heartening.
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LDWriter2
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Ben, actually I felt educated by your note. And I felt challenged by what they said. I want to write that different dragon story. Hmmm, maybe one of those dragon openings I did awhile back. But not sure if I will take up the challenge though, still got problems with the prose.

But speaking of that I was at the bookstore and saw on one book where some big name stated that the writer took the werewolf theme and made it her own. I think I can do that also so I may write that werewolf story that I was inspired with a couple of weeks ago... but I can also do that with a dragon idea. Hmm, something different... with a twist.

Maybe something that has been done only a couple of time so it will still be fresh.

How is WotF with light hearted stories?


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mrmeadors
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What I have heard KD Wentworth say is that humor doesn't do well because what is funny to one person may not be funny to another (the judges). But a lighthearted story that is just light without trying to intentional be funny per se may be fine.
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JenniferHicks
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I remember a first-place story a few years ago about a professor who was showing a colleague the large time machine that had popped into his house ... or did it? That was lighthearted. But serious stories are by far the more common winners.
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snapper
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quote:
So I'm sure someone will win with a dragon story in the near future. But it will be a fresh dragon story that throws your head in a spin, which makes you happy or sad or angry or wistful,

I thought I wrote that dragon story. Oh well. She likely dumped out early. In an interview she did a couple of years back, she said she reads all the way through of about 20% of entries that crosses her desk. I am betting I failed to carry her attention long enough. She has mentioned she is looking for new and fresh ideas before, and dragons may automatically signal been done! on her orginality meter. May explain why you don't see vampires, elves, and little green men in WotF either.

Back to the drawing board!

[This message has been edited by snapper (edited June 27, 2011).]


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JenniferHicks
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I just got my respons from Joni ...

Semi-finalist!


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genevive42
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Way to go, Jennifer!
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genevive42
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I just checked - good thing I looked in the spam filter. I got an HM.
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Wordcaster
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JenniferHicks --

That's fantastic news! Weren't you a silver HM last quarter?

I just got my response from Joni as well -- HM, which was my goal with the piece I submitted. It's the best I've written thus far (and first submittal to WOTF). Hopefully better stories will follow.

Unfortunately, this quarter has been rough for me and unless I pull something out of thin air tonight, my submission will be missing this quarter.


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thomaskcarpenter
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Grats Jennifer and Genevive!

Tom

** Still waiting on results myself. Hopefully its not like last quarter when I got the non-rejection, rejection. ;p


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Brendan
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Congratulations, Jennifer, genevive42 and Wordcaster.

I emailed Joni last night about my 3rd quarter entry and problems with their system, so I was hoping for an email this morning. Sure enough, there was one in there from Joni - but not what I expected. HM for 2nd quarter.


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LDWriter2
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My congrats to Jennifer, genevive42 and Wordcaste also.
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WriterDan
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Straight reject. <<Sigh>>
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Osiris
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Well, just checked as well, I'm pleased to announce I got my first honorable mention. I did hope for a little more than that, but being it is only my second submission, I don't think I have any right to complain.
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JenniferHicks
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Wow, that's a successful day for our little group. Congrats to Genevive, Wordcaster, Brendan, Osiris! I hope for those of you who haven't heard, it's because Joni hasn't made a certain round of phone calls yet.

Yes, I got Silver HM last quarter. I'm feeling some cracks in that wall I'm beating my head against.


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