Write One, Sub One

I got a rejection. From Fried Fiction. Took the editor 4 months to respond (eek!). I guess, they are no longer open to submissions. I think I'm gonna just make a novella from the short that I sent them. I'll put it on next month's goal list! :)
 
I have to spare a moment to gush about Crowded Magazine, here!

They have the world's best submission process, I have decided. You can opt to submit your story to the "crowd", at which point it is posted to their system and all registered users can read, rate & comment on it. At the end of the submissions period all the stories are taken down and the editors have a look. When you get your accept/reject, it comes with a summary of how your story did with the crowd, including stats on how other stories did so you can compare.

I found this REALLY helpful! I got a great rating & comments from the readers, and the editor feedback was excellent too. The whole experience just felt really positive, despite ultimately getting a rejection ("alas, we only have space for so many stories, but please submit again"). And it pays pro if you are accepted!
 
That's an interesting concept. I may have to check them out. Thanks for sharing!

Quick question: how long did the process take?
 
tmso said:
That's an interesting concept. I may have to check them out. Thanks for sharing!

Quick question: how long did the process take?
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That depends on when you submit. They have fixed submissions periods, and your story will stay posted from whenever you submit until close. It took another 3-4 weeks after that for the editors to have a look. So in my case it was maybe 40 days (?) all told because I submitted near the closing date, but some people on the Grinder are posting 100+ day rejections because they presumably submitted earlier.

I wonder if submitting earlier would get you more feedback, though? I still got above-average reads/comments despite getting in near the end.
 
I tried this for the first issue, mainly because I had an unsellable 8000 word story and Crowded will take as high as 20k - fantastic, I thought. Of course, once you see the basic stats provided you also see the (perfectly logical) problem at hand: that nobody wants to read an unattributed 20 thousand word epic on the highly likely grounds that it isn't very good. On the other hand, the masses of 1-2000 word shorts were read many more times than all the others for exactly the same reason.

When I submitted my piece there were already over 200 entries, and I think there were 300+ by the end. I went in and read more than 50 stories (including the longest, just to be contrary - it was garbage and I didn't bother finishing it), more than any other participant, rating and giving feedback where I thought it was worthwhile. I didn't get picked out, although the editors got in touch and gave me a year's subscription (that's three issues) as a thank you (PDF only, sadly, as their Amazon Ebook deal doesn't stretch to cover Europe).

However, my own piece was only read twice - and, at least for the first issue, that means the magazine's two readers did their job. However, that also means none of the other submitters could be bothered tackling a story even as relatively short as 8k. My other observation is that the longer the submission period goes on the fewer reads you get, so the best strategy is to post early and post short - certainly not over 5000 words if you want any of your rivals to give you a shot.
 
Noumenon said:
However, my own piece was only read twice - and, at least for the first issue, that means the magazine's two readers did their job. However, that also means none of the other submitters could be bothered tackling a story even as relatively short as 8k. My other observation is that the longer the submission period goes on the fewer reads you get, so the best strategy is to post early and post short - certainly not over 5000 words if you want any of your rivals to give you a shot.
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That makes a lot of sense, Nou! My story was 6k words, but I got 11 reads and 5 comments - not sure why! I forgot to track the story while it was in the crowd, so I don't know what order things happened in. Maybe I got a high star rating early on and other people wanted to see it? Were the star ratings even visible?

I am thinking of trying to write more stories in the 2-3k range, honestly. There seems to be a larger market for them, more willingness to read and buy.
 
Er, do any of you know if there is an easy/automated way to withdraw a piece from consideration at Daily Science Fiction? >.>
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Er, do any of you know if there is an easy/automated way to withdraw a piece from consideration at Daily Science Fiction? >.>
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I think you just have to contact them directly via email. But they were quick with my rejection. So, if it has been awhile, they may be seriously considering your piece. Maybe.
 
tmso said:
I think you just have to contact them directly via email. But they were quick with my rejection. So, if it has been awhile, they may be seriously considering your piece. Maybe.
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Nah, it hasn't been long. I just belatedly realized my piece is totally wrong for them, and I want it back to resubmit elsewhere. I haven't the patience to wait the 20-40 days for them to get to it. ;)
 
I've stopped subbing to DSF, but a friend who hasn't tells me that their read-response time has lengthened significantly.

I've only had to do so once, but I think a straight forward email, politely apologetic in tone, notifying your desire to withdraw your work is basically all there is to it.
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Nah, it hasn't been long. I just belatedly realized my piece is totally wrong for them, and I want it back to resubmit elsewhere. I haven't the patience to wait the 20-40 days for them to get to it. ;)
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If your piece is so wrong for them you're positive they'll reject it, surely you can just send to somewhere else anyway and no harm done?
 
CharlotteAshley said:
I am thinking of trying to write more stories in the 2-3k range, honestly. There seems to be a larger market for them, more willingness to read and buy.
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Why don't we set up a forum competition for that size. Monthly or bi-monthly. It would be a great way to get the juices flowing and see what kind of plots are possible with the word limit.
 
Pete: Because I know the one time I simultaneously submit will be the one time I'm hit by lightening and they actually want the damn thing. I don't want to tempt fate!

Sam James: It's an idea, but I fear diluting our already-strained writing pool. I'd rather see more months where we have 8-10 entries than divide the writers among yet another contest. :D More likely I will try to write some 2-3k scenes for the bi-monthly contests. No reason I need to push 5k all the time!
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Pete: Because I know the one time I simultaneously submit will be the one time I'm hit by lightening and they actually want the damn thing. I don't want to tempt fate!

Sam James: It's an idea, but I fear diluting our already-strained writing pool. I'd rather see more months where we have 8-10 entries than divide the writers among yet another contest. :D More likely I will try to write some 2-3k scenes for the bi-monthly contests. No reason I need to push 5k all the time!
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Yeah, there's nothing saying you have to hit 5k in the bi-monthly short story contest. I think one of mine barely got close to 2k.

Hopefully I'll start having time to throw some stories in the contests soon, too much serious writing lately, and it may be time for a little break!
 
Agh, another "close but not quite but we really liked it but send us more stories" from Interfictions! >.<

I love the "encouraging rejection", but they also kind of smart! So close! And now to start all over! Bleah.
 
CharlotteAshley said:
Agh, another "close but not quite but we really liked it but send us more stories" from Interfictions! >.<

I love the "encouraging rejection", but they also kind of smart! So close! And now to start all over! Bleah.
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And you should love it, that's awesome!
 
Wulfen said:
And you should love it, that's awesome!
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It's true, and I am thrilled. :D I think I just got myself too excited about this one - I knew it was in second round of readings, and I thought it was a great piece for the venue.... and now I have to find a different venue for a difficult piece. Ah well, there's always another story!
 
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