08.18.2008
Yes. Fantasy & Science Fiction, the tie-holder for my Fiftieth Rejection, came in to deliver rejection number fifty-four. Number five for Rugged Individualists. And after only five days.
Frankly, though I'm a little disappointed that after six submissions they still haven't seen one they like, I have to admit that I respect their work ethic.
Most online magazines get something like three and a half hundred submissions a month. Subtracting a few because of the cost of postage doesn't really do a whole lot for the workload. So getting to each rejection within a week is a seriously arduous task.
Plus, it shows they know what they want. And that's a good thing, even if what they want isn't what I have to offer.
But anyway...
For those keeping score at home... we're looking at:
- Twenty rejections thus far this year, tying last year's record and killing the year six's record of sixteen.
- A total days of six-hundred and thirty-eight on editor's desks, a little shy of the year seven but way above the two-hundred and forty-six in the year six.
- An average response time of just under thirty-two days. No record in either direction, just a solid month, baby!
- And I still have five out! Hell, yeah!
Of the five still out, two are looking interesting--though I know writing about them here is going to jinx me.
I have Varad Ranjani out at Asimov's for forty-three days now. Ten above the average of thirty-three. They've never taken this long to respond and I'm feeling good about it. (But, of course, it's probably because I forgot to include a self-addressed stamped envelope, right? Yeah...)
The other is Skin which has been sitting on the editor's desk at Abyss & Apex for a hundred and one days now. Way, way above their average, also at thirty-three. Their submissions page says they're in their second look pile, all other rejections mailed out at this point, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Oh... I know... I've been on the edge with them before, but I feel like this one has a real shot. And it's a fucking publication! Jesus... what I wouldn't do for that about now.
I'm not kidding...
But I am working on my novel. Yes, sir. It's up to 32,000 words now. And my average is up to. I'm at over a thousand words per day, or four pages for those who don't know word counts.
I'm still feeling good about it. I'm feeling really good about it. Finishing it won't be a problem. Publication... well... this is a rejection post, yeah? But still.
One thing that I've noticed is that when working on a longer work, the main character can change before you expect her to. In this case, the meek little girl I was writing about became a cold badass long before the seminal moment I had planned. But this isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's better.
Samantha, my main character, has turned out to be way more interesting than I thought. And it had nothing to do with me. I kept throwing in acts of violence and eventually, she started reacting like a person who keeps seeing acts of violence: increasingly cold and almost used to it. And better yet, capable of those acts herself.
It was always planned that she would be, but I never saw it happening this early. Still, because it has, it made it a much more even arc for her character. Of course, I'm going to have to revise her reactions in some of the prior scenes, but that's cool. As long as it's unfolding organically, it's unfolding truthfully. And that's what's most important.
So... hell, yeah, boys and girls! Hell, yeah.
And that's where I'm at. I'll update if I get rejected via email. I'm headed off to the big California for a little holiday at the end of the week. So rejections that come in via email are the only ones that I'll be able to report on. But, if something really interesting happens in the wine country, I'll let you know about that too.