09.17.2008
My story Drug Enforcement just got a rejection from Interzone and with it, rejection number ten.
Ten!
Hah ha! It's the first one to reach this milestone. Cool, yeah?
This story was put in the mail and sent of to Interzone because they didn't have their usual email submission period this year and I thought, "What the hell? Why not?" Of course, it cost like five bucks to get it out there and, honestly, I have no idea how long it took. But... it did arrive and now I've got my first rejection in a while.
What they said was:
Thank you for sending us your story. We have read and considered it very carefully, but unfortunately we won't be making you an offer of acceptance. Sorry to disappoint, but please remember that submissions are always welcome, and that next time the news might be better.
Fair enough. I hope all submissions are carefully considered. But I'm certainly glad mine was.
They then went on to say:
Don't forget that it's always a good idea to read the magazine. This will give you a huge advantage over those writers who don't study their markets.
Yeah. I am a subscriber actually. Last year I went and subscribed to a whole bunch of sci-fi rags to see what they publish. Interzone is one of the best, too. That's why I'd like to be published there.
Anyway, this makes rejection number fifty-six, my twenty-second for the year. And it came after a fairly short thirty-seven days.
Not too bad. Not too bad at all.
I still have two stories out, one at Abyss & Apex for a stunning one-hundred and thirty days. I don't know when I'll hear back on that one but you'll know when I do.
In other news, the two that are out will probably be my last submissions for at least a little while. "Why," you ask. Because I'm moving. Yes, I am leaving the glory and the wonder of Manhattan for the borough of Brooklyn where I will be moving into a massive new place.
The downside is that I have zero furniture so it'll be me padding around in my socks for a while wondering what to do with the place. The upside is that I could probably set up a hockey arena in the living room in the meantime. So... we'll see how it goes.
Alright, people. That's all the news I really have right now. Other than the fact that my novel, based on the "short" story You're Never Too Far From Gelassenheit is ticking along and nearly sixty-five thousand words. I'm aiming for eighty and will probably overshoot a little but that's fine too. It gives me stuff to cut.
Take it easy, kids.