
Can hardly wait to find out who won this quarter!
mandycorine wrote:Hi Beth. I'm new to the forums and curious if the response data you mentioned is something I'm also supposed to be keeping track of for myself?
mandycorine wrote:Or is it that you mean you've heard back about your submission already? I haven't, and now I'm wondering if that means I didn't make it very far in the contest this time.
Beth Powers wrote:Hi mandycorine! Welcome to the forum! The response data I mentioned is just me keeping track of various statistics related to my submissions (here and elsewhere). I made myself a new spreadsheet this year so that I could sort by quarter and see when exactly I've received results in the past (I've been subbing since the days of paper subs, so I have quite a bit of data to draw from). It's not something you have to keep track of, but it's not a bad idea to track your submissions in some way just so you know what you've sent where, especially if you're submitting to more than one place. I use a combination of the Submission Grinder and an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of mine.
I hadn't heard back on my submission when I posted that (but I have now!). You should get a notification from the contest regardless of how your story did--even if you didn't place, you get an email. It looks like a lot of the results came in today, so hopefully, you've heard by now!
kentagions wrote:...nine years and now twenty-nine entries.....
For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!
kentagions wrote:Great job, everyone. We only call it an R here on the Forum. In the contest, it is a DNP (Did Not Place). In life, it is a try...congratulations. You did something, perhaps out of your comfort zone, that many others think of doing but never attempt. Study, read, and try again because you are in the same place that I have been for nine years and now twenty-nine entries. I've had what we call success around here (HM=11, SHM=1). You will get there, too.
It is my wish for everyone to fully examine themselves and their work. Get real opinions from trusted peers and professionals. Figure out what work you need to do to accomplish the goals you have set for yourself. And then, do that work. Follow through. Believe me, you will get there if you do the work.
And, with every entry to this contest or to the next market, remember to congratulate yourself. You are trying. You will achieve. Best of luck.
For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!
Corbin Maxwell wrote:For those who are a bit down about their R’s.
I’ve been writing for 17 years with 15 years of R’s. I’ve won two contests and a small press published a book of mine that sold about 50 copies. The publisher went out of business. I guess in these 17 years my biggest accomplishment has been that Charlie Finlay told me I am writing at a professional level. Of course that doesn’t stop him from rejecting my stories.
Small nuggets of positive reinforcement scattered among the rejection slips and those who outwardly doubt you and the worst critic of all, yourself. Those days when you felt lazy or depressed or sick and had no strength to write but you opened up that laptop or pad of paper and told yourself, “I’ll write just one good sentence or paragraph and if that’s all I get on paper today then fine. There’s always tomorrow for increasing my word count if things didn’t go so well today.”
Within this long haul of years I’ve struggled with the Dark Angel of Doubt over whether or not I should quit writing. We all have our struggles in life. Writing can be the one thing that gets you through the dire straights. Learn to love your writing: words, characters, and story. Read. Write. Study. Persist. Not so you can win contests or make money, but so you can experience an enlightenment of your mind and soul.
CCrawford wrote:Eagerink wrote:Got an R :/ sad because I thought this was my best yet yet. But I did realize that the first couple pages are a little weak. So could have been rejected there. Gonna go see what I can do about it... Then maybe I'll resubmit. Never done that but I really don't think it was read past the beginning.
Huge congrats to everyone who entered! Yay on those HMs! Fantastic job on those SHMs!
Eagerink, do you have a crit group? Happy to take a look if you want some feedback.
kentagions wrote:
For me, lucky 13. I received my first Finalist!
Eagerink wrote:CCrawford wrote:Eagerink wrote:Got an R :/ sad because I thought this was my best yet yet. But I did realize that the first couple pages are a little weak. So could have been rejected there. Gonna go see what I can do about it... Then maybe I'll resubmit. Never done that but I really don't think it was read past the beginning.
Huge congrats to everyone who entered! Yay on those HMs! Fantastic job on those SHMs!
Eagerink, do you have a crit group? Happy to take a look if you want some feedback.
I would appreciate that! Don't know how to do it in the forum though?
So you didn't get a gag order at all?
kentagions wrote:And thank you for the tip on asking about judges - you're right - pros I've read for years reading something of mine. Wow. Humbling and exciting at the same time.
HermioneLee wrote:Corbin Maxwell wrote:For those who are a bit down about their R’s.
I’ve been writing for 17 years with 15 years of R’s. I’ve won two contests and a small press published a book of mine that sold about 50 copies. The publisher went out of business. I guess in these 17 years my biggest accomplishment has been that Charlie Finlay told me I am writing at a professional level. Of course that doesn’t stop him from rejecting my stories.
Small nuggets of positive reinforcement scattered among the rejection slips and those who outwardly doubt you and the worst critic of all, yourself. Those days when you felt lazy or depressed or sick and had no strength to write but you opened up that laptop or pad of paper and told yourself, “I’ll write just one good sentence or paragraph and if that’s all I get on paper today then fine. There’s always tomorrow for increasing my word count if things didn’t go so well today.”
Within this long haul of years I’ve struggled with the Dark Angel of Doubt over whether or not I should quit writing. We all have our struggles in life. Writing can be the one thing that gets you through the dire straights. Learn to love your writing: words, characters, and story. Read. Write. Study. Persist. Not so you can win contests or make money, but so you can experience an enlightenment of your mind and soul.
Corbin, thank you for sharing your story. There were a lot of things you mentioned that I could relate to...
May your perseverance and grit guide you to success one day
fihr wrote:SHM for me. Nice after taking a break from short stories for a while. Just checking in to thank those who kindly beta'd my work, despite me not having been active on this forum for a few years. It was great of you to take a look. Hope you did well too!
Grats to all on your HMs' and more. To those getting R's, good on you for entering and better luck next time. To the finalists: I don't envy you the wait :D But good luck!
Valiant wrote:Thanks for your kind words about my first HM.
Out of interest, do any of you ever engage in a sort of post-game analysis? Where you try to find the parts that kept your story from reaching higher? I think it might be something that could help me.
Dragonchef wrote:wotf020![]()
I still haven't heard anything.
ajschultz6 wrote:I'm relatively new here, as this was my first quarter. But I'm excited to have received an honorable mention! On to the next. I didn't submit to Q4 since none of my newer stories are quite up to snuff yet, but I will definitely be entering again in the new year.
Beth Powers wrote:Honorable Mention for me!
Dustin Adams wrote:Dragonchef wrote:wotf020![]()
I still haven't heard anything.
Seems finalists have been called. I say go ahead and query at this point.
kentagions wrote:I missed Joni's first call. We didn't speak until afternoon my time today (Monday). By the time we finally spoke, the only caution involved anonymity.
Dragonchef wrote:Dustin Adams wrote:Dragonchef wrote:wotf020![]()
I still haven't heard anything.
Seems finalists have been called. I say go ahead and query at this point.
Thanks Dustin. Yeah, queried Joni at 6:52 am today. Of course, it was 3:52 in LA so I don't expect to hear anything for at least a few more hours.
<sigh>
This is the third time I needed to query on my 'R' (don't know for certain that it is an R, but judging by past experience it probably is).
kentagions wrote:KD Julicher wrote:So you didn't get a gag order at all?
I missed Joni's first call. We didn't speak until afternoon my time today (Monday). By the time we finally spoke, the only caution involved anonymity.
Thank you so much for your support. And thank you for the tip on asking about judges - you're right - pros I've read for years reading something of mine. Wow. Humbling and exciting at the same time.
thegirlintheglasses wrote:I still don’t have results either. Perhaps I’ll query soon too. But I’ll wait for a bit.
Return to “The Contest - Quarterly Topics, and Other Items”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests