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Posts Tagged ‘submissions’

Mysterious Origins Revealed?

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

With apologies to turtles. And tortoises. And science.

Today, allow me to refer you to a story from Nature’s Futures, about a put-upon pair of frontline workers and the genetically-modified reptile who captured their hearts.

Clean-up on Planet 9 by Carol Scheina

A giant sea turtle swimming in a building-sized aquarium. Fields of toothy purple flowers. Goddamn dollhouse-sized pine forests. Quite a bit wasn’t the size or shape it was supposed to be.

While I appreciate the author’s discussion of her inspiration for the story, I can’t help but think that it could also be (at least distantly) related to the mysterious origins of the dimension-hopping tortoise* in my own story, “The T-4200.”

Sadly, “The T-4200” is not currently available online, but this story inspired me to send it off to a reprint market. Fingers crossed!

* I know, while a turtle and a tortoise are both members of the Testudine family of reptiles, they are not the same. Still (and with apologies to all right-thinking scientists out there), the story already adds animal-based faster-than-light travel, so I’m just going to go with it.

* * *

Photo by Josh Miller on Unsplash

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Exposure Therapy 101

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2022| 1 Comment »

Are you a writer? Afraid of rejection? Wish you had a thicker skin? Practice getting rejected with the Journal of Universal Rejection!

The founding principle of the Journal of Universal Rejection (JofUR) is rejection. Universal rejection. That is to say, all submissions, regardless of quality, will be rejected. Despite that apparent drawback, here are a number of reasons you may choose to submit to the JofUR:

• You can send your manuscript here without suffering waves of anxiety regarding the eventual fate of your submission. You know with 100% certainty that it will not be accepted for publication.

• There are no page-fees.

• You may claim to have submitted to the most prestigious journal (judged by acceptance rate).

• The JofUR is one-of-a-kind. Merely submitting work to it may be considered a badge of honor.

• You retain complete rights to your work, and are free to resubmit to other journals even before our review process is complete.

• Decisions are often (though not always) rendered within hours of submission.

Folks, I conducted my exposure therapy the old-fashioned way, submitting story after story to multiple venues until my skin grew hard as nails. If only I’d known about the JoUR sooner!*

* Seriously though, it’s worth getting past this particular hurdle. Whatever works for you!

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“Do one thing every day that scares you.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

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Just keep going. Photo by Xavi Cabrera on Unsplash

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For the Writers Among Us

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Attention writers!

Are you un-agented? Have you been waiting for a high-profile publisher to send out a call for submissions? Do you happen to have a science fiction, fantasy or horror manuscript lying around the house, waiting for its dare-to-be-great moment?

Then this, my friends, is your lucky day!

Angry Robot has announced a week-long open submission period for un-agented works. I don’t happen to have one handy but maybe you do? If so, may the odds be ever in your favor!

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Angry Robot

The Submission period will run for one week, from Monday the 21st of February to Monday the 28th February. 

We are looking for:

– Novel length works.

– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.

– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.

– Adult fiction.

– Finished manuscripts.

To apply, please send us:
– A sample that consists of the first three chapters of your work (or first fifteen pages if the chapters are short).
– A synopsis of the full work in a separate Word document.
– An elevator pitch and author bio in your email.

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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CC Finlay’s Guest-Edited F&SF, Now Open to E-Subs

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Hello and welcome to 2015. You may remember that back in July I noted that CC Finlay will edit two issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction for this year, and that he will accept electronic submissions. Excellent news! The second of those submission periods is open now through January 15th. For more information, check out his blog post on the subject. Good luck to all who submit!

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Cover Letters: The Story Stands or Falls on Its Own

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

If you have ever had questions about how to introduce your submission, I recommend The Occult Wisdom of Cover Letters by Helena Bell. It’s extensive, covers a great many details that only come up when you are ready to submit at 4:13 a.m. and have no one to ask, and is funny besides.

Essentially, her advice boils down to “the story stands or falls on its own” so keep it short and simple. Also, I recommend paying special attention to the appendix of “terrible things.” Avoid!

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CC Finlay Guest Editing F&SF Again

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2014| 1 Comment »

A quick heads up for writers of speculative fiction: CC Finlay will guest edit two more issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction in the coming year. Unlike standard F&SF subs, he will also accept electronic submissions. Wondrous!

For additional details, dates, etc. dive on in with CC Finlay’s blog post.

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Yeah, Still Busy

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Insane deadline looming so I wasn’t planning on posting anything today but! I just had to mention that my favorite writing and submissions manager The Grinder has added yet another really useful feature: the Market Response List. It tracks all responses from markets where you have current submissions, and is visible as a tab on the main page, next to Recent Activity and Recently Added Markets. So you won’t waste time clicking through to each market individually, repeatedly, far too often!

Yeah, it’s a version of something Duotrope already has. Only, you know, free. Thanks for all your hard work, The Grinder!*

* Not associated with the aforementioned site, just think they are terrific.

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