e.g.thompson

Hello, crew!

It’s been a while. Sorry about that, but I don’t believe in writing updates unless I have something to say. Most of the time, I’m more Ayorthaian than not 🙂  (you get 100 points if you get that reference BTW)

The six month deadline for my Tor submission is closing in, and I haven’t heard anything. The saying “no news is good news” doesn’t apply in this instance, though of course I’m still hopeful due to my cursed optimism. According to Tor’s submission guidelines, I’m supposed to resubmit my story after six months because this means their response was likely lost in the mail. First, I now know it can take 8-9 months for a response from them, but I figure I waited (mostly) patiently for their six month (“do not submit elsewhere”) turnaround, so I’m off the hook as far as I’m concerned.

Second however, it was hard enough waiting the first six months and I don’t have it in me to wait another half a year for a very likely “thank you, but no”, so I do not plan to resubmit despite their advice. Does that sound bitter? I don’t mean it to. Rejections are the norm, for almost all writers. Besides, I had planned to initiate Stage B of my Very Specific Plan if this happened, so I’m going to flesh out my manuscript and polish it before sending it on to another big publisher that accepts unsolicited submissions. Their turnaround time is three months.

In the meantime, I have a short story submission under consideration and a few more pending response. Writing is not for the impatient! I repeat: do not attempt publication if you have little to no patience! A “quick” turnaround is two weeks and three to six months is normal, for all lengths of stories. Before I initiate Stage B, I’ve submitted queries to to agencies who have a 4-6 week turnaround, just in case. In theory, it’s a lot easier to go through the whole publishing deal if you have an agent. So, I figure I should give that a try. Pro tip: make sure you learn all your email’s shortcuts. TIL that some combination involving the spacebar sent one of my queries prematurely. As in, my letter wasn’t complete #queryletterfail Oh well.

Good night!

Erin