alas-tastic surprise

[swan_tower]

Once again, we have a demonstration of the maxim that one should think, not twice, but seven or eight times, before deciding not to send a particular story to a particular market. It is the editor's job to reject it, not yours; certainly you should not send it if it's explicitly against their guidelines (your dragon-and-unicorn story to Analog, frex), but if you just think it's a matter of taste, send it anyway. Case in point: the story I wasn't sure was even worth submitting anywhere ("Selection," the second-person thingy, for those who critiqued it) got past the slush reader at F&SF and garnered a nice alas-o-gram from GVG.

So I guess it doesn't suck half so much as I had feared. Cool. ^_^

Comments

[unforth.livejournal.com]

So what did prompt you to submit it, if you thought it was so lousy? Just curious...

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I didn't precisely think it was lousy; more that it's a very odd duck of a story, being in second person and present tense, with a subject matter that falls into an odd gully for a lot of magazines' guidelines. I imagine somebody out there is going to love it, but I have no idea who that someone will be, and I was questioning whether I wanted to submit it to a lot of places that are quite possibly going to detest it in search of that one right market.

[ninja-turbo.livejournal.com]

Good on you for your save vs. self-defeat. I know it'll find its special corner of the writer-verse, but like you said, no reason not to start at the top. :)

[akashiver.livejournal.com]

I love me those alasograms. :)

In other news, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you re: your voice mail - I haven't figured out how to use all the features on my cellphone yet, so I didn't realize you'd left a message until today. Yes, I am that primitive.

Can you do this Friday at 3?