I started this blog with the full intention of talking about as much of what I was doing as possible. Severe motivation issues kicked in around the middle of the month so I apologise if the entries aren’t as verbose later on. Blame the brain chemicals.
May 1st – Egress to Dark Matter Mag & Handyman to Planet Scumm. I had planned to sub to Space Fantasy Magazine today as well but as they are open all month I’m going to hold that story back in case any markets happen to close early, later on in the month. EDIT:-You Are Needed On The Bridge to Split Lip Magazine. I snuck this one in towards the end of the day as free spots to sub were limited. 3 stories subbed today. 0 rejections.
No=113, Yes=6, Subbed=122. On Hold=2.
May 2nd – Pick A Witch to Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores & A God’s Day Off to SmokeLong Quarterly. I had got up super early to sub to Galaxy’s Edge, hoping they’d open midnight local their time, but that didn’t happen. They still weren’t open later the same day so I’ll keep checking in there every other hour. If I don’t get in today, I’ll try next Monday with the same story. 2 stories subbed today. 0 rejections.
I did get a rejection. No on Making The Grade from Mythaxis Mag. It’s not challenge related so I wont be adding it to the daily stats, only the yearly ones listed below.
No=114, Yes=6, Subbed=124. On Hold=2.
May 3rd – Egress to Clarkesworld & A Journey, Of Sorts to Split Lip Anniversary. I had Timber Ghost selected as 2nd market for today but they were not open for whatever reason. Galaxy’s Edge didn’t open yesterday at all, in the end. 2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No on May Day from Uncharted Magazine. It’s not challenge related so I wont be adding it to the daily stats, only the yearly ones listed below.
No=115, Yes=6, Subbed=126. On Hold=2.
May 4th – Happy Star Wars day! The Big Three to James Gunn’s Ad Astra & Ballroom to FFO. No on A God’s Day Off from SmokeLong, 1st rejection of a challenge story. I know the official list said Interzone Digital today but I did some shifting around for my personal list. It’s my challenge, I’ll sub where I want when I want. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=116, Yes=6, Subbed=128. On Hold=2.
May 5th – This 1st one sneaked in just before midnight but I couldn’t complete the log to get it in quick enough so today it is! No on Egress from Clarkesworld. Just one market today. Wedded Bliss to Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. 1 story subbed. 1 rejection.
No=117, Yes=6, Subbed=129. On Hold=2.
May 6th – No on Egress from Dark Matter Magazine & no on Muse from CatsCast. Only Egress is challenge related, Muse was a reprint subbed back in February.
One Night Stand to Allegory & Debrief to Alan Squire Publishing Anthology. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=119, Yes=6, Subbed=131. On Hold=2.
May 7th – 1st week done and dusted. You Never Forget Your First Giant Laser to Factor Four Mag & Dear Transnational Death Tank Company to The Bureau Dispatch. Had to quickly select a new story for Factor Four as the one I’d picked was too long. 2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=119, Yes=6, Subbed=133. On Hold=3.
May 8th – No on The Death Of Tony Fashion from GONE. That was from April, they said really nice things about the story. Today was supposed to be Interzone & Ring Of Fire, but I chose to bump them later down the month. I spotted a couple of other markets late last night & subbed to those today as well.
Mother Knows Best to Interzone Digital, The Haunted Spaceship to LOTF Space Horror & Once, A Humble Bard to Old Moon. 3 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=120, Yes=6, Subbed=136. On Hold=3.
May 9th – SALE! 1st sale of the challenge! A Fine Body was sold to The Lorelei Signal, subbed back during the January event.
Pen Pals From The Abyss to Mother; Tales of Love and Terror & Thirty-Eight Days In An Electric Tyrannosaur to Asimov’s. No on You Are Needed On The Bridge from Split Lip. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection. 1 acceptance.
No=121, Yes=6, Subbed=138. On Hold=3.
May 10th – Cell 115 to Dark Void Magazine & How Do You Get To Memory Lane to Flash Frog.
No on Handyman from Planet Scumm. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection. 1 acceptance.
No=122, Yes=6, Subbed=140. On Hold=3.
May 11th -No on The Magician from Wyldblood Magazine. Not a challenge related sub.
… Made For Two to Electric Spec & I Made A New Friend Today to Dread Imaginings. 2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=123, Yes=6, Subbed=142. On Hold=3.
May 12th – No on Volunteer To Be A Martyr from Proton Reader.
I added an extra market & subbed to Clarkesworld today because my 7 day cool-off was done.
I Screamed Into The Cosmic Void And All I Got Was A Lousy T-shirt to The Future Fire & A Head Of Steam to Clarkesworld. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection. I have to count this because it was from the last challenge & I counted that acceptance which was too.
No=124, Yes=7, Subbed=144. On Hold=3.
May 13th – No on A Head Of Steam from Clarkesworld & on How Do You Get to Memory Lane? from Flash Frog.
Befriend a Robot to Three-Lobed Burning Eye & Ask For Slim to The Mods. 2 stories subbed. 2 rejections.
No=126, Yes=7, Subbed=146. On Hold=3.
May 14th – Todays markets were The Arcanist or World Unknown Review. Arcanist was closed, I wasn’t enthralled by the idea of a market open to any genre so I passed on WUR. Instead I chose to use Space Fantasy Magazine.
No on The Bounty from The Quiet Ones & Lost Souls from Best of British Science Fiction Anthology Series. This is a non-challenge related rejection. No on Pick A Witch from Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.
Bindlestiffs to Space Fantasy Magazine. 1 story subbed. 1 rejection.
No=129, Yes=7, Subbed=147. On Hold=3.
May 15th – The Age Of Chivalry to The Lorelei Signal. No on Taken By The Squads from F&SF. Not a challenge related rejection.
1 story subbed. 0 rejections.
No=130, Yes=7, Subbed=148. On Hold=4.
May 16th – Death Cache Trial to Metaphorosis & Dungeons, No Dragons to Uncanny. No on Mother Knows Best from Interzone Digital.
2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=131, Yes=7, Subbed=150. On Hold=4.
May 17th – No on Befriend A Robot from Three-Lobed Burning Eye & on Bindlestiffs from Space Fantasy Mag. No on Death Cache Trial from Metaphorosis. Ask For Slim was withdrawn from The Mods.
Where Have All The Dragons Gone? to Flash Point SF. 1 story subbed. 3 rejections. 1 withdrawal, because Ask For Slim was sold to HyphenPunk.
No=135, Yes=7, Subbed=151. On Hold=3.
May 18th – A God’s Day Off to Fractured Lit & Wizard Of The Day to Swords and Sorceries Anthology Series.
No on The Trouble With Being A Sword Of Truth… from Lightspeed. Not a challenge related rejection.
2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=136, Yes=7, Subbed=152. On Hold=3.
May 19th – No on Fairy Tales, and Lies from Daikaijuzine. Not a challenge related submission.
Scenario Twelve to Bourbon Penn. 1 story subbed. 0 rejections.
No=137, Yes=7, Subbed=153. On Hold=2.
May 20th -Forged In Sunshine to Ring Of Fire & Things To Do When You’re Undead In Denver to The Vanishing Point.
2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=137, Yes=7, Subbed=155. On Hold=2.
May 21st – Encounter With The Priestess to The Dark. I couldn’t sub to F&SF today, I only recently had a story come back from there so 21 days certainly hadn’t passed.
1 story subbed. 0 rejections.
No=137, Yes=7, Subbed=156. On Hold=2.
May 22nd – No on Encounter With The Priestess from The Dark. 1 rejection. (which should have been logged yesterday but I couldn’t do the admin in the 1 minute I had left of the day.)
Hotel Oblivion to Apex Magazine. 1 story subbed. 1 rejection.
No=138, Yes=7, Subbed=157. On Hold=2.
May 23rd – No on Thirty-Eight Days In An Electric Tyrannosaur from Asimov’s.
11 Walls In The World to Orion’s Belt & Hostile Take-over to Tree And Stone. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=139, Yes=7, Subbed=159. On Hold=2.
May 24th – Hyperboy; Trinity to Escape Pod & Any Other Business to Dark Recesses (Print).
No on 11 Walls In The World from Orion’s Belt. Galaxy’s Edge opened at extremely short notice so I was on that quicker than a cat on a fucking laser pointer.
Fluid State subbed to Galaxy’s Edge.
A late no on One Night Stand from Allegory.
Appeared to be a personal rejection with feedback from their senior editor so that clearly got very close indeed. Certainly the furthest I have ever got there. 3 stories subbed. 2 rejections.
No=141, Yes=7, Subbed=162. On Hold=2.
May 25th – Ask For Slim has been sold to HyphenPunk.
A Monster Under Every Bed to IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED & Surviving A Lock-in At The Bloodied Pheasant to Archive of the Odd. 2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
No=141, Yes=8, Subbed=164. On Hold=2.
May 26th – No on Ballroom from Flash Fiction Online. This arrived just before midnight on the 25th but I didn’t have time to process it then.
The Man Who Borrowed My Clock to The Colored Lens & Moon Walker to Etherea Magazine. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=142, Yes=8, Subbed=166. On Hold=2.
May 27th – Black City to Analog & Dear Transnational Death Tank Company to The Sprawl Mag. 2 stories subbed. 0 rejections.
Received a request to hold a challenge story until September, agreed to the hold. Choosing not to name the market so they don’t feel pressured to buy it. Positive comments, feels possible.
No=142, Yes=8, Subbed=168. On Hold=3.
May 28th – The War Machines to Utopia Science Fiction & Playing For Time to Uncharted Magazine. 2 stories subbed, 0 rejections.
No=142, Yes=8, Subbed=170. On Hold=3.
May 29th – Egress to The Dread Machine. I couldn’t sub to Freeze Frame as I still have a story there. I’d bumped Uncharted to tomorrow. 1 story subbed. 0 rejections.
No=142, Yes=8, Subbed=171. On Hold=3.
May 30th – Ahead Lies The Sign to Unnerving Magazine. Bards & Sages Quarterly was todays listed market but I already have something on hold there so didn’t want to push my luck
Ahead Lies The Sign was withdrawn from Unnerving Magazine as they weren’t officially open. Todays sub was made in good faith, believing they were open & all evidence said they were.
Until I got an automail saying they weren’t.
This will have to count as todays sub as I can’t find another open market. If you feel I cheated, say so.
Befriend A Robot subbed to Interzone Digital. Wasn’t about to lie down and just die like that so used IZD who are a reliable always open market.
No on Befriend A Robot from Interzone Digital. 2 stories subbed. 1 rejection.
No=143, Yes=8, Subbed=173. On Hold=3.
May 31st – Getting Back to The No Sleep Podcast. I had Dark City Mag & StarshipSofa down for subs but had nothing I hadn’t already sent to Dark City and had something had StarshipSofa anyway. 1 story subbed. 0 rejections.
No=143, Yes=8, Subbed=174. On Hold=3.
Totals – 56 stories subbed. 19 rejections. 2 acceptances. 1 withdrawal.
The 1 withdrawal was because a story which had sold was in submission elsewhere.
Happy with the amount submitted considering several days I had to make only 1 sub because I had stuff at one or more of the listed or spare markets. Hopefully a few more of those 56 subs will result in sales.
raywriteswrongs 