State of the Field
January 8, 2002
6:32 a.m.
I'm forced to wonder if the postal system is marking each of my manuscripts with a big "deadly disease inside" sticker before they send them on to various editors. I mean, this is getting ridiculous. I transferred all my submission data from my 2001 calendar to my 2002 calendar this morning. My method of tracking manuscripts includes an Excel spreadsheet, a handwritten calendar, a Word template, the systematic use of pencil and ink pen, and a little weirdness in the filing system. In other words, it's about as convoluted as my viewpoint on Story, so you can imagine the pain I go through at times. Anyway, seeing as the year changed a week ago, I figured it was time I brought my information up to date. So I grabbed last year's calendar and this year's, and I sat down. One by one, I transferred stories that are supposedly sitting on editor's desks to the new calendar. One by one, I meticulously wrote down the story and the publication and how many days they had been waiting to hear back. Holy Rumplestiltskin, Batman! I mean. Wow. The first thing that pops out at me is that I have my lowest number of stories in circulation since ... well ... for as far back as my dilapidated memory can think--though that may only be a couple minutes at some moments. This is not a big deal, though, because it is a result of selling short stories, but not writing more. This is what I want to happen when I'm taking a year off to write a book. But then I started noticing the numbers. All total I have 15 stores out. All but one have been gone for more than a hundred days. Eight of them--over half, mind you--have been out over 200 days. Two of these stories are second submissions of stories that apparently got lost. The one story that's been out less than 100 days has been gone about 50. It's enough to boggle the mind. It's enough to get me thinking there's a conspiracy brewing. It's not like I don't include SASEs. Heck, at 34 cents a pop that means I've got $5.10 invested in return postage that could have been put in Enron stock just as effectively. What's going on, here? I mean, seriously, folks. I see other writers actually getting returns from places like Realms of Fantasy, and I'm getting a steady stream of cold nothing. I have queried on several of these. And as I noted above, I've resubbed on the ones that got back and said the didn't have anything. I have to figure it's just me. So this morning I'm checking my armpits for foul body odors and looking closely at myself in the mirror to see if I have any of m Honey Nut Total stuck in my teeth. I'm wondering if my hair is combed just right, and scrutinizing the cut of my shirt. Maybe I need a haircut, eh?  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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