I know, I know, how can I possibly expect any respect if I come on here and whine about short story rejections? Yeah, well its my blog and I`ll gripe if I want to!

Background – finished and revised a story, Black Fragmentaria, kinda Ballardian/steampunk condensed novel with a somewhat downer ending; didn’t really think that any of the mainstream US mags – Analog/Asimov’s/F&SF would go for it, seeing as how it employs a nonstandard structure and doesn’t have a character with which yer average American scifi fan can identify - but felt that maybe I stood a better chance with Fantasy & Science Fiction. Sadly, the familiar rejectoslip came winging back today. And I`m getting those spectral, chilly flashbacks to the late 80s/early 90s when I sent short stories to everyone, everywhere, and anyone who`s gone that route will know that there is a certain turnaround time by which responses come back and they can vary enormously. I mean, you could spend years just trying to find a publishing home for a single story (and I certainly have). So….at this stage in my writing game I`m not writing that many short stories, although I love writing them, and I find myself vaguely reluctant to start playing Magazine Roulette again. I will, of course, send it to Interzone….well, probably. Maybe. Or Asimovs, just for the masochistic pleasure of getting an Asimovian rejectoslip with this years date on it.

Or the Outer Hebrides Crofters’ Gazette. We`ll see.

No related posts to recommed. Maybe later...