Ray Daley's Blog, page 17

So this was April…

We’ve already reached the end of the fourth month of 2018.

So what’s happened so far?

SALES:- I’ve made 3 sales so far, to Third Flatiron; “The Doomsday Machine Retires” for their Monstrosities anthology and to WolfSinger Publications; “Muse” for their Cat Tails anthology. I haven’t been given permission to announce the third sale yet, I’ll tell you who it was to and the story when I am allowed.

SUBMISSIONS:- I’ve already submitted 103 stories this year.

REJECTIONS:- I’ve had 91 rejections so far.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- In the pipeline is the publications of “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia. Still no official date on this. I’m sorry I’ve not got more news on this. I’m just as anxious to see it come out as you are.

Third Flatiron released the “Monstrosities” anthology featuring “The Doomsday Machine Retires”:- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q9N7Q1?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660)

Cat Tails – War Zone from Wolfsinger (featuring my story “Muse”) is available to buy at Smashwords:- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/802052

I had a fairly successful Camp NaNoWriMo this month, I wrote over 40,000 words, 18 new stories, especially as I’d set my target at 30,000.

There are a few places opening to subs this month and I’m hoping to get a few more answers back before the end of the month too. Fingers crossed for more sales.

Summing up Camp NaNoWriMo April 2018

Let’s start on a high, shall we? It’s day 23. And I have a VALIDATED WIN!

Here’s the breakdown for stats purposes.

Official goal was 30,000. This remained unchanged for the entire time.

Day 01:- 1715 words written, 1715 total.

Day 02:- 2112 words written, 3827 total.

Day 03:- 3192 words written, 7019 total.

Day 04:- 2825 words written, 9844 total. 2 stories written today, 1390 & 1435 words.

Day 05:- 2474 words written, 12318 total.

Day 06:- 2784 words written, 15102 total. Just over half way to goal.

Day 07:- 3937 words written, 19039 total.

Day 08:- 2310 words written, 21349 total. Amost didn’t write at all today, felt so tired this afternoon. Couldn’t find any motivation. In the end, I just started and hoped to do at least 1000 words. I guess you never know what you can do unless you try.

Day 09:- 1806 words written, 23155 total.

Day 10:- 2974 words written, 26129 total.

Day 11:- 1582. words written, 27711 total.

Day 12:- 2351 words written, 30062 total. I believe that’s a confirmed win on day 12!

Day 13:- 0 words written, 30062 total.

Day 14:- 0 words written, 30062 total.

Day 15:- 3270 words written, 33332 total.

Day 16:- 0 Words written, 33332 total.

Day 17:- 1902 words written, 35234 total.

Day 18:- 0 words written, 35234 total.

Day 19:- 0 words written, 35234 total. Official win on day 19! Fully validated WIN.

I chose to leave my goal at 30,000 words after my disaster during Story A Day September where I totally failed to wrote 30k. I didn’t even write 30 stories. I was doing this purely to regain my confidence.

I may write more stuff before the end of the month but my win is claimed and logged now.

I am pleased to say that one of last year’s Camp stories has sold, I’m not allowed to say which one or who to (yet) but I will when I’ve been given permission.

The Story Behind The Story #1 First Impressions

Welcome to the first in an on-going series where I explain how my ISFDB listed stories came into being.

As most people only ever normally see the end result; the story itself, I thought it would be fun to tell the story of what caused that story to exist.

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First Impressions, published by The Sirens Call, April 2014.

Contains spoilers for original story, so if you haven’t read it, go do that first, link as below:-

http://www.sirenscallpublications.com/pdfs/SirensCallEZine_October2014.pdf

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A bit of spoiler space.

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Spoilers coming up. If you haven’t read the story, do that first. Then come back.

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Did you go and read it? I did ask nicely.

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Story ideas can strike at any time, this one happened to occur to me on a Sunday evening as I was preparing my sunday tea. I was cutting up things for a salad, and the strangest of thoughts struck me.

Wouldn’t it be fun to take a really well known story and turn it so far around, it became an entirely new idea?  Then I thought again. How about taking said story, retaining as much of the original content but completely subverting it into a new direction no-one had ever tried before?

And there was the birth of First Impressions.

I wouldn’t say I am obsessed with the Red Riding Hood mythos, but you are more than welcome to accuse me of that. I won’t deny it either.

It’s a simple idea, but I was asking myself this question, “Don’t you think that cloak reminds you of something?”

So I stood there slicing up tomatoes, saying out loud what that red hood cloak reminded me of.

When I stumbled across it.

Vampires. The classic Hammer vampire always wore a black cloak with a red lining.

Then my brain asked this, “What if Red Riding Hood was a vampire?”

That’d explain why she was so confident about walking through wolf-infested woods to Granny’s house.

I finished making my salad, I went off and ate it, and then started writing that story.

Apart from the addition that Granny was also a vampire, the idea stayed exactly as it started.

That was the first horror story I ever had published. And as of today 19th April 2018, it still is.

What’s currently in submission in 2018 #4

As the last one was in March I thought I’d update you.

What’s currently out in submission?

Even Stevens (subbed to AE)

Junkie (subbed to Blind Spot)

A Head Of Steam (subbed to Edge Onlines Fantastic Trains)

I Want Candy [subbed to Tin House]

Not According To Design [Subbed to Mythic]

Man Overboard [subbed to James Gunn’s Ad Astra]

Junkie [subbed to Paper Dog Books]

Where’s The Dog? [subbed to Spark]

Photo Sympathy [subbed to Electric Spec]

The Lanyards [subbed to GigaNotoSaurus]

The Safety Of Checkpoints [subbed to Midnight Hour]

The Witch In The Fog [subbed to Midnight Hour]

Notepad And Pencil [subbed to Nature; Futures]

Mother Knows Best [subbed to Analog]

Playing The System [subbed to Kasma]

Welcome To Your New Home [subbed to Visions]

The Princess And The Sandwich [subbed to The Hamthology]

Put On A Happy Face [Subbed to Parsec Ink; Flawed Reflections]

Fluid State [subbed to Writers of the Future]

A Sense Of Duty [subbed to Flash Fiction Magazine]

Left Ajar [subbed to Alternative Theology]

Diary Of An Evil Henchman [subbed to Startling Stories]

Wedded Bliss [subbed to Solution Loans short story competition]

The Parting [subbed to Deciduous Tales]

Mushnik’s Guitar [subbed to Stupefying Stories]

Border Guards [subbed to Galaxy’s Edge]

Timeshare [subbed to Galli Books]

Moon walker [subbed to The Overcast]

Something Good To Eat [Subbed to Cast Of Wonders Halloween call]

The Victorian Gentlewoman’s Club [subbed to Iridium Magazine]

Acceptances: 0. No pick-ups in the last month.

Rejections:- Again, too many to count.

Publications:- Nothing new this month.

Withdrawals:- None this month

31 stories now out there.

So this was March…

We’ve already reached the end of the third month of 2018.

So what’s happened so far?

SALES:- I’ve made 2 sales so far, to Third Flatiron; “The Doomsday Machine Retires” for their Monstrosities anthology and to WolfSinger Publications; “Muse” for their Cat Tails anthology. Still no more than this, despite my best efforts.

SUBMISSIONS:- I’ve already submitted 90 stories this year.

REJECTIONS:- I’ve had 80 rejections so far.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- In the pipeline is the publications of “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia. Still no official date on this.

Third Flatiron have now released their “Monstrosities” anthology featuring “The Doomsday Machine Retires”:- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q9N7Q1?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660)

Cat Tails – War Zone from Wolfsinger (featuring my story “Muse”) is now available to buy at Smashwords:- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/802052

Camp NaNoWriMo April 2018 Rules

To have a little order, I need to establish rules and guidelines, these are they.

OBJECT:- To write at least 30,000 words (or more) in 30 days.

This does NOT mean that I have to write 1 story every day.

Not writing a story each day WILL NOT deem the challenge to have been failed.

Failure is to not write 30,000 words in total (or more) in the 30 day period.

There is no daily goal, just a goal for the whole month.

Between the period of midnight April 1st 2018 and April 30th 2018 23;59:59 I MUST write at least 30,000 words.

If by May 1st I have not done this, I have failed.

I am allowed to write stories longer than 1000 words, there is no upper word limit.

I am allowed to write several stories in one day whose combined word counts are equal to or greater than 1000 words.

Stories can come from image prompts or word prompts.

I cannot use stories I have already started & merely type them up or finish them.

I can use prewritten outlines, as long as they aren’t actually started stories.

Stories do not need to be spellchecked or proofed but MUST be word counted using a wordprocessor and an online word counter which must both state the story is 1000 words or longer (not including the title, the date, my name or THE END).

These are the rules, to ensure fair play and no cheating.

State Of My Mind Address

State Of My Mind Address:-

Know this, I have subbed more these past few months than ever before. I have learnt that I am more resilient than I thought. I’ve also learnt that I now know when I’m punching above my weight limit.

To quote The Art Of Noise, “So What Happens Now?”

I currently have 35 pieces out in submission. i will be waiting to hear what happens with each of those pieces. But as of now, I probably won’t be submitting to any more of the big magazines.

This does NOT mean I won’t submitting anything else this year, far from it. From this point on, I’ll be picking my markets far more carefully. The “throw it at the wall & see what sticks” method simply hasn’t worked.

I do need to read more from the bigger markets. I’ve tried a few times to learn what they like, I don’t think it’s an impossible task, just an extremely difficult one that will take time.

As of now, you’ll be seeing a lot less submissions from me. You’ll still see the ones I can’t resist, or that I think I’ve got a chance in. When one model fails, you have to try something different. It’s insanity to carry on the same way when all you see is rejections.

So this is the state of my mind as it stands. Battered & bruised, but unbroken by the submission market.

All of the successes this year so far were submitted last year. Just so you know.

This is Ray, Peace Out.

What’s currently in submission in 2018 #3

As the last one was in February I thought I’d update you.

What’s currently out in submission?

Even Stevens (subbed to AE)


Junkie (subbed to Blind Spot)


A Head Of Steam (subbed to Edge Onlines Fantastic Trains)
I Want Candy [subbed to Tin House] (This may have been rejected)


Even Stevens [Subbed to Outlook Springs]


My Kingdom [subbed to Spring Song Press]


The Dragon Readers [subbed to The Arcanist]


Shots Of Repatriated Bastard [subbed to Spectacle]


Not According To Design [Subbed to Mythic]


Unlucky For Some [subbed to Asimov’s Science Fiction]


Man Overboard [subbed to James Gunn’s Ad Astra]


My Summer Holiday, By Billy Mesner (Aged 5) [subbed to Kaleidotrope]


Junkie [subbed to Paper Dog Books]


Where’s The Dog? [subbed to Spark]


Overground [subbed to Abyss & Apex]


Photo Sympathy [subbed to Electric Spec]


The Lanyards [subbed to GigaNotoSaurus]


The Safety Of Checkpoints [subbed to Midnight Hour]


The Witch In The Fog [subbed to Midnight Hour]


The Concentration Camp [subbed to Strange Horizons]


Notepad And Pencil [subbed to Nature; Futures]


Mother Knows Best [subbed to Analog]


Playing The System [subbed to Kasma]


Wizard Of The Day [subbed to Lightspeed; fantasy]
Overground [subbed to Lightspeed; SF]
Welcome To Your New Home [subbed to Visions]

The Princess And The Sandwich [subbed to The Hamthology]

The Concentration Camp [subbed to Apex Magazine]
Put On A Happy Face [Subbed to Parsec Ink; Flawed Reflections]
Fluid State [subbed to Writers of the Future]
A Sense Of Duty [subbed to Flash Fiction Magazine]
Shots Of Repatriated Bastard [subbed to Escape Pod]
Left Ajar [subbed to Alternative Theology]
Diary Of An Evil Henchman [subbed to Startling Stories]
Empty Chest [subbed to StarshipSofa]
Assessment [subbed to Hinnom Magazine]
Wedded Bliss [subbed to Solution Loans short story competition]
A Fine Body [subbed to Battling in All Her Finery]
The Parting [subbed to Deciduous Tales]
Mushnik’s Guitar [subbed to Stupefying Stories]
The Age Of Chivalry [subbed to Freeze Frame Fiction]
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Acceptances: 0. No pick-ups in the last month.
Rejections:- Again, too many to count.

Publications:- Third Flatiron went to print so I’ve now got my free ebook of their Monstrosities anthology.

Withdrawals:- A Fine Body [withdrawn from Cohesion Press SNAFU anthology]
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38 stories now out there.

Behind the curtain; The Submission Process

For new and upcoming writers, I’ve decided to blog on what I do to submit a story, my process.

This starts out with the assumption that you already have one (or more) story to submit. You may have just finished it, but don’t worry. I’ll be covering all the steps you should take BEFORE you send it off into submission.

Step 1 – Identify the correct market, and that it’s open.

I’m a science fiction writer, so there’s no point in my sending out my stories to romance publishers. It’s the SF markets for this guy. Places like F&SF, Analog, Apex, Clarkesworld, and today it’s Stupefying Stories. All markets state on their webpage if they are open for subs or when they will next open. Only submit if they are open!

Terms that might initially confuse you:- Multiple submissions, Simultaneous submissions.

Multiple submission simply means you can’t send the market more than 1 story at once.

Simultaneous submission means you can’t send the story to more than 1 place at a time.

Step 2 – Check preferred length and payment.

Some markets want flash fiction (normally up to 1000 words) but the bigger fish want longer stories. Generally the cut off is between 8-10,000 words. Check the submission guidelines to see what’s too long for your specific submission market. In order to do this, I had use timetravel (The Wayback Machine).

Ensure you know what the market are going to pay for your story if they buy it. I won’t submit to anywhere that charges a reading fee, I advise you to do likewise.

Step 3 – Proof, Format & Word Count.

This can be a long step for some new writers, you might not know how to use certain features on your word processing software. Learn, and learn fast. You’ll be doing this a lot once you choose to start submitting stories, hopefully it’ll become second nature soon and you’ll be able to move through this stage more quickly in the future.

What is Proofing?

Put simply, it’s making sure you’ve removed all the spelling and grammar mistakes from your story.

Your brain is a bastard! Trust me on this, I shit you not. The human brain will read over mistakes, insert words that are missing, and ignore words you’ve written twice. This is why you always proof your work. Spell checking on a word processor IS NOT ENOUGH! Use text to speech software.

A program will read exactly what you’ve written, as you wrote it. It’s also an excellent way to pick up if you’ve put commas in the wrong place or need to add them. Personally I use this place, it’s free and you can download the mp3 of your story to play it back as you read along, obviously it means you can pause it when you need to fix stuff.

http://www.fromtexttospeech.com/

I might do several passes through this to make sure the story is fully checked before moving on.

What is Formatting?

In the submission guidelines, you should see how the market want the story to be presented on the page. Most places ask for Standard Manuscript Format.

An example of the industry standard can be found here:- https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html

All this means is they want double line spacing, italics underlined (and not in italics, unless otherwise stated), your address details and word count at the top on the first page and your surname, story title & page number in the header. And for the story to be in a 12 point font, generally Times New Roman or Courier.

Always check EXACTLY what format is being asked for and follow it. Seriously, markets can & will reject you at this stage for not following their format needs. If you aren’t sure how to change line spacing, Google is your friend.

How Do You Get A Word Count?

Do not rely on your word processing software for a correct or accurate word count. EVER. This place is probably the best site online, and it’s free. Don’t count your name, title or THE END. Just count the actual story text.

http://wordcount.egjpress.org/

Step 4 – The Submission

These can be done in several ways, many markets have their own online forms you can fill in, others ask you to email the story to them. Read whatever instructions you are given and follow them. Here I am emailing my story.

Most places will say what they’d like in an email subject line. If not just put Submission, Fiction, Story Title/Your Surname.

Remember to attach the story to the email!

In the email, say who you are sending it to (Dear Editor, you can find their first name use it but you don’t have to), say what you are sending (please find attached my story “Bob Meets a Dog”), say how long it is (1900 words) and if they ask you to describe it, try to do that in as few words as possible (It’s a wry look at the interaction between species).

If you’ve any publication credits, list the best here, no more than 3 or 4. If not, add your legal full name, your address, your email address, where they can send paypal to if it’s not the same email and a short (100 words max) biography about you.

Then close with a formality. I generally use this:-I hope you like my story.

Remember to attach the story to the email!

I’m saying it twice because it’s important, and an easy stage to miss. And you’ll feel a right fool sending someone a submission email with nothing attached.

If you’ve checked that your story is attached, you can now send your email.

The following step isn’t mandatory, but it is good practise if you intend to submit often.

Step 5 – Keep your own records

For me, it’s good to know what stories are out, where, and when they went. I keep my own archive on my PC, I also log stories I’ve submitted at The Submission Grinder.

https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/

Here, if the market is listed, you can log your submission and it tracks how long the story is out for.

The Submission Grinder is free to use (and join), it’s fairly easy to use as a novice and it’s great for finding markets too.

I hope this has helped demystify the submissions process a little. If you’ve got any questions (like what happens when you get a rejection or an acceptance), please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on twitter @RayDaleyWriter

If enough people are curious, I’ll do breakdowns on rejections and acceptances too. I’ve had both.

So this was February…

We’ve already reached the end of the second month of 2018.

So what’s happened so far?

SALES:- I’ve made 2 sales so far, to Third Flatiron; “The Doomsday Machine Retires” for their Monstrosities anthology and to WolfSinger Publications; “Muse” for their Cat Tails anthology. Still no more than this, despite my best efforts

SUBMISSIONS:- I’ve already submitted 72 stories this year.

REJECTIONS:- I’ve had 59 rejections so far.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS:- In the pipeline are the publications of “Uncle Ping’s Evening Farewell” from Insignia. Still no official date on this.

“An Improper State Of Mind” from MindCandy is now available https://www.amazon.com/dp/1978380453/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Third Flatiron are gearing up for their imminent release on March 10th (pre-order here:- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Q9N7Q1?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660)

Wolfsinger are locking down their final proofs in preparation for a release very soon.