The Submission Cycle: Schroedinger’s Story

Maybe you have one of these. Something you’ve sent out to the great beyond, and it’s been out there for a while.

Maybe it’s not even a story. Maybe it’s a résumé. Or a request for information. Or a sculpture for a show.

Whatever it is, it’s out there, and you’ve noticed it hasn’t been batted back to you as quickly as those things sometimes are. In fact, it’s well past the time when you were told to expect a response. This happened to me about a month ago.

With stories (and résumés), it’s not alw...