31 October 2003
30 October 2003
Le mag
So after checking over the contents for the next few issues, I've got to admit we're pretty chocka. Upshot - we're now closed to fiction submissions until June 2004.
Faction & cartoons etc. we're still after so if you've got a good genre related piece, send 'em this way.
Oy vey. I've been writing rejection letters all day today (and pity the poor sods that have to translate my scrawl...) and I can now definitely say that rejection letters are not one of my favourite things. Still, has to be done. And once I'm done on hand writing all the postal replies (not trusting the machine to do anything without blowing up), I've got about a half dozen emailed replies to sneak out then I can confidentally say I'm on top of things. (Not that you've heard this before or anything...)
Other mags
So Roadworks is closing and getting replaced by one called Midnight Street. Press release can be found in the market guidelines section of the TTAPRESS message boards
There's a (new-ish) mag called Jupiter SF out.
And PS Publishing are said to be launching a new mag by name of Postscripts sometime next year.
Lovely stuff!
So after checking over the contents for the next few issues, I've got to admit we're pretty chocka. Upshot - we're now closed to fiction submissions until June 2004.
Faction & cartoons etc. we're still after so if you've got a good genre related piece, send 'em this way.
Oy vey. I've been writing rejection letters all day today (and pity the poor sods that have to translate my scrawl...) and I can now definitely say that rejection letters are not one of my favourite things. Still, has to be done. And once I'm done on hand writing all the postal replies (not trusting the machine to do anything without blowing up), I've got about a half dozen emailed replies to sneak out then I can confidentally say I'm on top of things. (Not that you've heard this before or anything...)
Other mags
So Roadworks is closing and getting replaced by one called Midnight Street. Press release can be found in the market guidelines section of the TTAPRESS message boards
There's a (new-ish) mag called Jupiter SF out.
And PS Publishing are said to be launching a new mag by name of Postscripts sometime next year.
Lovely stuff!
23 October 2003
Fantasycon
So despite swearing up, down and all 'round the town that I definitely, under no circumstances and shoot me if I lie, would not volunteer for anything over and above the basic setting up stuff of Fcon this year, I did. Idiot.
The perils of being a committee bod I s'pose.
I'm doing the BFS table again and this year.... this year darlings will sooo not be like the last few. I want to get out and actually experience the event instead of being chained behind the table because no bugger will volunteer to stand a shift when there's something on I want to see. (Usually everyone wants to volunteer when there's nothing I want to be getting away for - total bloody sods law, I'm tellin ya.)
You just wait - when you see a madwoman running through the crowds, giggling in a scary hysterical manner, then it's most likely me making a break for it. Don't tell the handlers which way I went, hey?
So despite swearing up, down and all 'round the town that I definitely, under no circumstances and shoot me if I lie, would not volunteer for anything over and above the basic setting up stuff of Fcon this year, I did. Idiot.
The perils of being a committee bod I s'pose.
I'm doing the BFS table again and this year.... this year darlings will sooo not be like the last few. I want to get out and actually experience the event instead of being chained behind the table because no bugger will volunteer to stand a shift when there's something on I want to see. (Usually everyone wants to volunteer when there's nothing I want to be getting away for - total bloody sods law, I'm tellin ya.)
You just wait - when you see a madwoman running through the crowds, giggling in a scary hysterical manner, then it's most likely me making a break for it. Don't tell the handlers which way I went, hey?
Le mag
So you know those last few people I had left to reply to way back last week? Well I still haven't done it yet. Will be doing it today.
Just updated the Slush with the latest subbies (and wouldn't you know the second I set it up it all goes quiet!).
Note for anyone submitting fiction - I'm putting a 3000 word upper word-limit on things until about middle of next year as all of next years mags are already looking pretty packed... so I can squeeze shorter ones in, but longer ones will have to wait 'til the 2005 issues. (Yes, I'm thinking that far ahead!)
Will change the website accordingly just as soon as I can.
Other junk
Nanowrimo - a fun obsession that's threatening to make itself known again come November 1st.
So this year makes it the 3rd year running that I'm going to join the crazies in a race to write 50,000 words of fiction in one month.
I always see it as a wake up kick more than anything else as the Jul-Sept time is consistently the time when I get behind in all work (even without computer nasties bothering me), then October I typically spend trying to get back on top of things, so November is usually my 'gosh, I've actually got time do something fun' month. (Oh the joys of a predictable life!)
Anyways, rediscovering the point.... this year I have a cunning plan.... y'see the first year I nanowrimoed, I went for a strict 2k words a day (allowing for the odd day off) to get me up to total, but didn't much care about the plot of the thing. Result - my inner leatherclad disciplinarian (take a moment to savour the image!) got me there with a week to spare but the story was total tripe. (Although it did tie up a few loose ends from earlier teenage efforts so it was good for something.)
2nd year around I plotted and back historied and outlined like there was no tomorrow. We're talking 3 months of anally minute details (cos I love doing that almost as much as the actual writing of the thing.) Come November I got a week in, got bored out of my mind with it then realised that suddenly I had 8 days to write 30K if I wanted to get the thing finished in time. (Which I did cos I have these obscure competitive tendacies that only surface for certain things. Like this.) The actual story turned out mild tripe, with a few good bits but generally fragmented.
This year I reckon it'll be a combo of the two. A little fore-planning (and hey, I've got a week left before it starts up so I should be able to come up with something) and an attempt at getting back to the 2K a day thing.
Naturally complicated by November being the birthday month - half a dozen cousins, a couple of friends, Evil Twin, and then not forgetting mine on the 27th (send gifts in the form of books to the usual address...)
Plus there'll be H&N#4 to send out, and I'm doing a Thurs-Sun trip to Fantasycon around the 20th. (Which I'll duly blog up when I get back.)
So now I can bore y'all with the updates on this year's Nanowrimo attempt. Won't that be fun!
So you know those last few people I had left to reply to way back last week? Well I still haven't done it yet. Will be doing it today.
Just updated the Slush with the latest subbies (and wouldn't you know the second I set it up it all goes quiet!).
Note for anyone submitting fiction - I'm putting a 3000 word upper word-limit on things until about middle of next year as all of next years mags are already looking pretty packed... so I can squeeze shorter ones in, but longer ones will have to wait 'til the 2005 issues. (Yes, I'm thinking that far ahead!)
Will change the website accordingly just as soon as I can.
Other junk
Nanowrimo - a fun obsession that's threatening to make itself known again come November 1st.
So this year makes it the 3rd year running that I'm going to join the crazies in a race to write 50,000 words of fiction in one month.
I always see it as a wake up kick more than anything else as the Jul-Sept time is consistently the time when I get behind in all work (even without computer nasties bothering me), then October I typically spend trying to get back on top of things, so November is usually my 'gosh, I've actually got time do something fun' month. (Oh the joys of a predictable life!)
Anyways, rediscovering the point.... this year I have a cunning plan.... y'see the first year I nanowrimoed, I went for a strict 2k words a day (allowing for the odd day off) to get me up to total, but didn't much care about the plot of the thing. Result - my inner leatherclad disciplinarian (take a moment to savour the image!) got me there with a week to spare but the story was total tripe. (Although it did tie up a few loose ends from earlier teenage efforts so it was good for something.)
2nd year around I plotted and back historied and outlined like there was no tomorrow. We're talking 3 months of anally minute details (cos I love doing that almost as much as the actual writing of the thing.) Come November I got a week in, got bored out of my mind with it then realised that suddenly I had 8 days to write 30K if I wanted to get the thing finished in time. (Which I did cos I have these obscure competitive tendacies that only surface for certain things. Like this.) The actual story turned out mild tripe, with a few good bits but generally fragmented.
This year I reckon it'll be a combo of the two. A little fore-planning (and hey, I've got a week left before it starts up so I should be able to come up with something) and an attempt at getting back to the 2K a day thing.
Naturally complicated by November being the birthday month - half a dozen cousins, a couple of friends, Evil Twin, and then not forgetting mine on the 27th (send gifts in the form of books to the usual address...)
Plus there'll be H&N#4 to send out, and I'm doing a Thurs-Sun trip to Fantasycon around the 20th. (Which I'll duly blog up when I get back.)
So now I can bore y'all with the updates on this year's Nanowrimo attempt. Won't that be fun!
16 October 2003
Le mag
I've set up a new feature thingy for all you lovely people submitting things to le mag - just so's you can track your submissions better... y'know, see if I've actually received it and when a reply was sent... that kind of junk.
Well, I say feature, I mean a slushpile dedicated blog thing really. It's called Raspberry Slush and should help stop the mess of the last few months happening. Effective for submissions received from today onwards.
Talking of submissions lag time, just discovered I've got a listing on the Black Hole site. Whoops.
I've set up a new feature thingy for all you lovely people submitting things to le mag - just so's you can track your submissions better... y'know, see if I've actually received it and when a reply was sent... that kind of junk.
Well, I say feature, I mean a slushpile dedicated blog thing really. It's called Raspberry Slush and should help stop the mess of the last few months happening. Effective for submissions received from today onwards.
Talking of submissions lag time, just discovered I've got a listing on the Black Hole site. Whoops.
12 October 2003
Alrighty. Nearly there. All outstanding submissions have been read by yours truly, most have had replies emailed to them this afternoon; there's just a few more emails to do, a few going postal, then we're free & clear. Woohoo!
(and cheers to Richard Kellum for the nice words on the TTA boards)
Course then I found out that my ISP is having email server problems so I can't actually get to any emails that I've been sent. But hey, small things.
(and cheers to Richard Kellum for the nice words on the TTA boards)
Course then I found out that my ISP is having email server problems so I can't actually get to any emails that I've been sent. But hey, small things.
08 October 2003
Hell is a Microsoft computer...
Oy vey. Okey doke - situation update - email still fragged..can receive... just about, but attempting to send gets me a 'not enough memory' message (bastards.) so here's hoping some of you drop by here occasionally...
Outstanding orders I waded through this afternoon and are going out in tomorrow's post (and that was before I saw the concerned messages on the TTAPress boards (which I'd love to link to but damn thing won't let me at the mo..) it's at ttapress.com IIRC. Hit their message board link, slide down to Market News ( I think) and there she be.
Andrew honey, slow is being way to kind! Your BFS/Elastic things are on the list for sorting tomorrow morning. (And the fliers may actually appear sometime this month...shock. horror. fainting now!)
Issue 4 still in mid production (cos I get 1 page in on the design then it crashes & I have to reboot & blah blah agh.)
Kegboy - 1) it's on its way, 2) give me a couple more days (deja vu!) to pick them & btw I love the new cartoons on the site. (Having trouble logging into various msgeboards including the 'lith at the mo too so can't get to the PM.)
Submissions queries (including the hideously overdue ones) - I'm borrowing someone elses machine to email responses out to everyone who's waiting so it'll be on a funny email addy and if you haven't heard anything, either postal or email, by Sunday evening, re-email me the query to the usual email addy (bear with me) and copy it to isisdirect (at) aol.com. I've had some corrupted emails come through so yours may have got inadvertably chewed.
Thanks to the various people who have sniffed out possible solutions - (Dave, Tony & Simon esp.)
Lend me just a little more patience folks, the end of this freaking fiasco is in sight.
Oy vey. Okey doke - situation update - email still fragged..can receive... just about, but attempting to send gets me a 'not enough memory' message (bastards.) so here's hoping some of you drop by here occasionally...
Outstanding orders I waded through this afternoon and are going out in tomorrow's post (and that was before I saw the concerned messages on the TTAPress boards (which I'd love to link to but damn thing won't let me at the mo..) it's at ttapress.com IIRC. Hit their message board link, slide down to Market News ( I think) and there she be.
Andrew honey, slow is being way to kind! Your BFS/Elastic things are on the list for sorting tomorrow morning. (And the fliers may actually appear sometime this month...shock. horror. fainting now!)
Issue 4 still in mid production (cos I get 1 page in on the design then it crashes & I have to reboot & blah blah agh.)
Kegboy - 1) it's on its way, 2) give me a couple more days (deja vu!) to pick them & btw I love the new cartoons on the site. (Having trouble logging into various msgeboards including the 'lith at the mo too so can't get to the PM.)
Submissions queries (including the hideously overdue ones) - I'm borrowing someone elses machine to email responses out to everyone who's waiting so it'll be on a funny email addy and if you haven't heard anything, either postal or email, by Sunday evening, re-email me the query to the usual email addy (bear with me) and copy it to isisdirect (at) aol.com. I've had some corrupted emails come through so yours may have got inadvertably chewed.
Thanks to the various people who have sniffed out possible solutions - (Dave, Tony & Simon esp.)
Lend me just a little more patience folks, the end of this freaking fiasco is in sight.
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