Good news, bad news

[Robert_Moriyama]

What a week! I found out that I had made the top 5 (with some prize money attached) in ralan.com's 'grabber' contest, where Ralan Conley picked the top 10 (out of only 69) entries (based on the first 500-odd words of a completed story), and Pier Anthony(!) then picked the top 5 from that subset. Now mind you, I was number 5 (or Honorable Mention B, in Ralan's terms) ... The prize money will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 US, but that's after a $20 US entry fee (hence the relatively low participation).<br><br>So, feeling fairly cheerful, I went to see a movie (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which is loads of fun if you like really old fashioned adventure -- with state-of-the-art visual effects -- and I do). Got back to the public transit parking lot where I had left my car ... and the car wasn't there. Is this what I get for writing stories with funny demons?<br><br>Robert M. :(<br>

[kailhofer]

Congratulation and commiserations, Robert.<br><br>I'm with Donald, & hope it was just towed. (One Barney Fife could cover my tiny city for all that happens here, so I have a hard time relating.)<br><br>What was the story?<br><br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Congratulation and commiserations, Robert.

I'm with Donald, & hope it was just towed. (One Barney Fife could cover my tiny city for all that happens here, so I have a hard time relating.)

What was the story?

Nate

<br><br>Alas, the car was parked in a large public transit lot which is free on weekends. The police officer who took the report said that lot was known for car break-ins and thefts ... <br><br>The story was Halfway to Hell, which Planet Relish had accepted, but P.R. folded before they put it online. It will be available for viewing at ralan.com around Oct. 5.<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

Dude, where's your car?
:D
I can relate to the shock, but in my case an old free parking lot had started to issue permits. I wasn't aware of the change, and got towed. Wound up walking about 3 miles to pay the fee and get my car back.
Dan

<br>No doubt it was 3 miles uphill, in a blizzard, and you were barefoot. To say nothing of the starving wolves roaming the area ... ;)<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

It was a black 1998 Honda Civic. Good basic transportation, fast enough to suit me, comfortable. Bought it used after my previous car had its undercarriage cracked when I spun out on black ice and went sideways over a curbstone. Nothing of great value in the car -- couple flashlights (including one that had survived being in a couple of written-off cars), umbrellas, the usual tools and fluids you carry in the trunk. But I liked the car -- I like Hondas in general -- and had planned to drive it for another several years at least.<br><br>Now I'll probably see if I can get a newer Honda (also used) without going too far into debt (well, too much farther/further) ... assuming the car isn't found fairly soon.<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

I'm not sure that a '98 Honda Civic is on the list of cars most wanted by thieves (at least in the US). But one thing's for sure--at least one thief wanted yours. Honda is one of the best, most reliable cars made.

Will your insurance cover it?

Donald

<br><br>Depends on what you mean by 'cover'. There's a $500 deductible and about $7000 (all figures in Canuck bucks) outstanding loan balance, so at best I'll have the down payment on the replacement (assuming that the car isn't recovered real soon). I have no idea what value the insurance company will put on the car, but they surprised me with the amount they gave me for the last one (a 1992 Sundance -- the low-end Plymouth). Just in case it's really low, send your cheques to the Robert Moriyama Auto Replacement fund, P.O. Box Pi, Station Epsilon, Bethdish.<br><br>Robert M.<br>

[Robert_Moriyama]

The cheque's in the mail...

Not much chance recovering it unless some kids simply stole it for a joy ride. My goodness! Was the Plymouth stolen too?

Donald

<br><br>No, that was the one that hit black ice and went sideways over a curb. Cracked the transmission, bent steering components, bent a wheel (and flattened the tire, of course). Nobody in their right mind would have stolen that one. (The hell of it is, I'd paid it off, my insurance had come down to reasonable levels, and I'd spent a lot of money having the whole thing reprimed and painted because most of the paint had peeled off. This accident brought back car payments and a 300% increase in insurance premiums on the next renewal ...)<br><br>The gods must hate me, or my cars, or me with a car.<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

One word: Volvo

I LOVE my Volvo sedan - big, white, safe, super luxury inside - and I talked the Doogie Hauser salesman down to $3K below blue book on it!!

It was a super bargain and runs like nothing else on Earth - and looks very classy, too. And has lots of convenient gadgets and extras(seats that warm up! air conditioning you can control in all areas of the car! Leather - yes, leather - ahhhh!)

Hope you get yourself a nice car to replace the stolen one - I am so sorry about your car - I hate the inconvenience and never keep anything valuable in any car anymore.

Best regards,
Kate

<br><br>From the way you phrased that last sentence, sounds like you've either had your whole car stolen, or the contents taken at one time or another. As I said elsewhere, Toronto is catching up with the US -- in some types of crime, anyway. (Hey, they say we're world leaders in some Internet scams ...)<br><br>Robert M.<br><br>P.S. You never did say what you thought of the new ending to Jigsaw Creek. That makes me nervous!

[kailhofer]

I guess this counts as good news, bad news.<br><br><br>I got an email today from Writers of the Future. I made it to the Semi-Final round... but not to the Finals. I'm supposed to receive a review of my story and a certificate of Honorable Mention in the mail.<br><br>I went looking on the net to try to see how many people are semi-finalists and got varying figures of 10-25 out of 2,000 to 2,500 per quarter.<br><br>The figure I could find that made me feel best was the top 1% are Semi-Finalists. (Top 8-10 are Finalists, and Top 3 are in the money.)<br><br>I can live with top 1%.<br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

I guess this counts as good news, bad news.


I got an email today from Writers of the Future. I made it to the Semi-Final round... but not to the Finals. I'm supposed to receive a review of my story and a certificate of Honorable Mention in the mail.

I went looking on the net to try to see how many people are semi-finalists and got varying figures of 10-25 out of 2,000 to 2,500 per quarter.

The figure I could find that made me feel best was the top 1% are Semi-Finalists. (Top 8-10 are Finalists, and Top 3 are in the money.)

I can live with top 1%.

Nate

<br><br>Congratulations, Nate -- top 10 - 25 out of 2500 beats top 5 out of 69 by quite a bit. I'd say it was good news, period -- it definitely shows you're on the right track (and a lot closer to selling to the pros than 3 - 5 years!). Okay, prize money would be nice, but if we were in this for money ... we wouldn't be in this.<br><br>Robert M.

[kailhofer]

Congratulations, Nate -- top 10 - 25 out of 2500 beats top 5 out of 69 by quite a bit. I'd say it was good news, period -- it definitely shows you're on the right track (and a lot closer to selling to the pros than 3 - 5 years!). Okay, prize money would be nice, but if we were in this for money ... we wouldn't be in this.

<br>Thanks.<br><br>Well, money would be nice.<br><br>The thing is, after Analog, Asimov, F&SF, Fantastic, Sci-Fiction and now WOTF have all said no, there are darn few places left that will take a 9,800 word hard SF--and also pay (no offense meant, Jeff, but I've got to see if anyone will pay for it first). I'm not saying it has to be pro rates... but something, or even just in print so I could see what it's like to have a real entry on my resume. <br><br>Anybody have any suggestions?<br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Thanks.

Well, money would be nice.

The thing is, after Analog, Asimov, F&SF, Fantastic, Sci-Fiction and now WOTF have all said no, there are darn few places left that will take a 9,800 word hard SF--and also pay (no offense meant, Jeff, but I've got to see if anyone will pay for it first). I'm not saying it has to be pro rates... but something, or even just in print so I could see what it's like to have a real entry on my resume.

Anybody have any suggestions?

Nate

<br><br>Simon Owens would probably say to make it shorter. I know you'd rather die than (a) cut words you sweated over no matter who suggests it and (b) do anything Simon suggests, but the lad does manage to make a lot of sales (mostly to $5 and $10 markets, but some for serious $). Simon once pointed out to me that editors with small budgets are more likely to take a chance on a 'new' author if that author submits a shorter piece -- because it consumes less of their budget, and therefore represents a smaller risk. Makes sense -- even makes sense for the Big Three, fewer pages 'potentially wasted' on a new author would be more attractive than 'half the bloody issue'.<br><br>Robert M.

[kailhofer]

Simon Owens would probably say to make it shorter.  I know you'd rather die than (a) cut words you sweated over no matter who suggests it and (b) do anything Simon suggests, but the lad does manage to make a lot of sales (mostly to $5 and $10 markets, but some for serious $).

<br>I'm working on the theory that if it's teetering on the edge right now, after I fix whatever is on the review when I get it, I should have something professionally sellable, without cutting it down. <br><br>Donald--Thanks for the good word. According to Ralan, Playboy doesn't accept anything over 5K, and has been returning all genre submissions. :( <br><br>Nate

[kailhofer]

Polyphony takes up to 10,000 words (well that's what it says on their guidelines, but I know for a fact that they've purchased much longer stories, but usually those were from big names)

Alchemy takes fantasy up to 15 thousand words. So does Artemis (science fiction), although I haven't seen many responses coming out of Artemis lately. Brutarian Quarterly claims to have no word limit at all and they claim to take all kinds of speculative fiction, so techinically you could try them. There's also Futurismic, which takes up to 10 thousand words. You'll have to wait until their next reading period.

<br>Thanks for the suggestions.<br><br>I'd already spotted Brutarian, since they need ms. ASAP, but since their site is down, I don't know their guidelines or even the person to send it to.<br><br>Nate

[kailhofer]

Congratulations!
I'm am so proud- so many folks getting ready to graduate from Aphelion. If we've helped in any way, then I'm sure the entire staff will be insufferably pleased with themselves for at least a month.
:D
Dan

<br>I'm not giving up my day job yet. Besides, I don't plan on leaving whenever the big one hits. I like it here.<br><br>I don't care what anybody thinks from the rest of the net, I think Aphelion is the coolest site for SF authors that there is. Put up your stories, learn from a bunch of other talented authors who are learning too... frequent funny posts... in depth discussions of arcane topics, philosophy, & trivia... a challenging argument or two... What else could you really want in a site?<br><br>If nothing else, I still have to finish my Nightwatch before I can try to write another thing to try and sell.<br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'd already spotted Brutarian, since they need ms. ASAP, but since their site is down, I don't know their guidelines or even the person to send it to.

Nate

<br><br>Update re: Brutarian from current ralan.com:<br><br>: professional differences cause split bewteen publisher and (now former) fiction editor; web site down, but publisher says all is normal; contributors, former, & potential contributors are asked to immediately send their material to the publisher at the e-address below.<br><br>mailto:brutarian@msn.com<br>(Dominic Salemi, Editor/Publisher)<br><br>Guidelines:<br>http://www.brutarian.com/guidelines.html<br><br>(Since the site is down, you could try sending a note to Mr. Salemi asking him to email them ...)<br><br>Go for it!<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

Just received an e-mail from Ralan Conley indicating that he has rejigged the prize money portions so Honorable Mentions are now worth $100 (while 1st through 3rd prizes are somewhat reduced from previous estimates). If I can win 700 or so prizes like this every year, I can quit my day job!<br><br>Robert M.

[kailhofer]

Just received an e-mail from Ralan Conley indicating that he has rejigged the prize money portions so Honorable Mentions are now worth $100 (while 1st through 3rd prizes are somewhat reduced from previous estimates). If I can win 700 or so prizes like this every year, I can quit my day job!

<br>700?<br><br>Erm... yeah. 700 x $100 would be nice. Reeeeeally nice. :)<br><br>Nate