Yes, I just used the reverse of that blog title four weeks ago. I am the anti-marketer, but I guess I need to buckle down on that just a little more, and advertising purchasable products must come before strokes to my ego.
The second issue of the new Substack magazine Androids and Dragons came out today and contains my story “The Fate of the Galaxy.” I don’t do Substack, but my research indicates you’ll either have to subscribe to Androids and Dragons (it appears to be free except for relinquishing your e-mail address for a newsletter) or simply wait for the editor Jenna Hanan Moore to publish the stories in this issue piecemeal for public viewing.
From the editor’s note at the beginning of this issue:
On one level, all four of these tales are entertaining and fun to read with a fair bit of humor. On another level, they all do what the best science fiction does so well—they make you think. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Jenna Hanan Moore, editor Androids and Dragons
Entertaining! With a fair bit of humor! Make you think! Enjoy reading! Hey, that’s me!
This is the third time “The Fate of the Galaxy” has graced the virtual pages of a magazine, so a brief reminder about that “make you think” part: the point of the story is the lazy compromises we make in environmental activism. While you’re at it, though, you might consider the power dynamics in the marriage depicted in my story as that topic relates to environmentalism.
On Saturday, I also had the pleasure of selling another two stories, both to the same magazine this time. Acta Victoriana, Canada’s oldest literary journal, purchased my stories “Burst” and “Unfiled Crime Report” for their fall supplement and had this to say about them:
[O]urselves and the board found them sensational in an especially competitive cycle.
Editor, Acta Victoriana concerning my stories “Burst” and “Unfiled Crime Report”
This is a magazine that has published Margaret Atwood in the past, as well as many other literary luminaries, but I doubt I’ll be making the name-dropping shortlist of former contributors on their Wikipedia page anytime soon. Maybe if I hang around long enough, they’ll give me a look at the used napkin Ms. Atwood left in their office fifty years ago. Sure, if you ask them, they’ll claim said napkin doesn’t exist, but insider knowledge like that is one of the perks of being ushered into the outermost circle of the literary illuminati.
“Burst” went through five drafts and a round of critiques over a period of around seven months. It was rejected twenty-three times before finding a home.
“Unfiled Crime Report” went through three drafts and a round of critiques over a period of around four months. It was rejected thirty-seven times before finding a home.
For the statistics junkies like me out there, these acceptances finally put me slightly over a 2.5% acceptance rate, measured over my entire career. Exactly 2.6%, as a matter of fact. We’ll see how long I can hold that.
Acta Victoriana publishes their supplements for free on Issuu, so you’ll have access to them once they’re available. I’ll let you know.
- Days since I quit my job: 1,586
- Submissions: 1,575
- Rejections: 1,386
- Withdrawals: 74
- Acceptances: 36!
Self-defeatist Navel-gazing 