Back in 2004, I wrote a query to dragon, one article of which (a class acts) was accepted. I sent in the article, and have not yet recieved a reply. Several months ago, I sent a new query, in which I also mentioned the last article. No response. I sent a floow-up to that several months later, an a little while ago yet ANOTHER follow-up. Guess what happened. So I guess I have 2 questions:
1) Has something similar happened to anyone else?
2) How do I solve this?
Submissions/queries of mine have indeed fallen through the cracks. When it happens there are a few things you can do-
1) Email the editor in charge of that department (in case you haven't already) instead of using the generic Dragon email. If you're not getting any replies at all, I'd suggest trying an alternate email address in case yours is being accidentally blocked or filtered. Since you got at least one reply that's probably not the case.
2) Post here.
I admit I'm a bit of a defeatist. If I query and then follow-up and get no reply, I assume they're not interested and move onto something else. But since you had one acceptance, this also is probably not the case.
Good luck!
-Amber S.
I kvetch and moan to Medesha endlessly until she tells me to shut up. :)
I know how you feel, actually. I sent in a submission for a feature back in March and never heard anything. So I sent a follow-up about once every 30-45 days or so. Eventually, I was able to confirm the article was received - which was really all I was looking for. I currently have a few queries hanging out there as well. The feature I just mentioned was submitted with two queries for "follow-up" articles. And I've also since sent in two other feature article queries.
And I've also had stuff fall through the cracks, and had to resubmit. The advantage there is you get to read it over once again, and make some more improvements. ;)
Oh yes - they should. But especially nowadays, magazines and other publications are flooded with submissions, absolutely flooded. I expect some of my stuff to just get lost in the shuffle.
I've waited 6 months to a year for a response in some magazine markets, but also remember that Dragon/Dungeon accept e-mail queries, which most magazine markets don't do. Most magazines have a stack of form letters to stuff into the SASE accompanying submissions. Dragon takes the time to reply to their email queries - sometimes with a short, "standard" reply but more often with at least a few detailed comments. This slows down the process somewhat and sometimes things get lost. I don't really mind (I just submit something else) but I can understand how other people might find it frustrating.
-Amber S.
Contributor
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They ignore me all the time (particularly when I've sent a rotten article), but it hasn't stopped me from sending stuff, and it hasn't stopped them from pestering them at conventions, and it hasn't stopped me from getting published on a few small occasions.
Its just as much fun waiting 3 years for something to come out, or to have a piece accepted and paid for and never see print, or writing a thrid of a book and having it released with your name credited on the inside cover following the thrilling caption of "Additional Text by:". Or worst of all, you could submit a bad sketch of something you want an artist to render, and find it has been published as the artwork for another author's piece.
I've suffered all of the above (to be fair, not all of these examples were from Paizo, and only one from the current batch of editors- I just like the drama of it).
Conversly, sometimes I hear nothing for months and then I get a check in the mail with a note saying I have an article in next months Dragon.
Its a screwy business, we all feel your pain.
I'd imagine you could even include the Paizo editors who are probably experiencing the same thing from the places they're trying to get published.
Its a screwy business, we all feel your pain.
I'd imagine you could even include the Paizo editors who are probably experiencing the same thing from the places they're trying to get published.
Hey, my "evil twin" :)
Yeah, unless your name is Heinlein (who sold the first story he wrote to the first market he sent it to!) rejections and all the other frustrations are just part of the game. I think of it as a marathon, if you manage to keep from falling over eventually you'll cross the finish line.
My record for a Paizo article so far is 30 months of waiting (though I just got the contract for that one so it should be appearing soon :) ).