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dr. phil's wotf results summary

Since June 2002, I've submitted a story to the Writers of the Future contest every quarter. But Dr. Phil, if you were published in WOTF Volume XXIV, from the 2007 Q3 contest, why are you still submitting? Excellent question! My story, "A Man in the Moon" was a Published Finalist and not a winner -- and as I currently only have two SFWA-eligible pro sales, I still have contest eligibility left. With 30 out of 37 submissions receiving some level of recognition, WOTF Contest Director Joni Labaqui thinks this may be some sort of a record, although there don't appear to be complete stats over the lifetime of the contest.

Someone else might consider my lack of winning as beating my head against the wall. But I don't see it that way. After all, if you just consider WOTF as a market, it pays better and has higher visibility than most. Why wouldn't you send new work to them?

Every ninety days.

The Results:
Rejected 6
No Call  1
Finalist 3 (1 published in WOTF XXIV, 2 in one year)
Semi     2
Quarter 10
H-M     15 (Quarter+H-M = 25)
Total   37
Subs    38 (WOTF Q4 2011 in)

Post-WOTF:
Published    6
Readings     3
Website      1

2002 Q3 - REJECTED - "Home Front" (16,800 words)
          This first WOTF entry was my second submission anywhere.
          One part of this story became "The Brother on the Shelf",
          published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, pp. 77-81. 
          (May 2009)
2002 Q4 - REJECTED - "Out of Ashes" (17,000 words)
2003 Q1 - NO CALL - "Night Work" (9100 words)
          USPS lost a bin of entries.
2003 Q2 - REJECTED - "The Angel Report" (10,500 words)
2003 Q3 - FINALIST - "Sideswipe" (15,700 words)
2003 Q4 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Night Work" (9300 words)
2004 Q1 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Command Prologue" (17,000 words)
          Available under stories.
2004 Q2 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "The Angel Report" (17,000 words)
2004 Q3 - SEMI-FINALIST - "Redemption and Aftermath" (6600 words)
          2004 Clarion Week 2 story, submitted from Clarion.
2004 Q4 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "A Man in the Moon" (10,900 words)
2005 Q1 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Every Meal a Banquet" (17,000 words)
2005 Q2 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Audible" (7400 words)
2005 Q3 - REJECTED - "Boxes" (7000 words)
          Published in CrossTIME Anthology Vol. V. (3rd Place).  
          Santa Fe NM: CrossTIME, 2006.  pp. 132-147.
          (September 2006)
2005 Q4 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "The Moons of Mercury" (7800 words)
2006 Q1 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Machine" (9800 words)
          Published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, 
          Issue #38 (March 2009)
2006 Q2 - SEMI-FINALIST - "Hail to the Victors" (7200 words)
          Published in Abyss & Apex, Issue #38, Q2 2011
          (April 2011)
2006 Q3 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "Life on the One-Three-Seven" (4800 words)
2006 Q4 - QUARTER-FINALIST - "End Run" (10,300 words)
2007 Q1 - FINALIST - "The Moons of Mercury" (10,500 words)
          Lost to my own story for Published Finalist.
2007 Q2 - HONORABLE MENTION - "End Run" (16,900 words)
2007 Q3 - FINALIST - "A Man in the Moon" (14,200 words)
          Published Finalist in WOTF XXIV anthology.
2007 Q4 - HONORABLE MENTION - "In The Blink Of An Eye" (7100 words)
          Read at 2009 ConFusion.
          Published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine,
          Issue #39 (June 2009)
2008 Q1 - HONORABLE MENTION - "The Frailty of Hours" (3900 words)
2008 Q2 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Life on the One-Three-Seven" (6300 words)
2008 Q3 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Letter Home" (5300 words)
2008 Q4 - REJECTED - "Pirates Amongst Us" (6900 words)
2009 Q1 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Midnight on the OASIS" (5100 words)
          WOTF XXIV 24-hour workshop story
2009 Q2 - HONORABLE MENTION - "One Happy Family" (7500 words)
2009 Q3 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Third Unit" (5000 words)
2009 Q4 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Get Off My LAN!" (4200 words)
2010 Q1 - HONORABLE MENTION - "The Elevator’s Feelings" (4200 words)
2010 Q2 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Z.P.D." (7100 words)
          Read at 2009 WindyCon.
2010 Q3 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Octavia Overdrive Oratorio" 4600 words)
2010 Q4 - REJECTED - "Damaged Goods, Broken Dreams" (6400 words)
2011 Q1 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Cracked" (2200 words)
2011 Q2 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Such Dreams That Zombies Sleep" (7200 words)
          Read at 2011 ConFusion.
2011 Q3 - HONORABLE MENTION - "Brooding In The Dark" (1100 words)
2011 Q4 - In Progress Awaiting Results

It might seem strange that only six stories from all these have been published. But only about half of my finished stories have gone to WOTF -- and often these were the first versions. It is, after all, a numbers game. For WOTF stories the publication rate is 1 in 5.5 stories, for all my stories it's 1 in 4.5. Pretty close. And whether any story fits what an editor -- or a judge -- wants at any time, is a matter of preference. And yes, I rewrite everything when it comes back.

Me? I'm pleased.

Last Update: 30 September 2011 Friday