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| SFReader Forums > Writing > Juicy Rumors and Other News > What Baen is really looking for in slush: | Forum Quick Jump
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Keralen
Adept
      
Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 580
| Posted 5/28/2008 8:28 AM (GMT -5) |   |
crystalwizard said...
Keralen said...
So, advice please? I posted my story. Got four comments. Nice compliments, nothing specific to fix. Now what? Didn't I give you a boatload of things to fix?
CW - are we talking about the same story? I'm referring to "How I Lost the Intergalactic Little League World Series," which I posted on Baen's Universe Slush on 5/16. No comments on it since the 19th, and none from you, or at least any I can find (I find that site hard to maneuver around in). What I'm wondering is, does this posting qualify as submitting for publication in Baen's Universe? Does anyone get back to you, and if so, when?
[If it's Aellson you're talking about, can you remind me where you posted them? All I know is that chunk you sent back in April when I first sent it to you. Those were useful, but I was more hoping for some help with the plotting.] | | Back to Top | | |
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crystalwizard
Forum Moderator
Date Joined Nov 2006
Total Posts : 5187
| Posted 5/28/2008 10:09 AM (GMT -5) | | | | |
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tchernabyelo
Acolyte
Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 474
| Posted 6/3/2008 8:10 AM (GMT -5) | |
xiaotien said...
ennubi said...
'preciate it, xiaotien :). i'm allowed to inquire end of the month [2 months]. i'm surprised baen didn't like yours. asian seems all the rage locally - i would've thought they would jump on something like that. i start off a little quiet for the first page or so, but i think the 'bad, bad things on the horizon' neon signs are pretty bright :).
ennubi he told me that asian fantasies don't sell. i am determined to prove him wrong. ;*)
"asian fantasies don't sell", huh?
See my sig for evidence to the contrary. 11 of 18 sales are Asian themed, and two of those are pro rate.
Brian Dolton
Land Of Wind And Ghosts stories:
"The Box Of Beautiful Things" - IGMS#3
"The Man Who Was Never Afraid" - Abyss and Apex #20
"At Blue Crane Falls" - Abyss and Apex #25 "Where No Wind Blows" - Staffs & Starships #2
"The Gray World" - Every Day Fiction (June 1st 2008) "What The Sea Refuses" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"What The Heart Bears" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"Above The Clouds" - Paper Blossoms, Sharpened Steel (forthcoming)
"Three Out Of Four" - Sorcerous Signals Feb-Apr 08
"The Dragon Path" - Fictitious Force #5
"The Last Arrow Of Liang Xi" - Darwin's Evolutions (forthcoming)
Stories in other settings:
"The Unicorn Hunter" - OG's Speculative Fiction #8
"Call Centre" - Necrotic Tissue #1
"When Winter Came" - ASIM #32
"Cold Fire" - Flashing Swords #9, The Age Of Blood And Snow (forthcoming)
"St. Saviour And The Devil's Dandy" - Flashing Swords (forthcoming)
"In This City" - Fantasy Magazine (forthcoming) | | Back to Top | | |
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tchernabyelo
Acolyte
Date Joined Oct 2006
Total Posts : 474
| Posted 6/3/2008 8:14 AM (GMT -5) | |
T A Markitan said...I just bit the bullet and sent a story to Baen's regular slush. The bar was tempting, but I had this twitchy feeling some other markets might consider it "published" if it appeared there where anyone who signs up can read it. Has this ever been an issue that anyone is aware of?
Password-protected, membership-based critique sites are not considered "published" by any reputable market I have come across.
At the moment, I'm given to understand the regular slush is running fast and efficiently and I honestly don't see the need to go via the Bar unless you are activelylooking for critiques from Baen's habitues - which, it must be said, may not be a bad idea if you're seriously targeting that as a market.
Brian Dolton
Land Of Wind And Ghosts stories:
"The Box Of Beautiful Things" - IGMS#3
"The Man Who Was Never Afraid" - Abyss and Apex #20
"At Blue Crane Falls" - Abyss and Apex #25 "Where No Wind Blows" - Staffs & Starships #2
"The Gray World" - Every Day Fiction (June 1st 2008) "What The Sea Refuses" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"What The Heart Bears" - Black Gate (forthcoming)
"Above The Clouds" - Paper Blossoms, Sharpened Steel (forthcoming)
"Three Out Of Four" - Sorcerous Signals Feb-Apr 08
"The Dragon Path" - Fictitious Force #5
"The Last Arrow Of Liang Xi" - Darwin's Evolutions (forthcoming)
Stories in other settings:
"The Unicorn Hunter" - OG's Speculative Fiction #8
"Call Centre" - Necrotic Tissue #1
"When Winter Came" - ASIM #32
"Cold Fire" - Flashing Swords #9, The Age Of Blood And Snow (forthcoming)
"St. Saviour And The Devil's Dandy" - Flashing Swords (forthcoming)
"In This City" - Fantasy Magazine (forthcoming) | | Back to Top | | |
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Pam
Cat Wrangler
Date Joined Nov 2004
Total Posts : 118
| Posted 6/3/2008 1:59 PM (GMT -5) | | So I'm confused. I put a story up at the bar that got favorable remarks. But no word from any editors as far as I know. Who are the readers there? Yes, name names, please! I never know if someone commenting on the story is just a regular joe-writer type of person, or a first reader for the editor.
The ultimate tragedy was not to die, but to have had life and let it slip through your hands, day by day, unused, until in the end it was gone, and you had learned nothing, given nothing, left no portion of grace or love in any soul. -- Anne Rice, Tathen, pg 9
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J. Cheney
Stablehand
Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 32
| Posted 6/3/2008 5:58 PM (GMT -5) | | Pam, on this page, you'll find the official "staff".
http://www.baens-universe.com/authors/Jim_Baen's_Universe!_staff
This should give you an idea which readers are editors. My understanding is that Sam is in charge of the Bar slush, while Nancy and Benja are in charge of the regular slush-pile.
Edith is often the first of them to get around to any piece. She has a very clear view of what Baen's likes and doesn't like. Since (I believe) she reads every darn piece of slush on the two non-1632 slush forums, she doesn't spare a lot of words. She gets right to the point and can seem blunt, but she's a very good indicator of how the other editors will see the work.
Sam Hidaka posted an RTF request for 3 stories on 6/2 (which is how an author knows they're being sent up to the majors). Pretty much, any ohter story on the forum before then got a no....in that version. So if you had a story there but they didn't request an RTF, then you can revise it and repost it for the next round. (I have a story that I'll be re-posting this week.)
And when the Bar gets this busy, the editors DO get behind. Can't be helped.
Good luck with the story! | | Back to Top | | |
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Pam
Cat Wrangler
Date Joined Nov 2004
Total Posts : 118
| Posted 6/3/2008 6:42 PM (GMT -5) | | Maybe this isn't the place for this discussion, so let me know if not. So what if Edith made a comment about my story. Saying she'd like it better if.... But the "if" is not something I agree with. And it's a very minor point that has not effect whatsoever on the plot of the story. I don't even know how I would work that point in, or even take it out, since it's only implied in the story. I'm probably not explaining this well. It has to do with a background part of the character's "job", as in is the character a slave or not. Well, whether she is or isn't doesn't affect *this* part of her story, nor does it really affect her character except in the way it's supposed to. Ok, color me frustrated then. the upshot of it is that I'm not re-writing the story. And the only other suggestions anyone made were very minor re-wording issues. So I don't know if it's worth re-posting the story, I guess is what I'm trying to figure out.
The ultimate tragedy was not to die, but to have had life and let it slip through your hands, day by day, unused, until in the end it was gone, and you had learned nothing, given nothing, left no portion of grace or love in any soul. -- Anne Rice, Tathen, pg 9
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Pam
Cat Wrangler
Date Joined Nov 2004
Total Posts : 118
| Posted 6/3/2008 6:50 PM (GMT -5) | | FYI: I just found this post from Sam, dated 6/2/08 under "The Furor" slush comments:
******
If the members of the editorial staff thinks that this story, or some future version of it, is suitable for the magazine, then one of staffers -- probably me -- will request an RTF (a file of the manuscript in *.rtf format). The RTFd story will then receive a line edit, and then be forwarded to the senior editors for a purchase decision. [*1]
There are no formal rejections [*2] in this forum. But if 3 months pass without an RTF request, then you can presume that the story won't be selected. (Each time a new version is posted, the 3-month clock resets.)
Sam
- - - - -
*1 - Most fiction publications only give line edits to stories after the story has been purchased. We give line edits to stories selected out of this forum, before the senior editors see it, to increase the chances that the story will be purchased in the first place.
*2 - I do occasionally tell the writers of certain stories that I won't be selecting a particular story. However, I generally do so only for stories that I think are publishable, but not quit right for JBU (for whatever reason). Then I may let the writer know that I won't be selecting that story, so that the writer can start sending it elsewhere -- rather than waiting for the 3-month clock to run out.
The ultimate tragedy was not to die, but to have had life and let it slip through your hands, day by day, unused, until in the end it was gone, and you had learned nothing, given nothing, left no portion of grace or love in any soul. -- Anne Rice, Tathen, pg 9
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David de Beer
Neophyte
Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 158
| Posted 6/4/2008 12:00 PM (GMT -5) | | Been a while since I've posted to the Baen Bar; admittedly, my progress there went from rtf request (and then pfft! from Mike R.) to less and less interest.
I don't know, the comments vary and come and go, mostly it's from folks looking for crits and stuff I think.
As has been said, Edith reads pretty much everything, and Sam reads them as well although I don't think he comments every time.
To understand JBU, it's probably best to read JBU. You can get a feel for the stories. Either that, or be familiar with Mike Resnick's writing and theories on writing, that'll help. ASIM is not very dissimilar to what JBU publishes. Alternatively, if you have a strong sale record or are a published novelists with decent sales, you have more opportunity to veer off the BAEN path. Not by much, but some.
In general, they favor science fiction more than fantasy, and fantasy especially tends to be pretty traditional in plot. Silly humor is good, unless you're Rebecca Lickiss, who is genuinely funny. Brisk pace; coherent (I'm actually going to argue that consistency thing, several of the ones I've read don't hold up when you start asking too many questions, the underlying premise that is. When you go with the flow and blithely accept what's presented to you, they are entertaining though. It all needs to tie together and make sense at the end, subtlety is not so much desired); light on description and detail you can get away with.
Baen entertains, not provoke thought or subvert expectations.
Brisk pace, breezy content. These are the Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. That kind of thing.
Jeanette's story there was excellent, I remember it (and nnnnot quite the standard JBU profile either). Now and then JBU publish stories that I really like, really good, but unfortunately they're a bit too light in value for me, too forgettable, am not renewing my subscription.
http://david-debeer.com | | Back to Top | | |
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J. Cheney
Stablehand
Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 32
| Posted 6/4/2008 12:56 PM (GMT -5) | | Hey, David!
Glad you still like the story I had there.
I believe that the addition of Resnick as a senoir editor did change their choices somewhat. The story I have on hold is a mundane Sf, but the fantasy one I've got one on the Bar is a 'subvert expectations' story. We'll have to be patient and see if they bite...please....please bite.... ;o)
Wish me luck! | | Back to Top | | |
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David de Beer
Neophyte
Date Joined Mar 2007
Total Posts : 158
| Posted 6/4/2008 2:27 PM (GMT -5) | | | gawd, just occurred to me that everything I say might sound like sour grapes for having a story bounced.
[obligatory for the record waffle]:
I don't always agree with Resnick, but the man has been around for a long time and is worth paying attention to. Raising the standard sucks on the ground, but overall it's a good thing. Sure, my story getting bounced was disappointing but his comment made me think a lot, both with that one and all stories after. I do indulge in exposition too much, bog the story down, I am a too slow writer far too often. I don't think I'm that natural at shorts, and that's fine, means I have to work harder.
JBU has gone in a direction not to my tastes, or not enough to my tastes, but a strong enough line-up might still make me consider a single issue buy.
And even so, my tastes are not the general tastes, and if they cater to an audience who might otherwise not be catered to - good. They fill a need, and that's all right with me.
And I still bloody well want to be published there!
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