Email List and Submission Dates

[Silk she/her]

On 6/8/2025 at 10:46 PM, ginger_reckoning said:

I would also like a spot for tomorrow please!

Sorry only just saw this now! Feel free to sneak it under the wire.

[Appol PhD they/he]

I'll have a slot for Monday please!

[Silk she/her]

16 hours ago, Ace of Hearts said:

I'll have a slot for Monday please!

Sounds good. Any other takers?

[ginger_reckoning]

I'll take a slot for monday please!

 

[Silk she/her]

8 hours ago, ginger_reckoning said:

I'll take a slot for monday please!

 

Please do!

[Paul SB]

It looks like you have enough for 6/23, but if you don't, I'd be happy to jump in. I'm having surgery that day, so I'll have the evening off from work.

[Silk she/her]

On 6/17/2025 at 12:00 PM, Paul SB said:

It looks like you have enough for 6/23, but if you don't, I'd be happy to jump in. I'm having surgery that day, so I'll have the evening off from work.

 The last couple requests were for 6/16, so nothing lined up yet for 6/23. You are certainly welcome to submit that day, if you'd like (but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate, so you can always go for 6/30 if that works better!)

[Paul SB]

3 hours ago, Silk said:

 The last couple requests were for 6/16, so nothing lined up yet for 6/23. You are certainly welcome to submit that day, if you'd like (but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate, so you can always go for 6/30 if that works better!)

Okay. Do I need to submit on that day, exactly? Should I do that in the morning? I could toss my first couple chapters in the ring any time I'm conscious and not working.

[Silk she/her]

22 hours ago, Paul SB said:

Okay. Do I need to submit on that day, exactly? Should I do that in the morning? I could toss my first couple chapters in the ring any time I'm conscious and not working.

Any time during that day (in your time zone) is good. We do try to stick to the Monday as much as possible because people carve out specific times in the week to do crits, so it's easier when it's predictable.

[Paul SB]

6 hours ago, Silk said:

Any time during that day (in your time zone) is good. We do try to stick to the Monday as much as possible because people carve out specific times in the week to do crits, so it's easier when it's predictable.

Okay, got it. I'll try to get it out in the morning before my surgery. Once it's posted, I could be unconscious for days and anyone would still be able to read it.

On a completely different subject, I have all four of the elemental anthologies as audiobooks, and I loved them. Unfortunately, I also have a very messed up memory due to a malfunctioning pineal gland, and as audiobooks there's no TOC for me to consult. If you have a moment, could you remind me which stories you wrote? I remember thinking that yours was one of the names I wanted to look into because I liked your stories, but I'm in the dark as to why.

[ginger_reckoning]

Hi sorry, still completeing my critiques for this week, but I would like a spot for monday as well!

 

[Silk she/her]

On 6/21/2025 at 4:30 PM, Paul SB said:

Okay, got it. I'll try to get it out in the morning before my surgery. Once it's posted, I could be unconscious for days and anyone would still be able to read it.

On a completely different subject, I have all four of the elemental anthologies as audiobooks, and I loved them. Unfortunately, I also have a very messed up memory due to a malfunctioning pineal gland, and as audiobooks there's no TOC for me to consult. If you have a moment, could you remind me which stories you wrote? I remember thinking that yours was one of the names I wanted to look into because I liked your stories, but I'm in the dark as to why.

Oh, thank you! Glad you enjoyed the books. My stories are: 

• "Radiant" (superhero romance) and "How to Steal a Planet" (heist-adjacent space opera) in Distant Gardens
• "Jack of Diamonds" in Farther Reefs (pirates, sea monsters, and historians who make bad decisions)
• "Into the Churn" (adventures with floating islands and flying dinosaurs) in Lofty Mountains
• "In the Mantle, an Inhale" (fading magic and rocky relationships) in Fiery Deeps 

I have one more short story called "Chasing Kusongangani" out in The World of Juno anthology, also by Space Wizard. Hopefully more out one day, somewhere!

1 hour ago, ginger_reckoning said:

Hi sorry, still completeing my critiques for this week, but I would like a spot for monday as well!

 

By all means!

[Paul SB]

1 hour ago, Silk said:

Oh, thank you! Glad you enjoyed the books. My stories are: 

• "Radiant" (superhero romance) and "How to Steal a Planet" (heist-adjacent space opera) in Distant Gardens
• "Jack of Diamonds" in Farther Reefs (pirates, sea monsters, and historians who make bad decisions)
• "Into the Churn" (adventures with floating islands and flying dinosaurs) in Lofty Mountains
• "In the Mantle, an Inhale" (fading magic and rocky relationships) in Fiery Deeps 

I have one more short story called "Chasing Kusongangani" out in The World of Juno anthology, also by Space Wizard. Hopefully more out one day, somewhere!

By all means!

Thanks for taking the time. I generally dislike anything with superheroes, I really enjoyed Radiant, and How to Steal a Planet was very memorable and clever. Farther Reefs had so many pirate stories the name isn't ringing a bell, and I've listened to that book twice (my brain!). I thought Into the Churn was one of the most creative stories in that book, but I can't remember the one from Fiery Deeps at all (my brain, once again).

I wanted to submit a story for their Lesbians in Space anthology, but I finished it about 3 days after the deadline. Bummer. Since I didn't think I was going to finish it on time, I sent them an older one that wasn't as good, and of course they didn't take it.

[Paul SB]

Tomorrow's another Monday. So far only one person has bitten at my last submission, but I'd still like to drop another one in, if that's okay.

[ginger_reckoning]

I would also like a spot for this monday please!

6 hours ago, Paul SB said:

So far only one person has bitten at my last submission

Yeah, it is a little slow around here right now haha, mostly me and Ace of Hearts have been submitting regularly for the past few months, but I would not be surprised if there are others who pick it up occasionally, and the rumblings say Silk may have something to submit soon

[Silk she/her]

17 hours ago, Paul SB said:

Tomorrow's another Monday. So far only one person has bitten at my last submission, but I'd still like to drop another one in, if that's okay.

 

10 hours ago, ginger_reckoning said:

I would also like a spot for this monday please!

Yeah, it is a little slow around here right now haha, mostly me and Ace of Hearts have been submitting regularly for the past few months, but I would not be surprised if there are others who pick it up occasionally, and the rumblings say Silk may have something to submit soon

Sorry for my slow reply! Both please go ahead.

[Paul SB]

It looks like I've been doin g this wrong. I was supposed to email my submissions, not post them to the site directly. My brain! Maybe it would be a good idea to start over on Monday 7/07 and resubmit my first entry, but try to do it right this time. I'll have to staple a note to my forehead.

[Silk she/her]

18 hours ago, Paul SB said:

It looks like I've been doin g this wrong. I was supposed to email my submissions, not post them to the site directly. My brain! Maybe it would be a good idea to start over on Monday 7/07 and resubmit my first entry, but try to do it right this time. I'll have to staple a note to my forehead.

Oh yes, sorry about that! We use email to help protect people's copyright and publication rights--to protect against plagiarism and also to ensure that people keep their first publication rights. Most professional venues will consider a story published if posted online for people to read. 

I don't think you have to resubmit your previous chapters, but I would suggest taking the documents off of your posts. You can always include the previous documents with your current submission as long as it's clear which one you want us to critique, for those who maybe want to come in later and catch up. (Which I still hope to do myself! Plus I am revising the short story that I hinted at a couple weeks ago to eventually submit myself. But life continues to be A Lot.) 

[Paul SB]

3 hours ago, Silk said:

Oh yes, sorry about that! We use email to help protect people's copyright and publication rights--to protect against plagiarism and also to ensure that people keep their first publication rights. Most professional venues will consider a story published if posted online for people to read. 

I don't think you have to resubmit your previous chapters, but I would suggest taking the documents off of your posts. You can always include the previous documents with your current submission as long as it's clear which one you want us to critique, for those who maybe want to come in later and catch up. (Which I still hope to do myself! Plus I am revising the short story that I hinted at a couple weeks ago to eventually submit myself. But life continues to be A Lot.) 

Okay, but so far no one has critiqued my second submission, and I only got two on the first. That and the guy who said he might be interested in publishing this is sounding less and less interested, so I probably don't need to be in any rush (except maybe to locate my carotid artery ...)

I am looking forward to your latest. Personally I'm not much of a short story writer. They always come out too long. That's a disadvantage, since most people publish gobs of short stories long before anyone will even hesitate to dump their novel in the trash.

I just checked my first submission and it says it's been downloaded six times, but I couldn't find how to take it down. Help, please?

[ginger_reckoning]

8 hours ago, Paul SB said:

Okay, but so far no one has critiqued my second submission, and I only got two on the first. That and the guy who said he might be interested in publishing this is sounding less and less interested, so I probably don't need to be in any rush (except maybe to locate my carotid artery ...)

I am looking forward to your latest. Personally I'm not much of a short story writer. They always come out too long. That's a disadvantage, since most people publish gobs of short stories long before anyone will even hesitate to dump their novel in the trash.

I just checked my first submission and it says it's been downloaded six times, but I couldn't find how to take it down. Help, please?

Ah sorry, yeah I am working on the critique for submission 2 right now so expect to see it in about an hour. I also just wanted to claim a spot for next week!

[Paul SB]

1 hour ago, ginger_reckoning said:

Ah sorry, yeah I am working on the critique for submission 2 right now so expect to see it in about an hour. I also just wanted to claim a spot for next week!

NBD - Like I said, I'm not exactly in a rush, though the lack of response is a bit on the frustrating side.

[Silk she/her]

10 hours ago, ginger_reckoning said:

I also just wanted to claim a spot for next week!

Please go ahead!

18 hours ago, Paul SB said:

Okay, but so far no one has critiqued my second submission, and I only got two on the first. 

Ah, well you're certainly welcome to resubmit if you're hoping for more replies. It is a smaller group of people active right now than it has been in the past. 

18 hours ago, Paul SB said:

I am looking forward to your latest. Personally I'm not much of a short story writer. They always come out too long.

Hopefully it'll be out in a bit! I've been having fun with short fiction because you can get away with things in short fiction that you can't in long fiction (as exemplified by the one I'm working on, heh). I keep telling myself I will get back to long fiction but... so far it hasn't happened 

19 hours ago, Paul SB said:

I just checked my first submission and it says it's been downloaded six times, but I couldn't find how to take it down. Help, please?

When you go into edit the post, there should be an X icon on the righthand side of the attachment that you just click on to remove it: 

 

 

[Paul SB]

Frog lips! I forgot to add the number of words. It's 4903, if there's a way to add that in. How long will it be before my submission appears on the site?

[Silk she/her]

21 hours ago, Paul SB said:

Frog lips! I forgot to add the number of words. It's 4903, if there's a way to add that in. How long will it be before my submission appears on the site?

We post the forum posts separately than the email itself--basically giving people space to respond to the email sub. You can just edit the forum post where you start the thread and it should give you an option to edit the title.

[Paul SB]

On 7/8/2025 at 6:20 AM, Silk said:

We post the forum posts separately than the email itself--basically giving people space to respond to the email sub. You can just edit the forum post where you start the thread and it should give you an option to edit the title.

It's almost another week, and still not one bite ...