Submission Tracking – Neon Dystopia

GOAL: This year I will write for at least one hour every day, and I will complete and submit at least one short story every month—no matter what.

“The Athenaeum of Xandor” (4200 words)

3/4 submitted to Quantum Horizons

3/11 form rejection

3/12 submitted to Dark Phantasm

4/11 editor asks I resubmit; files lost in the blackout

4/11 resubmitted to Dark Phantasm

6/15 Locus says Phantasmagoria editor missing. PP to blame?

6/18 withdrew from Dark Phantasm

6/18 submitted to Arcane Echoes

8/26 rec’d email from Submission Grinder. Arcane Echoes shut down, EO114

“Ballistica” (5900 words)

1/12 submitted to Galactic Embers

3/22 checked, site still not back up after the Internet blackout

3/24 site back up

5/21 rec’d form (mass?) email: ed team safe, no drone issues, slush pile still pending but expect delays

6/29 personalized rejection—apologetic. Liked piece but after 6/16, dirty bomb in NY subway not speculative anymore. Open to seeing more, if still in operation.

“Detour on Tremulus 9” (3100 words)

2/25 submitted to Future Unspoken; query for status after 2 months

4/25 sent query

5/22 random bit on “60 Minutes” on Patriot Power’s drone attacks mentions a vic with same name as Future Unspoken editor. Sent another query.

6/20 withdrew from Future Unspoken

7/1 submitted to Paradox Engine

7/8 ? still operating after LA bombing ? prob rude to query so soon. See if ed at San Diego Comic Con?

7/16 SD Comic Con canceled for safety after roundup, so never mind that. Wait 6 weeks then withdraw?

8/18 moot; Paradox Engine closed by Executive Order 114 (thanks a lot Gen. Andrews!)

“Eleutherus” (4600 words)

2/7 submitted to Unknown Spheres

2/10 form rejection

2/12 submitted to Visions of the Weird

3/27 rec’d mass email, confirming still reviewing pieces but behind schedule from the Internet blackout

5/20 ugh. drone assassinations all over the map. too similar. withdrew from Visions of the Weird

6/11 revised, submitted to Eclipse & Abyss

6/22 JFC, I cannot catch a break with this one. PP attack on DC too similar. Withdrew from Eclipse & Abyss

“A Habitat for Yonduk” (4000 words)

1/3 submitted to Journal of Interstellar Futures

2/6 editor on CNN in Patriot Power march on DC. SFWA put out author advisory, recommends withdraw. Withdrew

2/7 submitted to Wizards & Wi-Fi

4/8 form rejection

4/10 submitted to Disturbing Tales

6/26 personal note from editor: likes piece but too hot while martial law in place. Wait until after POTUS trial?

7/4 queried for update (waited until after General Andrews finished his speech from Truman balcony)

7/5 personal note from editor: pass, but please submit again in future, if/when martial law ends. (This is really getting frustrating!)

7/6 submitted to Rehash (new site)

7/15 my luck. form email – Rehash ed rounded up. All on hold until back from work camp.

7/16 withdrew from Rehash. Not sure where to go next

“The Madness of Christian Young” (novelette, 11,400 words)

4/3 submitted to Horror Quarterly Online

5/24 accepted, will go up 7/1 for July issue

6/3 oh FFS. Leader of Patriot Power takeover of TX Capitol = “Christian Young.” Sent note to editor, happy to change name.

“Nemesis 7” (4400 words)

2/22 submitted to Voidwalkers & Vortices

4/7 accepted! will run online July-Aug

6/8 editor email—wants revision to differentiate from May 20 events, too similar

6/12 submitted revised version. Removed assassinations of professors. Replaced bombing of CNN with hostage taking at NYT. Changed “Patriot Movement” to “Defender Movement.”

6/14 revised version accepted

7/1 online!

7/15 ugh. Personal note from editor: new AI censor says take down story or whole site goes. He’s not sure why it flagged revised piece but maybe AI thinks the T’kaal warlord resembles General Andrews. Apologetic, encourages publishing elsewhere if I can.

7/16 submitted to Polecat (new UK site, fast response)

7/20 accepted! Will go up 8/4. Really timely, I’ve been losing heart lately

8/4 online!

8/19 JFC. Polecat now inaccessible in US due to Exec Order 114

9/3 submitted paper via private delivery to Exoplanetary Witchcraft Weekly

“Ophelia, Ophelia” (3800 words)

5/23 submitted to Tentacle Tribune

7/1 online note “holding for consideration” (not that fast I guess)

7/8 personal rejection: loved strong sense of place/setting in LA, but now that LA destroyed, it would be alt history (they don’t publish). Will consider revision set elsewhere or in future after imagined rebuilding (damn USAF. . .)

“The Piranha Warrior” (4500 words)

6/29 submitted to Werewolves in the Garden

7/4 WTF? Keep getting preempted by events.

8/1 form rejection

8/9 revised: Removed POTUS execution, replaced with action scene in Vegas. Submitted to Spaceships & Shenanigans

“Query the Maker” (4600 words)

2/15 submitted to Zombies Ate My Subscription

4/2 good or bad? weapons used in SecDef assassination are a little similar to Chakuvian scimitars

4/16 accepted! (guess scimitars weren’t a problem). Will run in June online & print

6/9 note from editor: was due to post last week, but she lives in Phoenix, too chaotic after Patriot Power takeover. Will post soon.

6/14 online!

6/19 note from editor: print edition delayed after NYC bomb

7/10 note from editor: print edition further delayed. key contractor caught up in “subversives” roundup

7/16 site down. Apparently flagged by AI censor? can’t be my story. . .

7/22 site back up, minus three stories that AI deemed subversive or whatever. my story largely intact–AI deleted three sentences. guess we’re not allowed to say “political prisoner” anymore?

7/29 note from ed: moving site to dark web. harder to censor, altho also harder for readers to find. Can’t blame her but this crap is really disheartening

“After Action Report: Battle of San Francisco” (900 words)

6/25 submitted to Neon Dystopia. feeling good about this piece!

8/20 damn. Neon Dystopia shut down, EO114. Not sure where else to go.

9/3 neighborhood kid slipped me handwritten note. Accepted! ND secretly relaunching in new form to evade censors.

11/1 pizza guy delivered small pizza I didn’t order. Inside box = ND, photocopied & stapled by hand. Q: does this format qualify for Nebulas?

Ron Fein is a Boston-area public interest lawyer, writer, and activist who writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and comedy. His work appears in Nature, Factor Four, Daily Science Fiction, Nonprofit Quarterly, MetaStellar, Mystery Tribune,and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and has been translated into Croatian and Romanian. Find him at ronfein.com, on Mastodon @ronfein@masto.ai, and on BlueSky @ronfein.bsky.social.