And that ain’t no lie.
It doesn’t matter what aspect of life you look at; the idea of acceptance and rejection is psychologically the same. But that doesn’t make the rejection of a story hurt any less than being dumped by your high school crush. I bring this up to start this week’s post because of the contracts and rejection letters recently sent out for Trailer Park 5 and the Brave Knights anthologies.
What most submitting authors don’t know is that running an anthology is a whole lot of work. Not only do you have to sift through a stack of submissions to decide what the best stories are, but you also have editing, formatting, and an excitingly fun little thing called contracts. Basically, lots of little things have to be done in order for the project to move forward and be published. Plus, there are the extra bits of ads, promotion, ect. that contribute to the title becoming successful.
I, for one, hate sending out those rejections. I know how it feels to get them. Been there, done that many times in the past. But it’s the right thing to do, instead of leaving authors in the lurch, not knowing the status of their story. Feedback is another thing, but when you have well over a hundred submissions, it’s extreamly time consuming to give individual feedback to each and every submission. Now multiply that by however many anthology open calls you were running.
Things can get busy quickly.
Now, I will admit, some of our anthologies over the last year or so have lingered, but we’re a small press. And that goes for most of the small presses out there. We aren’t a large corporation with employees. We all have day jobs and families, and sometimes life just happens. I get that you have that story listed on your tracking sheet and you’re waiting to mark it off as officially published, but sometimes things are delayed.
Here’s a little tip:
Getting angry with the project editor because a project isn’t going as quickly as you’d like is a good way to get on the editor and publisher’s black list. That being said, coming back with snide, mean, and asshole comments from a rejection will also get you black listed in a heartbeat.
We’re all professionals, and this isn’t high school.
Let’s get to the good stuff.
Upcoming Release
Morgana Wynd
In a world where memory fades but danger never does…
Fifteen-year-old Jack Brecker wakes up on his uncle’s lawn with no memory of the last few days and a gnawing sense that something is terribly wrong. Welcome to Morgana Wynd, a town Jack barely remembers but can’t seem to escape—a place where shadows move when no one’s looking, and the air crackles with secrets.
But Morgana Wynd isn’t just strange. It’s a crossroads of blood and black magic, where shapeshifters prowl the woods, ancient curses linger, and fanatics serve demon gods hungry for destruction.
When a demon god sets its sights on Jack’s soul, he has two choices: run—or fight.
Joined by the fierce and mysterious Neria and a band of wayward teens caught in the town’s deadly grip, Jack must face down the darkness and decide what kind of hero he’s willing to become.
The stakes are cosmic. The danger is real. And the time to act is now.
Welcome to Morgana Wynd. You’re not ready—but you’re going anyway.
Upcoming conventions
The Word Witch and I will be traveling to Seattle in September for the PNWA conference to teach a few classes, speak with authors, and take novel pitches. If you’re in the Seattle area and are interested in the conference, check out the link below for details.
Open Calls and Submissions
We have some updates on open calls and general submissions moving forward. Our primary focus will be on existing Three Ravens series (Car Warriors/JTF/Trailer Park/etc.) I haven’t had a chance to update the main pages with this, but will be doing so this coming weekend.
Cold novel submissions: We are no longer accepting cold novel submissions of any kind. The slush pile is finally clear, and I intend it to stay that way.
Anthologies: Anthology open calls will be very limited moving forward. Anthologies are extremely time-consuming.
Novel Pitches: We will only be accepting novel PITCHES moving forward for our existing shared universe series (Car Warriors/JTF/Trailer Park/etc.)
The only other way to submit a new novel idea is by catching us at a convention and pitching the idea there.
Recent Releases
Weight of Injustice: Book 2 of the Injustice series
Murder, corruption, and forbidden love—how much is justice worth?
When a brutal murder near Malik Addelia’s apartment exposes his relationship with homicide detective Violetta Cq’linns, the revelation ignites outrage. Dating him defies societal norms, and now everyone in her department knows it. Already battling PTSD, Violetta faces scrutiny from all sides—until another murder lands on her desk, offering a much-needed distraction.
But as the body count rises, a chilling connection emerges. The victims, Malik, and his employer are all linked, and someone will kill to keep their secrets buried. With attempts on her life escalating, Violetta must uncover the truth before the killer silences her for good.
Will justice come at the cost of everything she’s fought for—including the career she sacrificed everything to build?
Whistles of the Wendigo: A Joint Task Force 13 Legacy Nove
When the war ends… a new nightmare begins.
The smoke of the Civil War has barely cleared when another battle ignites—this time, on the homefront. A fiery prohibition movement is tearing the state apart, and the governor calls in the US Army’s 6th Cavalry to keep the peace.
But peace is the last thing they’ll find.
On patrol, Sergeant David Wilkerson and his troop ride straight into a ghostly fog—and straight into hell. A terrified horse disappears—a mangled carcass returns. Something ancient and hungry has awakened.
The saloons go silent. The townsfolk go missing. The line between law and chaos is about to be crossed.
Now, with tempers boiling and terror creeping in from the shadows, Wilkerson and his men must ride into the unknown, face what lies in the mist…
…and stand as the last defense between Heaven and Hell.
Not to Yield: Polisian-Scourge War, A Shared-World Anthology
It is the end of a bloody and savage 10-year-long interstellar war. Earth is part of the 230 sentient races of the Polisian War Fleet on their suicide mission to destroy “The Scourge,” an unknown bellicose species whose only purpose is to destroy all intelligent life and colonize their sterilized habitats.
On the far side of The Milky Way Galaxy, Tennyson and the crew of The Ekaterina infiltrate the enemy’s massive, rogue Dyson sphere, and set off a devastating Singularity-Bomb, an all-devouring Dark Matter Fountain which not only destroys the enemy but most of the galactic space-gate network that is the travel infrastructure for the entire galaxy.
The Ekaterina is now cut off from Earth. Stranded far from home, the crew must combine cold-sleep hibernation, near-light-speed relativistic space flight, and random, unmapped, Dark Energy Arterial Tunnels in a dangerous, epic journey of Homeric proportions.
Raven author posts / Partner Publishers signal boost
Deej Explains Structural Editing
…and might just do a little dancing about architecture…
From the Cannon Editor: THANK YOU!
Sovereign and The Saint by Saph DoddFormat: Soft CoverPre-Order Today! "So, you are the Sovereign. You cure plague, you take the Saint under your wing, you dutifully play court wizard and conduit to Hiroh, but is it enough?" Four years ago, Tenma's life changed forever. She stepped into her formal role of Court Wizard of Jade and accepted the responsibility of a new protege, which overwhelmed her. She is forever haunted by loss, but she must hold fast, because the tragedy is not over. Navigating her new responsibilities. struggling with grief, and the weight of being a new mother, may just be her limit. How much can one bend, before they break?Does anything ever truly change?
LaVoice In UR Head Superman Review
One response to “Acceptance is love, but rejection is a bitch…”
We all love acceptances, but as an author I can tell you that I’d rather get a quick rejection than one that comes after many months. Honestly, rejections are simply a part of the life of a writer, and getting upset at the publisher does nothing productive. If you can’t handle rejections, then submitting your work isn’t the right avenue for you.
Will watch to see which open calls you have in the future.