Just Another Tuesday

Sometimes there's a fine line between “three strikes, you're out” and “the third time's the charm.”

I've submitted a few stories to Allegory over the past year, two of which have each garnered an honorable mention, not quite making the cut. About a month ago, I received word from the editors that my story "One More Tuesday" had been held for voting. It would either be published in the January 2011 issue, or I would receive yet another "honorable mention” from Allegory.

Alas, a week ago I received the following message from editor Ty Drago:

Milo - I hate writing this letter. I deeply regret to inform you that "One More Tuesday" did not make the final cut for ALLEGORY. Please understand that we received more than 500 submissions for this issue and narrowed that down to only 51 finalists. For whatever it may be worth, we would like to include your name and the title of your story in the Honorable Mentions section of our fiction page. Feel free to use this as a recommendation of your work to other markets.

Was I disappointed? Heck yes. But I swallowed my pride and responded:

Thanks for another honorable mention. I'll make the cut someday!

Thirty minutes later, Mr. Drago replied with:

Milo - Actually, it looks like today's the day after all. Turns out that another story has been pulled from the issue at the author's request, which opens a spot. So ... Congratulations! Your story, "One More Tuesday," has been accepted for publication in ALLEGORY, due to hit the web on January 1, 2011.

Was my story at the top of the runners-up list? Or did my quick response have something to do with their decision? Either way, I'm stoked for this story to see the light of day!