Oh, fuck.

[gridlore]

Steve Jackson Games has rejected Outrim Void. They're buying out my contract. This I didn't need this week.

I'm getting about $160 in the buyout, but the payments were supposed to be my Oregon money! Damnit, I need that vacation! At this point I'm wondering if Ground Forces was a bloody fluke, that the only reason it was any good was the fact it was a subject that I knew intimately.

At this point I'm not sure if I can write anything else, and I like writing! What the hell do I do now?

Comments

Once more into the breach, dear friends

[isomeme.livejournal.com]

First: I am so fucking sorry. I know you had your heart in this, and it must hurt like hell to have it tossed out.

Second: A number of other people have already said this, but every author collects rejections. You have one sole-author, one collaboration, and several contributor credits on published books. Do you know how many people would give their right arm for that? (Hint: I live with one of them.)

Third: What's the rights situation on the material you produced? If this is a permanent rejection rather than a "can't use it right now", see about placing this stuff (or useful parts of it) elsewhere. A lot of it is sure to transcend Traveller specifics.

Fourth: Talk with your editor about why this was rejected. Listen and learn. Good generals study their failures far more carefully than their successes.

Re: Once more into the breach, dear friends

[kshandra]

Your brother has a point, angel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is this not your first actual rejection? Yeah, you had things accepted that were never published - but they were still accepted. Remember to celebrate that even as you mourn this particular setback.

I'm sorry it happened - and especially sorry that it happened now. But don't let it defeat you. *hugs*

Re: Once more into the breach, dear friends

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

The situation is that my material is being sent to another author. I'm making sure that I at least get an "Additional Material" credit.

I know that I've been quite lucky, but it still hurts.

I'm putting together a proposal for another Traveller book, and working on a couple of JTAS submissions. One you might like: "Small Ships and Iron Men" A variant where jump requires larger drives and is riskier for larger ships. 5,000 dtons is the limit for traditional jumps. Gets the feel of the original CT universe back