I'm a science-fiction and fantasy buff, creator of the Chakat Universe, and now dabbling in the MLP:FiM universe. I love a good story!
Today I received a notice from Equestria Daily rejecting my submission of "Conversations In A Canterlot Café". I was prepared for that possibility, but I'm still very disappointed because I really thought that it had a good chance. I've never been arrogant enough to think that I was a great writer, but after all these years (not just with ponies), it seems I'll just have to settle for "adequate".
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Equestria daily has always been really weird on accepting fics/rejecting fics, sometimes really weird things get through, good fics won't, it's kind of random. Don't judge yourself based on how EQD judges you, you're better than that.
What were the reasons for the rejection?
EQD acceptance really varies depending on which judge you get. There's just no consistent standard.
Equestria Daily isn't really about quality, it's about what suits the tastes and weird nit-picks of the people there.
I say this as somebody who's gotten several stories in, and several other stories rejected. The ones that were accepted were NOT my best. The ones that were rejected were NOT my worst. (The accepted ones were fine, but nothing special, among the rejected ones were what I feel is the best story I've ever written, so... yeah.)
Personally I think Canterlot Cafe is quite good. It's technically competent, and you've pulled off the very difficult task of having a main character who is essentially racist still be likeable, and overcome his racism in a realistic, believable way. That's very difficult to do, and you did it very well.
Have to agree here. I know your work for some time. EQD is just being stupid. they must be harsher then here. Glad i have not tried to go there then.
P.S. I keep meaning to ask this and forgetting. Your comment about non-pony writing reminded me. Are you the Goldfur that writes sci-fi stories about centauroid felines? If that's so, then I've enjoyed your work for quite a few years!
2701482 They get too many submissions to give feedback. You just get a form letter now with links to helpful websites.
Don't worry about it, EQD has strange tastes and most stories that are really good end up getting rejected. I can stand by your story and say that I enjoyed it and you don't need judges to tell you otherwise.
2701490 Yep, that's me. Same name, different species. =^_^= Check out my website for both chakats and ponies.
2701494 I know that odd stories get accepted by EQ. I was hoping to draw more attention to my own though. With tens of thousands of fanfics here, it's hard to stand out in the crowd.
2701498 True, but I believe they get enough attention because they are well written.
2701496 Awesome. I've been to the site many times, but not in recent years. I'll have to see what's new.
I have to agree with them. EQD is weird about accepting fics and rejecting them. It's all up to the pre-readers judgement on the fic. I have read almost all your works from your site and can't wait to read the ones you post here. You are a great writer. This may come off as a little fan praise here, but I look up to you as a writer. I remember I wrote an email to you asking if I could use chakats in my writings. I even have one of my charters in herm haven page. So please don't get down about this. You are great writer.
Don't worry about EQD; keep writing and putting fics here instead. More Cafe-verse, please?
Aw come on, it's not the end of the world, and should it really matter?
Sure, EqD is quite prestigious bragging right, buuuuuut... they do have some extremely high requirements, aaaaand since it's also people who judge it, there will always be some bias. So you need to be lucky for who will pre-read your story for them.
What should matter is how you feel about your stories, and I dare to say, for us all, that we love your stories ourselves.
So don't let it get you down
Don't Get discouraged! I'm fairy certain everyone who followed you did so because your writing was able to win them over. You're already a good author in their books and if you keep writing you can only get better.
Equestria Daily has absolutely no bearing on whether you're a good writer or not.
It's more like a dice roll to get more readers. Don't think that their arbitrary entry prerequisites make you less of an author.
you are a great writer, dont lose hope
What they write that it was rejected? Srsly you have one of more interesting fics with unique way and a lot of eqd stories is just copies of other ideas.
EQD has extreme biases and is noted for having pre-readers with serious issues with professionalism and proper judgement. Most likely, they know about your other identity and rejected the story for that instead of any of it's merits or lack thereof.
What they said.
EQD does have some peculiar biases of their own, and they'll also fail a submission for surprisingly nitpicky and arbitrary reasons. The first time I submitted Light the Sky on Fire, they kicked it back because I'd used double exclamation points in a couple of spots, and I've known several other folk who got their stories kicked back for equally minor formatting issues like that.
(I've also heard through various grapevines that some of their prereaders, at least, have had past histories of rejecting stories that had "too many OCs"; rejecting anything with any kind of romance (overt or implied) between any of the Mane Six and an OC, or even Mane Six + background character; or, conversely, automatically approving anything that featured Trixie in it.
How much of that is true, and how much is sour grapes, I couldn't say, so take it with a grain of salt – but given that I've heard the same things fairly consistently from several different sources...)
I suspect the "EQD effect" is somewhat overstated anyway, really. My story had already achieved 845 "likes" on its own, just in the space of two months, before it hit EQD at the end of August 2013; when it did, it got a surge of views for about 3-4 days, but that surge only took it from 845 to 951, and then it slowly ticked up to 990 by the end of September. To date, the 1988 "hits" from EQD only amount to about 16% of its current tally of 12,212 total views. Not an insignificant number, to be sure (and presumably, at least a few more of the "likes" it's gotten between Sept.2013 and today also came via EQD views), but with stats like that, not exactly a make-or-break for a given story or author's popularity overall, i don't think.
(Granted, that's a sample of one, but I see no obvious reason to suspect my results were especially atypical one way or the other.)
See, this is why I don't use EqD for my FiM fanfic-reading selection.
Seriously, that's just so... I don't know. Stuff the others said, I agree with it. Me, I couldn't write my way out of a wet paper bag, but I know your stories are great, so don't get disappointed because they don't see it.
EQD is very elitist and can shoot you down for nothing more than the reviewer doesn't like your topic. There are tons of good folks here that are much better standards of choice to measure by.
You have a lovely creative vision. And I hope this doesn't get to you.
Fuck that, "Conversations" is up at the top with the best of them in changeling fics.
EQD was never about quality as much as buttering up and diving the staff's anal cavity
2703355 It reminds me of Wikipedia which originally started off as boasting to be the "Encyclopedia of Everything". However, it degenerated into the "Encyclopedia of the Relevant", with self-appointed editors deciding what was relevant. So unless the thing that you're interested in researching is known to more than a few thousand people, it will likely be deleted.
Judging a story can be very subjective, so I can well believe that the pre-readers' biases can determine whether a story gets featured or not. That's why more than one person should judge the story. However, I realize that they must get a flood of submissions, and it's impractical to do so.
2702676 "Too many OC's"?! No such thing! Badly designed OC's, I could believe. Sheesh! My stories feature almost nothing but OC's! The main cast barely get a look-in for the most part.
2703788 Somewhat. I guess, but EQD has gathered a bit of a bad history for turning away good fics because you got a bad viewer for your story.
It may be very subjective, but yeah. I hope you have better places that do take this gem up.
From my standpoint of view, Goldfur, you are indefinitely above adequate. Getting a person like me to read fan-fictions is...hard. I quit reading for several years, because I was able to "see" the plot of a story two chapters in and thus, I lost interest to continue. when I found your stories I did the same thing, I judged them without reading for several days, and then gave it a shot and found myself loving your "family of cogs" X3
whirring cogs has been helpful in explaining changelings to a friend of mine, who, for the longest time was against all things MLPFIM. Your (non-canon) canon history and in depth explanation of their race and culture has inspired him to write his own story.
In my book, that means your far above the standard. For when your writing inspires others(myself included)to write, to push past the bounds of reality and claw at the possibilities of the imagination, it means allot more to a fanfiction sceptic like me.
it makes me appreciate and value your writing.
so thank you for what you've created, for the laughs, the fears, and the fits of sadness that you weaved with Whirring cogs AND frothy brew.
I await to see more from ya.
A fan, Backlash91
2706078 What else can I say but Thank You!
2701498 heck if its recognition you want i can help spread the word
if its respect and praise you want. you already have it in abundance from all your fans
screw equestria daily you are NOT an "adequate" writer, YOU ARE A CHAMPION never forget that
your work is one of my top favorite fanfics. the vibrant life and soul you give your story and characters is very rare. now i have read quite a few fanfics that have life and soul to them but none are on the level of your fanfics. NONE!
EQD is nothing but a bunch a elitist snobs who get their kicks because they are supposed to be the "official" fan site when in truth its sites like this one who get way more traffic by accepting and posting excellent stories written by truly talented authors . Don't let it get ya down Goldfur your too good for that .Hugs and nuzzles for my all time favorite chakat.
Sad to hear but you shouldn't take it personally . The dudes and EQD often follow the majority and have their own personal preferences which influences their opinion . Not to mention , most people struggle to understand the difference between their opinion and the quality of a work .
E.g. not everyone thinks Taylor Swift if a good singer but regardless of your opinion she is a good artist as most of her songs are written by herself , have a story and an underlying message . Not to mention she tries different genres where as most artists stagnate . (I'm not an expert if you are please feel free to elaborate / also I don't listen to any of her music )
I'm trying to say that regardless of your rejection from EQD your story is excellent (mainly my opinion but it does follow the rules/layout of a good story and if I had more experience on it I could give you a definite answer )
So you shouldn't worry if you get more reads , likes and favorites , I'm sure they will add you as all news services follows the majority .
2706078
That... sounds a lot like my story... I didn't care at all for anything mlp related until I found Change of Life on Chakat den...
2701834 So what your saying is that Goldfur rolled a one?
2715807
More like a 6 or 7. On a 1d100 roll.
As someone who's read your work before you got into the horsewords game, I can assure you you've only gotten better over the years. I totally understand the desire to do something, *anything* to make your fic stand out. There's so much volume on this site it's a real struggle to tug readers your way, especially when your story is more than a 2-3k one shot.
I'd wait a month and then give it another shot. Revise, because we can always improve, but don't take the rejection to mean it wasn't up to snuff.
Screw them. Most of the stories on eqd don't go into more mature topics as your stories do.
Equestria Daily is also the buzzfeed of the fandom.
Goldfur, first off I just placed you on my 'watch because awesome author' list... I don't have a section called that, but point remains.
Second, as everyone before me has said... screw EqD and their bias. I have seen CRAP on that site... One of which was a typical MMDW accusation fic heaping all blame on Twilight Sparkle. That says enough about their 'quality' to me.
You, Goldfur, are a superb writer. I look forward to reading all the fics that took place before Conversations and Different Perspective, having come to read your stories out of order on accident. Frothy Brew and Free Agent are two of my favorite OCs in this fandom PERIOD.
Keep your chin up, and go boldly forth into the adventures dwelling within your mind!
Shit, Baby! Don't let them idiots drag you down! I just happen to have read "A Novel Tale" a couple days ago, and since I had no other ling-fics lined up after it but your series, when I read "Prelude to Change" I realised that I accidentally read them in the right order (xD), loved the references, just finished "Change of Life" which I loved to smithereens, both the story and the hilarious illustrations, and the ending was simply golden. I'm starting "Growing Up Dandy" the minute after I send this comment, then read on to finish all your fics. (At the same time I'll start watching you, I can't miss out on quality ling-fic writers!)
Trot on, and stay awesome!
Hey don't take it personally. Big reader things like that tend to be biased. I read Conversations, and I enjoyed every second of it. and It was a good story way better than adequate trust me and from what im seeing in the other comments, most of your readers here would agree with me on that. So ya didn't get in? doesn't mean your bad or the end of the world. Just keep writing, and if you feel like trying again, go for it.
Don't be too bummed
. I hardly use EqD to find stories anymore. It just isn't a very...prolific source. I mostly use the feature box now (and even with only that I still have over 700 stories in my "read later" list
).
I think you're a good writer. Certainly a lot better than a lot of the other guys on this site. I've seen stories that were so bad, I wanted to edit them just so they wouldn't be painful to read
! You are better than "adequate," you're pretty darn good. And I've faved every story in the "Change of Life" continuum (or whatever you call it in your head).
EQD have ridiculously high standards.
I once saw someone submit a fic and they denied it because a military rank in their story didn't equate to the real-life equivalent of title and position.
Pretentious. As. Fuck.
EQD is just way to focused on being a gate keeper then on quality. They want to be the be all and end all of pony fic, but instead simply have made themselves nearly irrelevant.
I wouldn't worry about what they think, just keep moving forward and being awesome.