Well, actually three more balls dropped since I last blogged on 5/28/03 about a probable sale. This leaves me with six more balls in the air from the bunch of stories I sent out on 5/17/04.

Here's the tally so far:

Reply #1: The "probable sale" I wrote about on 5/28/04. The editor wants to buy it, but is overstocked, so he's holding it until he can clear out some inventory before sending me a contract.

Reply #2: A personal reply, saying the editor really enjoyed the story, but unfortunately didn't find that it matched his current needs. The letter then gave a more detailed explanation of what this market is looking for. If there is such a thing as a "good rejection," this was it. The editor liked the story -- no sale, but encouragement to send more.

Reply #3: A plain say-nothing form rejection. I'm not offended by form-letters, by the way. Most editors are pretty busy, and have hundreds of other stories in the slush pile to read after mine, so a quick form letter is understandable.

Reply #4: Another "probable sale" from the same editor as #1 above. Again, he wants the story but is overbought and has to clear out his inventory before he can send me a contract. It's one of the top markets, so I'm confident the contract is coming. I suppose I should be flattered that this editor is interested in my stuff to ask me to wait, as many markets just stop reading submissions when they're all bought up.

So, two sales out of four replies received. That's not too bad at all. I'd be happy if I keep hitting .500 with the other six stories out, but I'm not counting on it. Time will tell.