2) I've been keeping closer track of my writing time. I am not pleased by the truth--I seem to average about 10 hours a week. Even weeks where I push harder against resistance still seem to hover around the average (last week, I managed 12 hours). Now, this IS counting ONLY writing time, and not throat-clearing time. So I wonder if that has something to do with it. Hm. I also started tracking the barriers to writing--not only the barrier, but what it represents, what other need it most likely fulfills, or what bad trait it caters to. I lost a huge chunk of time to Duotrope annoyance last week. Another chunk to watching American Idol with Kayla. So, annoyance, family time, distraction... I lose a reasonable amount of time to LJ posts I don't end up making. That's therapeutic time.
Bleah.
3) Speaking of Duotrope, the answer was courteous but not helpful. I'm going to quote most of it, rather than report it. So, after the nice greeting and beginning, it gets to the meat:
Our system of following submission patterns really has nothing to do with the assumption of honestly or dishonesty.
It truly is about following patterns and determining norms.
We realize that our system currently will discount highly successfully authors, but let's be frank, a high level of success in this industry is not average by any means. Congratulations on your success!
We have considered the verficiation of sales model in the past, but discounted it due to (1) not having the time or resources to fact-check every acceptance reported and (2) because it wouldn't prevent people from failing to report rejections, which is the biggest problem we face.
Followed by pleasant closing.
I still really don't get how discounting above average people means you even have any idea what true averages are, and it was as I suspected, it's all because some people don't report rejections, or are believed not to report them, though seriously, if you don't report rejections, wouldn't you be more of a 100% success rate kind of person, and not 30%? Who under-reports just to get to 30%? What kind of marker of success is that, that you'd manipulate your own data to be able to say, "I broke 30% on Duotrope?"
Doesn't make sense.
Anyway, I guess I won't be overly trusting of their data, and I'll for sure be ignoring whatever nonsense it spouts to me in the control panel. Of course, the control panel now says: "Congratulations! Your overall acceptance ratio is higher than the average for users who have submitted to the same markets." So--they are still not counting my data and they're just not openly admitting it? Or they changed the way they do things (raised the rate to 40%?) without telling me in the email?
This is so beyond even a First World Problem. I go quiet now.
4) Today, Ben-at-work said that he was going "gymly," meaning going to the gym. But then we posited that Gymly is actually Gimli's brother who works out really a lot.
Yeah, that was the walk to my car. Time well spent.
5) I'm frustrated by things beyond my ability to influence. Life as usual. Carry on.