Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud.

Last week was good. I went to Norfolk for a week, staying in a lovely stone cottage. I managed to catch up with an old friend, ate lovely food, drank some wine, had some of the local beer, and went for walks with my wife and puppy.  I also visited Holt and Norwich, two of my favourite places. Visited some vinyl shops and made some purchases, and generally enjoyed myself on the Norfolk coast.

But, as George Harrsion once famously (and bravely) told some Californian Hells Angels when they came to visit and asked him if he "dug" them, "Yin and yang, heads and tails, yes and no."

Clouds, silver linings, and all that. 

Some sobering news, some plans gone astray and some other disappointments. It all balances, doesn't it? At least, I hope it does.

None of this is world shattering, and there are many in far worse positions.

I woke up this morning to a rejection. Due to circumstances, I haven't submitted any stories for a while, but I managed to get this one out during an extremely busy time. I watched as Submission Grinder and Duotrope counted down through their recorded submissions, until there were very few left standing. I started to have hopes I was in the last few, which it turned out I was. Unfortunately I didn't quite make it past the very final cut.

How final? The Table of Contents was announced within a couple of hours of my rejection being sent to me, and I saw the TOC before I'd managed to check my emails.

This is a story I love, and a publisher I regard highly, so it was disppointing to say the least. But I managed to receive a personal and quite lovely rejection.

But onwards and upwards, send it out again, and hope for the best.

The Carrot Beats The Stick.

No new rejections, but no sales either. Writing continues slowly as I struggle to find time. It's been a busy week, the first week back as school after the term break.

Parent teacher interviews, getting back up to speed on new units of work, organising plans for this term, chasing up students who may be behind in submitting work, and a host of other minutiae not even I am interested in.

The little I have been managing is rewrites rather than new words. I have a few deadlines approaching and I'm sure I can make them, but it'll have to wait until next week before I even start considering those. Ideas run through and depart as I realise they're not satisfying enough. One or two are keepers, but need to be smashed against other ideas to work. Into my notebook they go.

I've been teaching students how to beat writers block, or how to get ideas when you're sitting in a classroom with no real thoughts on how to proceed. Not only did I learn some stuff myself, but as I was showing the class, I got a bunch of ideas which also went into the notebook.

Parent teacher interviews were positive, and I found myself speaking a lot about motivation - both intrinsic and extrinsic. And I think that's something I need to consider in regards to my own writing at the moment. Self reflection time ahead.

It's time to get myself re-energised, re-enthused about my words. I need to get lost in a story. I need a carrot to lure me.

Another sale would probably help.

Reaction Time.

There are some wonderful online tools available for researching publishing markets.

These days I use The Grinder. Its search functions make it quite easy to find current markets that align with the story for which I'm looking for a home. I can easily locate data on acceptance and rejection rates, payment, SFWA accreditation and so on. But for me, one of the most valuable functions is the ability to look at a market's response times.

Asimov's has been doing well. Their responses in the past few months have dropped from a few months to a few days. I've heard a whisper Sheila Williams has a slush reader on board now. And although I've now gone from a couple of personal rejections back to form rejections (the new slushreader obviously doesn't understand my work - ha!), it's wonderful to be able to send that piece out again within a very short time.

Analog, on the other hand, is currently still up around the four month mark. They were only a few months when Stan Schmidt was editor, but when Trevor Quachri took over, it shot up to over six months, and for that reason I didn't submit there for a long time.

There's another magazine I've been considering for some time now. It's not pro-level, but has a decent reputation and publishes some good stories by decent names. They don't pay very much - simply a token payment - but I was fine with that. It's not always about the money. Sometimes it's about the resume building.

But I was shocked when I conducted my research and discovered their response time was close to eight months.

Eight months!

Imagine I write a story and send it to them today. Just before Christmas they may respond with a form rejection, saying 'thanks for your submission but we cannot use this story at this time. We wish you luck in placing it elsewhere.'

Now I've had some stories that were rejected six or seven times before being accepted. If every market was like this, my story might not see light of day for five years or more.

On the other hand, let's imagine they choose to buy it. After eight months. It's typical for publication to occur six to eighteen months after purchase. So, it is possible I could sell it and it might be published two and a half years after submission.

All for twenty dollars or so.

Sorry, but an eight month response for a token market is ridiculous.

Yes, writers complain about response times. Publishers complain about writers submitting their stories to multiple markets at the same time. But I think you can see why some do it.

Me? I've permanently crossed that market off my list and choose to submit elsewhere.

Three Heads Make Sense.

It's sometimes difficult to know how much attention to pay to readers' comments on a story.

The first time I received crits on a story was when I was just starting to write. Lots of comments, lots of comments. I tired to incorporate every single one of them. And sucked the life from the story.

Those changes were discarded. The story was rewritten, later one when I'd learned some discernment and had suggestions from someone I respected.

This week I had a rejection from a magazine I thought might like my story. It was an interesting rejection, though, because there had been three slushreaders, and the rejection included their comments.

And all three readers said very similar things. And, when I thought about it, the suggestions made sense.

I slashed into that story, armed with a will to improve it, and rewrote it in a matter of days. And I believe it's for the better.

Thank you, slushers. I appreciate it.

Sigh.

Dear Steve's story,

Thanks for coming along to the party. It was great having you here.

You're a lot of fun. You were well written and action packed and we loved everything you said, but ultimately you just don't fit in with the rest of the guests. I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave now.

Don't take this the wrong way. You're a good story, and we hope you can find another party where you will fit in. We'd certainly be delighted should one of your friends join us at our next party.

With love,

The other stories who were accepted.

Another Story Finds A Home.

I had another acceptance last week, a few days after Aurealis bought one of my stories.

That was kind of nice, receiving two in the one week. I'm very happy about it, and I will certainly let you know more details when I feel I'm more able. Like when the contracts arrive. There are still a couple of other stories out in the wildwoods I'm waiting on. One in particular would be a really encouraging sale at this point of my development. And although I'm not sweating or checking my email every thirty seconds, I am becoming a little more anxious as time passes.

Is it taking longer than others because they're holding it and on the verge of accepting it? Or have they simply not reached that far down in the slushpile yet.

Rejectomancy is an evil area in which to venture. For now, No News is No News.

Giving Up Or Pushing On?

I've recently been having a bit of a writing crisis.

The sales I've made have been good ones. The editorial feedback I've received on my stories has been great. The comments from readers has been excellent. Yet I continue to feel as though I'm not advancing.

Is it just my imagination or am I on a plateau? Others seem to be scooting past me, better and more frequent sales, receiving more publicity, being invited into anthologies, having their work read and reviewed - even if they've only had one or two minor sales.

Jealousy? Yes, probably there's an element of that in there. Those are all the things I want - and more.

I recognise that there are some really talented writers out there who will advance quicker than me. I recognise that there are writers out there who network better than I do, who are more approachable and are more frequently seen. I also recognise that circumstance (luck?) can play a small part in all of this.

I read a post this week from Brad R. Torgersen. I knew Brad (online) way back before his first ever sale, and I've been thrilled to watch his career bloom. I've learned a lot from Brad. I don't always agree with everything he says, but I consider him an inspiration in many ways. While I disagree with some aspects of this post, it once more made me question whether I should continue writing.

I saw a bunch of comments on a forum about writing and rejections. A whole lot of writers consoling each other with "Don't feel bad. It's not your writing, it just doesn't fit the market." Which may or may not be true, but mostly isn't. And since I've been receiving more rejections than acceptances, (and only form rejections from one market in particular) I've been reflecting on what it means for me?

The upshot of all this? I've come through this crisis more determined than ever. I'm writing more than I have in a long time.

But we're an insecure bunch, us writers. As Hari Seldon would have said, "See you next year at the next crisis."

So Where Does Luck Come Into It?

In the past week I've been on the fringes of two online discussions regarding self-publishing, gaining audiences and rejection. Both are on different venues with different participants. Both dialogues evolved from quite different starting points. Both conversations have a number of similarities.

I thought I'd look at some of the points I've noticed.

There can be a feeling among newer writers that their work is not selected for publication simply because they're unknown. This is common, and I believe it is often due to an inexperienced writer not seeing the problems with their own work. The automatic reaction, and I confess to having passed through this phase myself, is that the editor obviously missed the whole point of the story. This seems to be accompanied by a feeling of  'what's wrong with the story, and I'll change that.'  The writer seems to look for the simple fix. Did I use too many commas? Should I change the character's name? Did I use the wrong font? If the fix was that simple, the editor would have asked for a simple rewrite. No, it's often more complex than that.

At this point the consolation from other writers often kicks in. "I'm sure your writing is fine. It's simply the wrong market." Even though I concede that this can be true, this approach generally annoys me as too much false praise can be harmful. If a story has received several form rejections, then perhaps you need to consider the possibility that the problem is in the writing.

Shortly after gathering a heap of rejections, some writers decide that since editors are all too stupid to see the value in their work, they will self-publish, unleashing their masterpiece on the world. And so Smashwords and Amazon are filled with stories, novellas and novels for bargain prices. As I've pointed out before, I have concerns about publishing work that a number of editors have elected not to publish. Surely there's a message in that. Oh, and please stop pointing out the two or three self-published successes that continue to be the poster-children. They are exceptions, and extremely rare ones at that. However, I realise self-publishing has its place. The best piece of advice I received from my mentor was not to stampede towards publishing your own work or your first collection.

Accompanying this is the current trend to refer to all self-publishing as 'indie publishing.' Sure, I recognise that there is a certain amount of independence in self-publishing, but I feel it detracts from the true independent publishers, the small presses that strive to build reputations, and differentiate themselves from the major houses.

Then there is the spam I receive on these venues from a number of self-published authors promoting their latest work - often three or four times. The argument raised in their defence is that it's hard to break free from the millions of other self-published stories. Yeah? Well spamming me has simply ensured that I will never buy your work. And if your work has been rejected by a number of editors, what makes you think it will stand out anyway?

Then, of course, comes the old argument about how difficult it is to get your work published. How difficult it is to even get your work seen by an editor. How all those other successes were simply lucky. It may surprise some people, but editors want to find good stories, want to publish stories and novels that sell well and win awards. And agents, they want to have authors on their books that will make them money. "JK Rowling was rejected 17 times. All those editors got it wrong. They don't know what they're doing." Actually 17 rejections isn't that many. Many writers have had far more than that. Those editors obviously couldn't see how the book would fit into their imprint. There was no precedent for the success of that tale. The publisher who did pick it up, Bloomsbury, was a minor player, who only did a small print run. They weren't even sure if they were going to take the second book. It was only because Scholastic picked it up for U.S. schools and kids' word of mouth that caused it to go nuts. Yes, editors can get it wrong sometimes, but they're more often right and good work will be picked up eventually.

"Oh, but it's all luck," I hear. So many of those authors made it because they knew someone, or were in the right place at the right time. I actually take offence to that comment. I know that I have minimal experience and successes, but I've had to work hard to achieve those sales. I studied, learned, wrote, rewrote, submitted and resubmitted for all those sales.

Yes, luck can come into the story. But ultimately its about the quality of the work.

I'm Still Here.

I'm supposed to be at a meeting right now. The last committee meeting before Continuum next week. Unfortunately I never made it. Instead I spent three hours in the car park at the local supermarket trying to get my car started.

It was the starter motor that died. I did what I could, which admittedly isn't much. I checked all the things I thought it might be. The relays, the inhibitor sensor, the battery connections, even the battery in the key and the ignition switch connectors. Finally I called the RACV.  It took a little while for the mechanic to arrive, but he soon solved the problem and got it going. The car then went about 20 metres before it died again. Fortunately he was still around, started it again and then followed me most of the way home.

But now it's far too late to head to the meeting. By the time I arrive it would be in its death throes, and there's no guarantee my car would even make it there.

So I'm writing this instead.

Another rejection last night. Positive comments, and I can see why they didn't take it. A quick rewrite and it will go out again.  I have no doubts this story will sell.  It's just a feeling I have about it.

Facebook still hasn't responded to me. I've now taken the ironic step of sending a snail-mail to one of the world's largest and best known internet companies because there is virtually no way to contact them by email.

Unlike Alannis Morissette, it really would be ironic if this works.

And then it's back to work in the morning. I have my performance review tomorrow, so I need to look and feel my best in order to impress my bosses. 

Maybe I'll just bring chocolate instead.

Ouch!

I know rejections aren't personal, but for some reason that's how they can feel sometimes. I must say my immunity has grown - they generally don't worry me too much anymore. I get over them in a couple of minutes and send the pieces out to other markets pretty quickly.

It has been quite a while since I've had one that hurt.  And that one was more about the circumstances surrounding the rejection than the rejection itself.

The goal is to aim high while not getting your hopes up. Never count on the sale. But I must admit I feel a little surprised at a rejection I received a few days ago. I wrote a story aimed at a particular market, figured I'd nailed all the criteria and guidelines, and received a form rejection within eight hours.

That rejection doesn't hurt either, but I am a little curious as to the reasons why my story didn't advance to the next round of selections.  Of course it's bad form to ask, and there's no obligation for the editor to tell me. And ultimately it probably wouldn't help me anyway.

But sometimes just a few extra words would be appreciated.

My Deep Thoughts For The Week.

1. Unfortunately, as defined in a dictionary, means undeserved bad luck, disastrous or regrettable. Most editors and publishers commence rejection letters with this adverb. My rejections have nothing to do with luck, they weren't disasters, and I suspect the editors didn't really regret their decisions.

I've recently had three or four personal rejections that commenced with this word, and then pointed out strong aspects of my work before declaring that the story simply didn't fit in with the 'vision' of the anthology.

So what is this elusive vision? My stories hit the guidelines and met the published 'what we're looking for' criteria.  I guess at some point during the slushing process the editor forms a more detailed overview of the direction the anthology is taking.

I understand this, but I do feel a little frustrated this couldn't be defined earlier. (And I recognise that's not always possible) I only wish they could let me know my story isn't a fit prior to the closing of subs to allow me a second chance. I feel most annoyed when my story is rejected like this, but when I read the final anthology I see stories that neither fit the guidelines or theme. (None of this is a criticism of the editors and their processes.  They can choose to buy and publish whichever stories they want, like and believe fit together the best. It's merely my own frustration and lack of understanding at what they are looking for.)

So when I receive a rejection with the words 'unfortunately' and 'didn't fit the vision', I have to wonder whether this is completely true, or whether they are just being polite and trying to pre-empt further correspondence from crazed writers.

2. Duotrope is about to become a paid service.

I have previously donated, but I must say I haven't yet sold enough work and made enough money from writing, or found Duotrope necessary enough to warrant the $50 per year subscription charges.

One area I do find useful is the suggested response time based on data received. The suggestion is that this user data represents approximately 10% of all submissions. As of next year I suggest this will fall as fewer writers will subscribe. Thus, of course, will lead to less accurate data.

I understand the need to finance this website. I don't believe it's worth the subscription they want.

3.  So the Universe is accelerating its expansion. I've known this for some time, but the consequences of this hit me during the week. Of course, we can't think of this expansion occurring from a single central point as it's more of a stretching expansion that anything else.

The Universe is estimated to be around 136 billion light years across, and it's expanding at a rate of 74.3 plus or minus 2.1 kilometers (46.2 plus or minus 1.3 miles) per second per megaparsec (a megaparsec is roughly 3 million light-years).

OK, fast and big. And one day it's going to tear itself apart.
 
See? Not all my thoughts are happy thoughts about writing.

Think I'll Go And Eat Some Worms.

A weekend of disappointment.

My internet provider disconnected me for no apparent reason, and their customer support is only business hours, so I had no real internet access on the weekend. I received three story rejections, and at least one of those I thought was a really strong candidate for acceptance. I had another rejection on another matter, of which I thought I had a better chance than that.

On a positive note, two of the story rejections were personal and supporting. "Liked the writing style, well written, just not a fit" type of thing.  But I suppose you never really know, do you?

The non-fiction rejection was not overly surprising, and I was less disappointed than I thought I'd be. Always a good sign, I suspect.

As for my internet provider? They've made this mistake before. Time for them to lose a customer.

Chumbawamba anyone?

Another Week, Another Rejection.

Sigh.

At least it was a personal one, and I have the feeling it was close. It came from one of the Big 3, so I'm pleased my story made it as far as the Editor-In-Chief. And that makes two in a row.

This one doesn't hurt - it wasn't one of those rejections. Sure, I'm a touch disappointed, but this is a story that will sell when it hits the right market. All I have to do is discover that market.

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me. It's time I had another sale. I need one right about now.

It would do me good.

Some Activity.

A couple of rejections popped into my inbox this week. I originally had high hopes for these stories with these particular markets, but as time went on I had a feeling they were going to be rejected. At least they were personal rejections which means they were close. Real close.

Oh well.

These ones didn't hurt at all. I'll give them the once over and send them back out on their merry way. It's been quite a while since I've had a rejection that hurts. And the last one that did still aches from time to time. The wound is scratched open - especially when I see the cover image online or on my shelf, and wonder why my story didn't fit. I still think it would have been a great match.

There are others out there in the wildwoods, and a few deadlines fast approaching. Hopefully I'll have good news next time I post.

Fingers crossed.

A Week That Was.

I've written before about how the writing game is a bit like fishing. You throw in a few lines and see who takes the bait. If no-one does, you cast again and wait. A lot of waiting.

No nibbles this week, although one of the fish I'd already landed gave a wriggle in the bucket. The contract arrived for a story I sold a few months ago. Signed and returned.  Does a writer ever get tired of making a sale, signing a contract or receiving copies of a book with their story inside?

I don't think I will.

My computer is finally dying.  The old beast has served me well these past 5 or 6 years, but is starting to fail. USBs keep dropping out and screens keep locking. Even though, it's surprisingly quiet for an old thing. But a new machine arrives today and so I've backed everything up ready for transferring to the new one. Ah, technology. I'm so 21st Century.

Speaking of 21st Century and technology, I'm really enjoying Instagram. I'm starting to build some followers, and regularly hit 35-50 likes on my photos. Feel free to follow me. I'm nihilon.

At home it's been a strange old week. I've been off work for a couple of days with a throat thing. Lots of rest, warmth, lemon drinks and Game of Thrones to watch. I also watched The Phantom Menace, which I hadn't seen since it was first released. It wasn't as terrible as I remembered it, although I can see why it was panned at the time. OK, so a lot of world-building and history-setting at the cost of narrative, but I must admit to having enjoyed large sections of it purely as escapism. At least, a lot more than I thought I would.

On a nostalgic note, I walked past a bakery yesterday and was hit with the smell of warm yeast. It took me back to when I was a primary school kid and we went on an excursion to Harrison's Bakery. I think it was on Canterbury Road in Vermont, and I loved every minute of it. They showed us how they made bread, and even let as shape one each. I hope they didn't sell those ones.

And that smell? It reminded me of the importance of including all the senses in writing, as they trigger recognition with readers.

And no, even though I was tempted I didn't rush in and buy any bread.

Gentle Truth.

I recently read a blogpost in which an author had received a form rejection for a submitted story.

The author then stated that he could see why the story had been rejected - it was because he had opened the piece with dialogue rather than description.

While this may be the case, I believe it is extremely unlikely the story was rejected outright simply for this one particular reason. If that was the only problem with the story, wouldn't he have received either a personal rejection or a rewrite request?

Too many writers won't accept their writing is not perfect. Too much time is spent by writers patting each other on the back and telling each other that simply because a piece was rejected, there's nothing wrong with it. Time and time again I see and hear newer writers stating that "it's only one editor's taste" or "it was the wrong market for that piece." And yes, taste and matching markets do come into it. But once the same story has been kicked back a number of times, surely you have to question it. Yes, I know Robert J. Sawyer had a story kicked back 17 times before it was accepted, and it went on to win an Aurora award. J.K Rowling's first book was rejected a dozen times before it was picked up and became a phenomenon. But these are exceptions - and rare ones at that.

Guess what. Some people can't write. Some people will never improve. Most writers can't see the faults in their own work. Some stories are crap. Some stories need rewriting. And some stories should be permanently trunked.

I'm all for encouraging writers. By all means, keep subbing the piece to different markets. But when it's come back a few times, at least wonder why.

Encouragement needs to be balanced by gentle truth.

Interesting Times.

This week has been mixed.

Deck The Halls has been released by eMergent, and it looks great. My contributor copy arrived this morning. It includes my story, Softly Sing The Stars, as well as Through Wind And Weather by my fellow traveller, David McDonald.

I withdrew a story from a market after it had been sitting there for well over four months without a response to my queries. Sigh. Four months is ridiculous when Duotrope is showing responses from the same market after only two weeks.

I had a personal rejection from a market that continues to elude me. The comments were encouraging though. Still, a rejection is a rejection is a rejection.

I'm over it now and feel better. It took about two minutes.

And the other stories are still out in the wildwoods awaiting their fates.

I wish I had midi-chlorians when I say stuff like: Get on with it, editors. You know you want these!

A Competition.

Like it or not, getting published is a competition.

Rejections from a market simply mean the stories that were selected over yours were better, or fit the requirements more closely.

Of course there are standards of writing, and standards of storytelling. And from what I've been told, a large percentage of submitted works are rejected simply on the basis of not being of an acceptable standard.

Sometimes writers ask what's wrong with particular stories, why they weren't bought. It's not a school test with a pass or fail mark - or a benchmark or rubric with anything over a designated level is taken. It simply has to be a better story than the others.

And so it's a competition.

I aim to be the best, or at least be better than most of the others. (And no, before anyone asks, this post wasn't written from a sense of despair or in response to a rejection. I am waiting on a couple of responses any day now, though.)

Write, submit, wait, write some more.

Pops Off The Page.

As an English teacher, I see a lot of student work. Not just writing, but work from other subject areas that tend to be displayed around the school - especially work from the creative fields.

I see their artwork, sculptures, photography, design items, dressmaking and sometimes their cooking. I see (and hear)  their musical and dramatic performances, and even hear their (often faltering and occasionally  amusing) attempts in German.

Last week I visited a gallery of students' photography. I was impressed by a number of pieces, but as I left I realised there were a couple of photos that stood out way above the rest. Photos that very obiously had a certain something. Not just good, but artistic. The difference between a person who takes photos and an artist. And this is something I see in my students' writing all the time. One or two pieces of writing that 'pops off the page'. The narrative may be immature, the grammar or spelling weak,  but I can see something there that draws me in.

I see it in other writers' work as well. And I see some writers who can barely string a sentence together.

Why are we so unaware of our own abilities? I know I waver (and sometimes swing wildly) between thinking I can write and then (usually after reading someone else's brilliant work) thinking my words are illiterate ramblings.

Maybe this is why, as writers, we need external endorsement and validation. Awards nominations, sales, a kind and encouraging word from a peer (or better yet from someone we look up to), and even positive feedback in a rejection slip.

I have some idea of my strengths in my writing. I'm also developing a discernment, an understanding of areas in which I need to develop. And I continue to work at improving all areas of my fiction.

And it is improving. I have external benchmarks that assure me of this. If only I had more time to write more frequently.

Happy To Be Rejected.

Can you get excited about a rejection? I did. It was a personal rejection from one of the 'big-three' pro markets, direct from the editor-in-chief.

I've had rejections from this market before - the standard form rejections, but this time it had a few comments about the writing and the request to see more of my writing.  Of course this doesn't mean my work will sell there anytime soon, but it does mean that for the first time my story made it past the readers. And there was enough there for the Grand Poobah to comment on before rejecting it. I see that as a victory.

On top of that I sold another story. It's a story I love, a story that had a few 'almost but not quites' from markets I want to break into. A quick rejig and it was off again to another market. And I still have two stories on hold elsewhere - and yes, (fingers crossed) I have hopes for at least one of those to be picked up.

My contributor copy of Epilogue arrived this week, and it's beautiful. It's shiny and new and I love it. My preciousssss. I've just turned the final page, and I must say it's a fantastic read. Congrats to my co-contributors. You can't really go too far wrong with a TOC that has the following names alongside my own: Thoraiya Dyer, Lyn Battersby, Joanne Anderton, Dirk Flinthart, Stephanie Gunn, Kaia Landelius, Dave Luckett, David McDonald, Jason Nahrung, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Elizabeth Tan. As Molly used to say, do yourself a favour and all that.

I'm also thrilled to have received a 5 star review for my Epilogue story, Fireflies.

Fireflies - Steve Cameron - Five stars.

Beautiful and emotive. A lovely journey that was set up well, and followed through wonderfully. I would love to see more in this world.

Yay!

Snapshot 2012 is well underway, and I was interviewed for that a week or so ago. I'll post a link here when my interview appears. In the meantime checkout the previous post and get reading. Fascinating viewpoints from Australia's SpecFic community.

And I bought my own domain name. Did you notice stevecameron.com.au? And then there's Continuum 8 next weekend. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Does it get a whole lot better than this?