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Constructing => General Discussion => Topic started by: ebirnholz on January 21, 2009, 05:18:52 PM

Title: I submitted my first puzzle to the NYT
Post by: ebirnholz on January 21, 2009, 05:18:52 PM

I mailed it today.  I'm pretty proud of what I came up with.  I'm not sure if it will be accepted (and maybe my chances aren't great 'cause I'm new at this), but you never know.  Wish me luck!

Title: Re: I submitted my first puzzle to the NYT
Post by: ebirnholz on January 21, 2009, 05:20:56 PM

By the way, does anyone know if Will Shortz mails or e-mails responses to new crossword constructors?  I'm sure he does for crosswords he accepts for publication, but what about those he doesn't?  Does he send out a short letter saying "Thank you so and so for your submission, unfortunately we are not able to publish your puzzle . . . " etc?

Title: Re: I submitted my first puzzle to the NYT
Post by: fungi1995 on January 21, 2009, 05:25:14 PM

I've received an E-mail from Will Shortz (or one of his correspondents) every time I sent in a puzzle. It can take from one week to four months.

Title: Re: I submitted my first puzzle to the NYT
Post by: ebirnholz on January 21, 2009, 05:31:10 PM

Wow, one week to four months.  Quite a big window of time.  For people who have submitted multiple puzzles, is there an "average" waiting period?  Obviously I'm sure it depends on the volume of submissions (and maybe whether or not the constructor has been published before).....

Title: Re: I submitted my first puzzle to the NYT
Post by: Todd G on January 21, 2009, 07:00:21 PM

First of all, good luck to you ebirnholz!

I'm still pretty new to this myself.  I got a "no thanks" e-mail on one puzzle about 1 month after I submitted it, which I am told is on the fast side.  I have another puzzle I submitted about 2 months ago (my first) which I'm still waiting to hear on...and a few others I've submitted later and hadn't heard back about.

Others certainly know more than I do, but generally I'd say you can reasonably expect a response to take 3 months