Duotrope is a very useful tool for writers trying to sell their stuff. I decided that since response time is the highest concern to me that I would use Duotrope’s statistics to send out my latest batch of stories to the markets with the fastest turnaround time. I sent out 5 stories to ezines that were supposed to report back in a week or less. Some were supposed to average less than five days. I got a few rejections right away, but they went right out again to different quick markets. All five stories have been out from three to six weeks. I have not heard anything in quite a while.
A long wait means that you have been considered for the final cut, but I tend to believe that everyone is on vacation, and they will start reading slush again in August. If my luck holds, two or three out of the five are rejections that have been lost in transit. I will start querying at 90 days. I hate the wait!!!!!
Update: 8 hours later I got a big R on a humorous alien story.