This was previously posted in a more private blog on December 17th, 2008. I give you this, because the topic has come back to bite me in the ass...again:
Never submit an abstract and bibliography to a conference assuming that the work is so bad that they would never, ever accept it. They will do so just to spite you.
Fuckfuckfuck.
So, as you probably have gathered, I've done just this. I submitted an abstract and complete bibliography to the SPARK Festival of Electronic Music and Art back in October. I was working on finishing up the research portion and planned to start writing the paper within the next few weeks. The call for works went out about a week before the deadline they set, so there was certainly no way to actually write the paper in that amount of time. Besides, they were only asking for an abstract and sources, so I figured all would be cool. I'd be done with the paper by the time they sent out notifications. So, I shat out the abstract and threw together the bibliography before the idea for the paper was even fully formed. I knew it was bad. It was certainly the worst 150 words I had ever written and didn't make my concept sound appealing at all. I submitted it anyway, feeling somewhat obligated since I presented at that festival last year and I wanted to stay active and keep my name in their heads. I also kind of hoped it would magically get in, since it would mean staying with my best friend for a week. As soon as I clicked submit, I resigned myself to the fact that it would never be accepted because it was so bad. I started to feel embarrassed that I had put such terrible work out there for others to see.
So, I promptly forgot about it. Before long, the semester got so busy that I had no time for independent research, only for grading and writing papers for courses. The notification deadline for the conference came and went. I assumed the fact that I didn't hear anything at all meant they hadn't accepted the paper. That's the way it usually goes. I was somewhat relieved.
It turns out they were just letting me finish up my semester and relax for a few days. Two days ago I received an e-mail saying "Congratulations! Come present your paper in February!"
FUCK. Yay? FUCK.
They haven't sent out the e-mail asking for camera-ready papers yet, but it's only a matter of days. I figure, hey, it's the holiday season. I can probably stall for a few days, saying I'm out of town (which I am) and that the paper is on my hard drive at home (which it's not) and I assumed I had not been accepted because it was 15 days past the notification date (which I did). This should work; I know the guy who organizes the conference, and he's a hell of a nice guy. In the meantime, though, I'm working frantically to write a properly academic-y paper with only partially-done research. At least my abstract is done! D:
I'm so boned."
After writing this original post, I proceeded to do additional research and flesh out my idea a bit more, but never actually write the damned paper. The holidays came and went; no call for papers. I began to think, hey, last two years they never actually published the papers in the conference book. Maybe they aren't going to do it this year either, so they aren't bothering to ask for them. I put it off even longer, thinking maybe I would get lucky and end up presenting on a paper I never actually had to write. New Years came, then the beginning of the semester. No word. A few days ago, an e-mail finally came asking for biographies, headshots, etc. for the conference book. No mention of camera-ready papers. Could I really be so lucky?
No. Of course not. I went to the submission page for the bios and pictures, and found a spot for an abstract, and an upload area for full papers. This festival is notorious for being terribly unorganized, but I've never minded before now. Thanks for the notice, guys! They want it today. I feel confident that I can stall for a few days since they never actually publish the papers. "But but, you never gave us a formatting template for the paper! How am I supposed to know how you want the paper to look?" Not a big deal. What is a big deal is that I have several hundred pages to read for class this week and in-laws visiting today, and somehow I'm supposed to write this paper in the meantime. ARG. Why do I do these things to myself?
If you're looking for me, I'll be the over-caffeinated one shaking in the corner and babbling about the cyberpunk aesthetic.
