Rejection, rejection, rejection...

Discussion in 'Traditional Publishing' started by deadrats, Aug 19, 2016.

  1. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Just curious. I know your writing style is excellent. I'm wondering ...what about the content? Is there something about the content that's not quite what they want, I wonder? By content, I mean subject matter. How do yours compare, subject-wise, to others that get taken in these specific publications?
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2017
  2. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    ffs :(
     
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  3. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah. Doesn't leave you with anywhere to go, does it? Other than someplace else.
     
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  4. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    Got another rejection. It seems to be one of those "higher" sort of form rejections, with the whole "after careful consideration" and "at this time" caveats with encouragement to submit more work in the future. I was kind of expecting it, since they said they'd look at reprints, but they'd be hard sells.
     
  5. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Do you know about wikirejection? It basically has every publications form letter and their different tiers of forms. It's pretty cool. However, once I thought I got a personal rejection and looked it up. It was a higher tier form, but it wasn't even the highest tier.

    http://www.rejectionwiki.com/index.php?title=Literary_Journals_and_Rejections

    Hey, @X Equestris, I think it's really cool that you're submitting to the journals and magazines too. I don't know if this is true for all genres, but in the literary scene fall is the time when everyone reopens to submissions. I'm totally pumped for this season. My plan is to submit like crazy. That's probably all I will do on Sept. 1. Anyway, if you think we can help each other out at all, I'm down for that. I have read a lot of the journals and magazines and I have a subscription to duotrope so if you want me to look anything up for you, I would be happy to.
     
  6. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, I've used the rejection wiki before. This market was brand new, so I doubt it even has a page. Otherwise I'd take a look at the wiki.

    For the foreseeable future, I think I'm good on the market research front. One of the stories I'm planning is lined up for another anthology from a publisher I mentioned a bit earlier (that I had a good bead on their style, according to the personal rejection) , one is a first time anthology from a tabletop RPG publisher that pays pro-rates (so there's nothing at all that can be researched), and the last is both a new publisher and looking for novelettes (so nothing that can be researched, again). The offer is much appreciated, though.
     
  7. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    This weekend: Chicago Review, The Paris Review, and One Story. All form rejections. 'Tis the submitting season. Luckily, I've got enough finished and polished pieces ready to go. Plus, I've got a few new ones. I have 28 pending submissions at present.
     
  8. Alex R. Encomienda

    Alex R. Encomienda Contributor Contributor

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    I got a rejection from One Story this month too. Something I've noticed is that submittable submission manager seems very popular. My stories that have gotten published were all accepted through email. I wonder what the acceptance rate of submittable based lit mags are.
     
  9. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, I've had more success through email as well (three through email, one and another pending acceptance through Submittable).
     
  10. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    It's not the submission manager making it hard to get into these places. It's these places. We're talking places like Tin House and Ninth Letter. These places are almost impossible to break in regardless of how they ask writers to submit. But, really, as someone who has worked for journals, these submission managers make life so much easier for the editors. And the writers!
     
  11. Alex R. Encomienda

    Alex R. Encomienda Contributor Contributor

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    That's very true. Image Journal, Tin House, The Sun etc. are all big places but since submittable is so accessible to writers, they receive twice as much as other email ones do. That means you gotta write like your life depends on it.
     
  12. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Is that true, about the numbers?

    I think email is more accessible... everybody using the internet has an email address, so signing up to Submittable takes an extra step, and then you have to fill in the fields on Submittable each time whereas you can copy a paste a cover letter in email and send it to 10 publishers in a couple of minutes.
     
  13. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I don't know numbers other than duotrope stats. Places like Tin House are going to get thousands of submissions regardless of the submission process. Email requires the editors to download things and no one really wants to download something from a stranger. Submission managers let you read the stories without downloading them. They also allow other editors and readers access to them. There are different levels of access that can be set for different editors or staff from being able to see everything and accept or reject a piece to only being able to cast a yes or no vote for the submission. I think these submission managers were really created with the publications and editor's in mind. The other thing is submission managers allow writers to withdraw a submission in a way that won't possibly get lost in the shuffle.

    Some big places like The New Yorker and The Atlantic only take email submissions. They also say they only respond if they're interested. Who do you think is reading those emails? Anyone?
     
  14. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Well sure, it's easier for the editors. But I don't think Submittable is more accessible to authors than email is.
     
  15. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Oh, I sure do. As someone who submits a lot. It makes my life easier. I can easily look at where things stand as well since you can see when the status of your submission changes to things like "in-progress" or "second read." Unless it's one of the bigs ones, I won't submit to places that use emails for the most part. Email submissions tend to mean you are dealing with a very small operation that hasn't caught up to what has basically become an industry standard. And, of course, there are exceptions like the two I named earlier. I am only talking about submitting to lit journals and magazines. I'm sure email is the best way to go when it comes to contacting agents and publisher.
     
  16. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    Maybe in literary, but few of the top tier speculative fiction markets seem to use Submittable. Most use email, one still only accepts postal, and a couple use Moksha.

    Got one of the nicest personal rejections ever yesterday. The editor liked the tone and found the pacing "excellent". The only criticism was pretty subjective, so I feel really good about the story.
     
  17. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Form rejection from The New Yorker after about two and a half months. But I managed to get some new submissions out. Fall seems to be the big time of year for short story submissions. So many of the literary journals are reopening and closing their reading periods. I'm trying not to miss out on submitting places. Because that's the problem. That's the only problem... LOL. Seriously, all this is enough to make you mad. The number of rejections I've received is insane and way too embarrassing to mention. It's in the hundreds. So, how does this perseverance thing work? When does all the hard work pay off?
     
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  18. CerebralEcstasy

    CerebralEcstasy Active Member

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    The only analogy I can come up with is one from Wayne Gretzky, you miss 100% of the shots you didn't take. While you haven't yet scored any goals, you've got a number of rejections which provide the evidence you've been shooting.

    If they're in paper, print them off and keep them. If they're in email, print them off and keep them. These are your 'game pucks'.

    I guess I gravitate to this analogy because I was a goalie, and one of the ways I'd mentally prepare for a game was to have superior shooters try to pick me apart in the net. I wasn't very good in the beginning, and I faced a lot of pucks. Yet, each puck, each shot against me made me check an angle, make sure I came out of the net more, each puck was a tutor in its own right.

    One season, playing co-ed, we were good. We played in a beer league and we walked over all the other teams. So the next season we decided to play a little higher tiered hockey and we had our butts handed to us 28 times out of the 28 games we played. I was in net for all but 2 games, and every other goalie that played said we were simply outclassed in this league.

    Yet, close to the end of the season, probably game 26, we faced a cagey team. I was in net and faced 70 shots, my husband was keeping track. I left the game feeling defeated. I had let in 22 of the 70 shots.

    A fellow from the other team came to me after and said, lady that was one hell of a game. You didn't give up at any point. I thanked him politely, but as I left I realized he was right.

    It didn't matter that we were down 22 goals, it didn't matter that we'd lost every single game up to this point. It simply mattered that I had showed up and played with every ounce of my being as a goalie and that's exactly what I did.

    So my friend, thumb through those rejection letters and resubmit every single one of your submissions to different publishers than the one who rejected you. Do not quit.

    Get your ass off the ice, and get back into position.
     
  19. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Just thought of something. Do you know anybody who is in (or was in) the publishing business? Somebody who would be willing to look over a few of your stories, and maybe comment on why they think you might be getting rejected? I've read a few of your stories and I know they are really good. But maybe there's some angle I'm missing? Something that a publisher looks for that isn't there? Or something they see in the stories that makes them continue to reject yours? It would be helpful to get feedback from somebody on the other end of this process, if you can.
     
  20. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    It's a good idea, but I've kind of done this a few times and it never worked out which made the whole thing more embarrassing. Thanks for your support and encouragement. I'm going to try and email you something later today.
     
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  21. X Equestris

    X Equestris Contributor Contributor

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    Got a higher tier rejection from Flash Fiction Online on a reprint yesterday evening. On the upside of things, almost every rejection I've had this year has been either personal or higher tier. That's progress.
     
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  22. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    So, I don't know how many of you use duotrope, but it's this website that tracks submissions. One place where I have a story pending recently rejected everyone but me. I'm the lone listing left on duotrope. It's not an acceptance or anything, but it's the only one logged on duotrope that they are going to hold a little longer.
     
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  23. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    After a two-month wait, I received a form rejection from the Saturday Evening Post. I've submitted to them a few times, but I don't think I'm going to any more. This quote is from what they are seeking when it comes to fiction. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not right now at least.

    "Our motto is 'Celebrating America, Past, Present, and Future,' and any submitted stories should reflect that motto, whether giving readers a glimpse of real American values or illustrating what is great about being an American."

    Am I overreacting? What do you guys think?
     
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  24. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Yuck. Sounds saccharine to me.
     
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  25. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    Well that explains why I've never been tempted to read the Saturday Evening Post...
     

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