Rejection, rejection, rejection...

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

  1. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    Btw- I did send a polite email about this last week. No response!
     
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  2. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    Got another rejection on a different piece. It came after 8 days.
    On submittable it literally went from "received" to "decline"..... It never even got to "in progress"

    I wonder what i did wrong....
     
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  3. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    I still have 9 active submissions out there, 4 are "in progress". one has been at "in progress" since november of last year.
     
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  4. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    I don't think you did anything wrong. Some places don't open a document until they are ready to read it. When it says "in-progress" it just means something was sone with the document, most likely it means it's been assigned to an editor or reader and is in their slush pile. Of course, it can also mean it was passed up or is being held for more consideration. So, it didn't really miss a step. It just happened quicker than you had time to catch the label change. It happens to me all the time.
     
  5. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    35-day rejection from Writer Shed Stories, by not being listed in the email of chosen stories.
     
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  6. OctagonalPhantasm

    OctagonalPhantasm Member

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    49-day rejection from The Temz Review yesterday. It's like they knew I was thinking about them because the rejection came about 15 minutes after I went to go check on my outstanding submissions.
     
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  7. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    18-day form rejection from DreamForge.
     
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  8. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    Dreamforge open to science fiction?
     
  9. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    They’re closed again at the moment, not sure when they’ll next be open, but when they are they take fantasy or sci-fi.
     
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  10. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    Fair enough, I'll keep it in mind. I have a story ready and Apex is open now I saw so might have a go there first, plus they take over 5k words. Most genre mags don't allow sim subs so it's a matter of methodically working through them, the little I know about it.
     
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  11. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    Dreamforge allows them, when it’s open.
     
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  12. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    Cheers, yeah, when it's open. :agreed:
     
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  13. Medazza

    Medazza Active Member

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    Had the least surprising rejection of the year from Jodi Reamer, agent to the author of Twilight. A standard ProForma. Talked about being so selective etc!
    Anyway, some rejections hurt- this didn’t!
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2020
  14. Funerary

    Funerary Member

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    I've been saying for years that you should pitch a short story collection to an agent, deadrats. This is absolutely, 100% the most pragmatic course of action for you to be taking for your career. Selling one-off short stories is nowhere near as useful for you as selling a collection.

    Try not to frame it in a negative way -- don't refer to your "flaking out", just say that you found your calling in short stories and you've assorted some over a number of years and you think they would go together well in a collection. You need to be incredibly enthusiastic in your email -- if you don't believe in both yourself and your collection, who will?

    EDIT: I've spent the summer sending out short stories to national competitions. All of the winners are announced in September for each one. Hopefully I'll get something.
     
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  15. Krispee

    Krispee Contributor Contributor

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    It's not as if you have a shortage of stories to choose from.
     
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  16. Medazza

    Medazza Active Member

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    Another rejection, took 4 months.
    Lovely agent but having monitored her on social media we weren’t right for each other anyway. (Both in terms of styles of work and people). She said she enjoyed the writing but it’s not the sort of work she’d champion- fair enough.
    Onwards!
     
  17. Que

    Que Active Member

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    Yes, and especially a series based on the same character(s) because that might motivate readers to come back for more.
     
  18. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    It's been two weeks without rejection. Seems like forever. I''ll take it, though, I am getting a little anxious. I've got around 40 submission out right now. I'm sure someone will be getting back to me soon one way or another. Here's wishing everyone a rejection-free weekend.
     
  19. Que

    Que Active Member

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    This thread reminds me of something I read in a book by Chuck Norris. I've modified what he wrote to fit this thread... "Submissions are easier to make when you give up your need for approval and your fear of rejection."
     
  20. Medazza

    Medazza Active Member

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    Whilst I’ve got some full full MS out there I’m now worrying that I’m running out of road. Only so many agents left on my list.
    UK based agents have been good, even the rejections are positive ones. In the US it’s always a standard No.
    Sooner or later I’ll realise this book is toast and I’ll not be able to query until I’ve got my second book finished.
    I do have a second tranche of agents left to try but experience with tranche one tells me they might not be worth the effort!
     
  21. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    A 43-day form rejection from The Missouri Review.
     
  22. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    A 28-day form rejection from A Public Space.
     
  23. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    Rejection from The London Magazine. Just a u generic rejection of the story I was convinced had my best shot at getting published from the response I got in feedback. It's frustrating when you think finally got it all together and put your best writing self out there in fictional form and when THAT still isn't enough? Then what? I know most of my writing is just decent amateur work but this one ...I had hopes.

    I guess you have to re-evaluate maybe why it isn't working and get more cynical and clinical about the whole thing. It is a game, afterall with rules to be abided by.

    Honestly, if I could just get one piece of fiction published I'd feel like I'm on my way as a 'real' writer, even if that too would be a fiction in my head.

    I am trying to write genre fiction now in the hopes I can submit to more specifics mags.
     
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  24. Woodstock Writer

    Woodstock Writer Senior Member

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    How long have you been submitting for?
     
  25. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    I have been submitting since 2013, but not regularly. Just when I write something I think is decent I submit.
     

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