On rejections—I use that Wiki Rejections site as a guide if I am curious. Honestly, a lot of times people think they have a higher tier or personal rejection and it is just a polite standard form rejection. At least they are polite! I think Duotrope and Submission Grinder report more personal rejections that are actually form rejections. I don’t spend time parsing a rejection letter. For me, no is just a no. I move on.
I don't know of any publications that just offer feedback if you want it. Most of the time if an editor hates a story, he'll reject it before he's finished. And if there is little time to get through all the submissions, commenting on them would probably be more work than it's worth for an editor. I would not recommend paying for feedback if that's how this option works. However, when a story is good and close to making it feedback is more likely.
It's true a no is still a no, but not all rejections are created equally. I've been told in a rejection that I seem like the type of writer a place looks for or that I could submit directly to an editor in the future who included her email. Yay for skipping the slush pile. Sometimes it's the story more than the writing, assuming the writing is already at a certain level. I think anyone who submits enough will start to know the difference between a form and personal rejection. Maybe they just need to get an actual personal rejection to really know the difference.
It's great to see all of you here and some newcomers. I've been a little MIA lately both here and in life.
I'm watching the James Patterson Masterclass. You might know of him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Patterson In the class, he states that every short story he sent out to Redbook to the New Yorker was rejected. He remembers the rejection and the pain that came with each of them, and this is why he lends his name to author blurbs. He speaks about feeling disappointed after his thesis wasn't accepted as a first novel, and spoke of quitting for a time, then going to a monastery for a week to sit there and think about this path he was planning on taking. Did he want to be a writer? Could he be a writer? That first book was never published, and then the one that he did finally get published was rejected by 34 publishers before getting accepted. He says he could say that they were 'wrong' in not accepting him but some had committed to publishing other new authors, the story didn't fit with what the publishing house was working with, a variety of reasons. So, why am I saying all this? If this author, who has 114 number one sellers of the 147 books he's written in his lifetime was rejected so many times can overcome these obstacles, Deadrats I still believe you can too. Same as any of us on this forum. I haven't been around much, but the snippet in the masterclass made me think of you Deadrats and I wanted to come back and say 'Keep going!' (p.s. my grammar sucks, my sentence structure poor, my brain complete mush, but I hope you take away from this the intended message. Don't quit. Recommit. I know you'll succeed.) (p.s.s I think writing has given me a form of early onset Alzheimers.)
Bards and Sages Publishing allows you to request a copy of the reviewer's scorecard and comments, but they're a semi-pro/token publisher.
Yeah, but that's ok. I've sent you a message, or called starting a conversation in this forum. Don't forget everyone, Mat is on the radio tomorrow night, well at least for all us Brits anyway.
Thanks, and sorry! I couldn’t work out how to send a message. Thanks for yours, I’ll send you the story at the weekend. Ah, he is? Good luck! I’m out tomorrow night for a birthday thing.
@matwoolf -- Can those of us across the pond hear it online somehow? That's really cool that you're going to be on the radio. Wishing you luck with it. Not that you need it. I'm sure it will be great!
I've got a story I've been working on for a few months. I finished it, but I felt like there were some issues or missing pieces to the story. I'm trying to rediscover the power of a writing routine. If anyone here is up for a trade in about a week, it might be the push I need to call this one done or close to it. This one I'm going to send to The Paris Review. Total long shot, but I've read so much of their fiction that I feel like I get what it is they look for and how they differ from other publications. They seem to like subtle shock value, a tad of quirkiness and a fresh view on subject matter. Every time I read their fiction, I feel more inspired rather than thinking it's an unattainable publication. Man, I have so many form rejection slips from them. I tend to throw them away, but I seem to always come across a few tucked in with other papers and whatnot. So, if anyone here is a reader of The Paris Review, please let me know if you're up for a trade in the near future. I can read anything so don't feel like your story has to be similar or you're shooting for the same market. But if you are, that would be fine too. I think the story is pretty good, but every title I come up with sucks. I could use a little help with that. Thanks in advance. Feel free to message me or post here.
Hey @DR, I think google ‘BBC Radio York Harry Whittaker show’ some time after lunchtime USA. And of course I’ll post it to you if scene goes okay, otherwise the possibility nobody/anybody might not hear from me never again. The story audio’s not perfect, I do sound like a danger to children [imo] AND I might get/infected by the hysterical laughter thing I think I told you about, hideous potentially...
2 Day Form Rejection Metaphorosisx The editor did include commentary at my request, and it was very helpful, but I still count this as a form rejection. Based on his feedback, I decided to retire this story. I just don’t think it is good enough, and I don’t want to completely rework it. My brain wants to move on. I am worried that the next story in the pipeline suffers from the same problems.
Cleaning house with my submissions. I'm going to mark a 528-day wait with no response as a rejection from New Letters. Also, a 391-day no response from the Saturday Evening Post is going in as a rejection.
I would have thought that after a year...makes me picture those guys sitting around a table, coffee steam rising like cigarette smoke, '...so, should we print a magazine then chaps?'...a year, holy crap, perhaps they need more employees!
Just listened to Mat on Radio York - apparently you send in something you've read and then get to talk about it. The story I think I'd heard before and enjoyed, and Mat was a great narrator as the host pointed out. Well done to him.
