I don’t know that 200 days/7 months is a clear implied rejection. My impression is that reading submissions, especially for books, takes a LONG time. Edited to add: I just checked one example, and Tin House says that they try to respond in six months but that it’s currently “much longer”. And I think that’s just for the magazine.
Eh, I guess that's true. In my case, it was a little over eight months before I got a random e-mail rejecting my query. I actually had to refer to my little list of agents to check just how long ago I'd queried them (as they didn't directly reply to the e-mail I sent them). They may have been particularly busy and slow, but that's my record for 'slowest rejection letter' I've gotten.
It's not always rejection. Also, there are grants and stuff out there that can help a writer along. I live modestly and dream big.
You mention encouraging note once above, but do any publishing concerns usually give you anything that helps you understand why you were rejected?
Nah, there's never a hint really of why something is rejected unless you have some sort of connection to the editor. If you met them or know someone in common recommending your work to them, and if you have their direct email and that's how you are sending your story and communicating, then sometimes. I think what it really comes down to is that it's not worth the risk of being wrong to the editor. No one wants to say you really need to fix something only to see it run in an even better publication a few months later. The other thing is that a rejection is not the start of a conversation and should never be replied to for the most part. I've heard stories about editors rejecting with feedback only to get nasty responses back or the author trying to justify whatever it is the editor didn't like. Sometimes I get little notes about what they liked or how far into the vetting process my story got. I would say the majority of stories (mine and everyone else's) are rejected simply because they aren't good enough or at least the person who rejected it made that call. There is a lot of competition out there. Your competition is not new writers. It's the writers who already have long publishing histories and awards. Your story has to be better than those other stories that came with a NAME that editors and readers know. I do things a little differently than a lot of submitters. I have a list of sorts of about 50 to 100 publications that I want to get my work in. These range from The New Yorker to The Denver Quarterly. I read as much as I can and try to get smarter when it comes to my writing. You really can get a feel for a publication a lot easier than people probably think. Anyway, a lot of the time I write a story with a certain publication in mind. That doesn't mean that's where it will be accepted or it's the only place I'll send the story, but it does mean that I have a pulse on the current literary scene, and I think that can show in your work. I think most submitters write a story and then look for a market. That can work too, but I think it really does help to know what's out there and what's being published even before you start writing. I don't know. I'm still trying to figure things out myself. Sometimes it works out.
Read as many short stories as you can in as many magazines as you can, in other words. I guess the reading thing is a given for writers anyway, but even more so for what you are doing because you are trying to get a read on the market not just be a better writer. If I`m reading you right. PS - sorry about the puns, I swear it`s not intentional lol
That's basically it. There are always going to be trends in publishing. If you can get on something at the right time with the right place, it could help. I think there are trends when it comes to books, too. I'm not saying that everyone should follow trends or that's the way to go, but I am saying a familiarity with what's selling and getting attention at the moment can help you write the right story at that moment. I'm trying to write stories that will sell now. I'm also working on a novel. I don't need it to be the best novel ever, but I would like to write one that I can sell. Like the main reason I am writing my novel in past tense is because that's what is done more often with literary fiction. And just about everyone talks about character-driven stories. Honestly, I don't really know if I'm doing things the best way. There is a trial and error portion to this. Except reading and reading a lot I think does give any writer more of an advantage than they had before.
76-day form rejection from Copper Nickel. 94-day form rejection from Ploughshares. 91-day form rejection from Bennington Review.
Thanks. My longest current submission has been out 215 days so a 90-day wait doesn't seem so bad. Well, no one wants to wait to be rejected, but I will gladly wait as long as it takes for an acceptance from most of these places. The key is to have a lot of things out and to regularly send new things out. It keeps me from anticipating any one given response too much or being bummed over a rejection (or three). I think my longest rejection came after 600-plus days. Some places just take a ridiculous amount of time.
You aren't kidding, 215 days. I guess if you are keeping busy writing and sending you aren't tempted to sit down and think about it.
Oh, I wish the process didn't take so long, and I am constantly tempted to sit down and just think about my submissions and check my email a few billion times.
@deadrats I was trying to send you a personal response, but I don't know whether its the meds I'm on, or what my malfunction is, but in reading one of the sites of the names you posted above, I came across a publisher (at least I think it was a publisher) called Milkweed, it looked as though they were collaborating with the others, and I wanted to ask if you had submitted to them. I don't know why, but just something they wrote on their site, and a 'feeling I had' suggested that you should submit to them if you hadn't already. Not sure where the feeling came from or why (again could be the medications) but I really felt like you should.
I don't know about Milkweed. I, honestly, never heard of them, but they look to be a book publisher and I'm more trying for the magazines and journals. But thanks for thinking of me. That's really cool. Maybe I can make a few suggestions for you if you tell me a little about what you're working on. I will send you a PM.
And another form rejection from Agni. This one was a 62-day wait. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those days.
Agni has been around forever and is one of those places that is so so so hard to get into, but I enjoy reading them. It's a print publication that comes out twice a year. But if you are looking for a good one to read, I can totally recommend subscribing. I used to, but I kind of rotate who I subscribe to every so often so I have time to read other publications. They also have stuff online. Totally worth checking out. The Collagist is newer and only online and doesn't pay. It's part of Dzanc Books, though, so that's pretty cool, I think. And I like the editor since I knew his work before he was even editor there. I think they put out good stuff. I would really like to be a part of it, but no luck yet.
A lot of people seem to say literary journal or literary magazine to mean the same thing. I kind of think they do, but I'm not 100 percent sure. I guess if you wanted to get technical the magazines would be the glossies like The New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic and The Sun. Those come out weekly of monthly. Then the journals would be the quarterlies or other print publications like Agni, Tin House, The Iowa Review and so on. But now there are a bunch of online outlets. I think of the online literary journals to be places like The Collagist, while something like The Rumpus is more of a literary magazine. Or they really mean the same thing and I have just spent way to much time thinking about this. LOL.
Yep, sounds like you have lol. It's odd about names of things, and how that changes the way you view them. You mentioned The Sun, but over here The Sun is a newspaper that used to feature scantily clad girls (not sure if they do now, I never read the thing) and print on the more frivolous side of the newspaper spectrum; sort of. I'm guessing your Sun isn`t quite like that. I'll give Agni a look see, although I`m still ploughing my way through Dune and Hesse' Steppenwolf.
What was the mag...from this morning...I checked them out...I read this one, kind of - kind of, kind of entertaining, be patient, read on...http://thecollagist.com/the-collagist/2017/11/7/a-memory-of-the-christ-by-the-apostle-john.html So, publication in either - university mag that is 'Pushcart Prize' affiliated OR giant, paying sci-fi mag? What's the right answer ? Thank you
There are a lot of newspapers named The Sun in the states, too. But I was talking about the the magazine. It's a good one.
I liked this little story. Different and kind of great, in my opinion. Did you like it? I'm really not trying to tell anyone where they should or shouldn't submit. I just know what I do. More than just university presses nominate for pushcarts. I believe any magazine or journal can submit stories they've published to the Pushcart committee. I wouldn't say the Pushcart Prize is associated with any publication. They kind of judge the work of all the publications and put together an anthology of the best of the best kind of thing. It's the same as the Best American series just on a scale. But those big giant publications win Pushcarts, too, so you can't really break it down like that. I don't know too much about the sci-fi market. I know the big magazines, somewhat, but I'm sure there are little places that are publishing great work in this genre, too. I'm just not familiar enough with genre publications. But I don't think you would send the same story to a university journal that you would to a sci-fi magazine. And I don't think it has to be one or the other. It comes down to knowing the marketplace a little. I like to know who is being published and where. I like to know who is winning the awards. Mostly, I like to read good fiction. I submit my work to places where I like what they publish, places I like reading. That's probably the best way to figure out where to send your work. I like to read the Pushcart Prize anthology because it gives you a sampling of the best work from many publication.
