Wow. Do I feel old? I don't remember that part or ever thinking that WD was something I had to look into. I remember there was that really thick book that came out once a year with all the editors, agents, and publications. It had guidelines and contact info. Can't for the life of me recall the name. Now there are sites like duotrope that are up to date and a lot easier to navigate.
It's like buying a hard copy set of the Encyclopedia Britannica instead of hitting up Wikipedia. Also no one is as old as me because I started my career in Yellow Pages advertising. Talk about a dead industry!
They are hanging in there. So is The Writer mag although I can't find their market guide. WD still has WM. And B&N has at least one writing mag from UK. That other minor USA writing mag appears to have folded. And The Writer is very low on actual subscribers so appears to be kept going by the other mags their publisher has.
The real problem is that you can't bear to think that my advice is correct. Or at least more correct than yours.
Not much of that is particularly inspiring. Nah, I think the Real Problem might be that your advice is outdated as hell for the current market.
Unless a miracle happened my advice is optimistic for the current market. Writing has been going downhill for decades now. Magazines are getting smaller in circulation. Others fold. Publishers are having similar issues. Some dont even edit any longer to save money. If they dont like your mss as is they will reject it.
Not my experience, or that of many other writers I know. Just because you keep saying it doesn't mean it's true.
Rotflmao. Just cause you say it does not make it true. Just because you believe it is so does not make it true either. Some traditional publishers now even are pushing a vanity press division to try to stay afloat.
I'm no longer interested in pursuing this game of "anything you can do I can do better". I know my own experiences and those of people I know and trust on this forum, among whom you do not number.
Not my experience either. Every time I've sold a story there has been a whole editing process. I've never delt with or known a publication to cut corners like @noobienieuw is saying. But he's already made it clear that these are his assumptions and not based on experience or any working knowledge of the industry. Sorry, @noobienieuw. I thought you were here because of writing and publishing, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's really not cool to spout off misinformation or come here looking for a fight. It's clear you don't really know what you're talking about and don't care to listen to those who do know what they're talking about.
And then there are days when not even rejection letters can bring you down. No rejections to report since the last time. In fact, almost the opposite. I'm close to something I really want.
I can't thank you guys enough, especially the regulars (the rejection crew) for your support and friendship through this journey I've been on for quite some time. As some of you know, it was a pretty big and important weekend for me. I asked a few of you for help, and you all came through for me. And you all helped so much. Each person I've gotten to know here is smart and capable. I started this thread to complain about rejections, and I made some really great friends. I hope I can support and encourage you all the same way. In the midst of rejection we created something pretty cool.
Almost a forum within a forum. Smaller settings tend to help to make friends better than larger ones I always find.
I was reading an article about an author called Jasper Fforde, you won't know him I expect because he's a British writer who started out by writing the Thursday Next series of novels, which currently stands at 7, although he's now onto something else. In the article it said that his first Thursday Next novel only got published after 76 rejections. I have never heard of as many rejections as that, wasn't sure there were that many publishers to be honest. Anyway, just thought it might give you guys some encouragement.
Two rejections came in today at virtually the same time. I was really hoping for one of them, but oh well.
Too bad, but keep trying. I had to receive a ridiculous amount of rejections for years. There was no other way I could have done it. Looking back, I needed to write everything I wrote and be rejected every time. I still get rejected all the time, but I have gotten lucky or something a few times. And luck or success or whatever you want to call it might find you sooner than it did me. Because it will find you. Put yourself and your work out there a lot. The slush pile is no one's permanent residence.