Rejectomancy

Marzioli

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The feedback and the stories are anonymously submitted. Even though I critiqued about 10 stories, I think that was unusual. Next time, if I submit, I'll probably only do five.
 

fihr

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The feedback and the stories are anonymously submitted. Even though I critiqued about 10 stories, I think that was unusual. Next time, if I submit, I'll probably only do five.

I might submit next time, given that the number of crits isn't too onerous. I'd keep my expectations re amount of feedback low.
 

kd1984

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4 hour personal from Colored Lens. A lovely little R though.

Thank you for considering us, but we're going to pass on this one. The writing is strong, and the setting and there's a surreal quality to the piece that fits it well. Unfortunately, it's not a theme we're looking for at this time.

I wish you well in placing this piece elsewhere, and have no doubt you'll have little trouble doing so. I hope you consider us for future submissions.


Right back out the door to the Dark Visions Antho.
 

Niccolo

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It certainly did... How did you know? :eek:

(Was I the only one with a horror-humor?)

Probably not, but that's the only one I read that really stuck with me :tongue Plus I may or may not have seen you post about it before :D
 

OtterFactory

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208 day form R :(

This one actually stung because I thought story was perfect for them. I think, once the rest of my markets respond, it's time for me to give up submitting. ;_;
 

OtterFactory

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I was just being morose from the fresh sting, I think I'll keep submitting... Though, with only one story (it's kind of a chore writing shorts, prefer novel form) , it's an arduous process. Rejections don't get me most of the time but when it does it HURTS. :(
 

gettingby

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65-day form rejection from Agni. They did send a discounted subscription form with the rejection which I will be taking advantage of. Anyone looking to subscribe to Agni, it is worth submitting a story.

OtterFactory - I know the feeling. It sucks when our precious stories get rejected. But I think it helps to have more than one story out. Only having one story out, I can imagine makes the rejection have more weight than it needs to. I try to keep at least 15 out at a time. It's nice to know you have other things cooking when a rejection rolls in.
 

fihr

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4 day form from Electric Velocipede.

I found myself admiring the courteous tone of the R, and feeling only a mild "Ah well". The tough ones are the long ones, when I start to suspect the story might have a chance.

gettingby - yeah, having a few stories out does help, I think. And for me, just regarding the R's as normal process, and writing more stories.
 

OtterFactory

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Thanks for the commiserations, Simon and gettingby!

Also, gettingby, if you need some new eyes for the story feel free to PM me. :)
 

missesdash

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6 day personal R from lightspeed. This is the second R I've gotten from JJA and the other was personal too. So at the very least I know he enjoys my writing.

I knew it was close because of the wait but reading it in the rejection email is arghhhhh. Thinking I need some more eyes on it before I send it off again.
 

defcon6000

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6 day personal R from lightspeed. This is the second R I've gotten from JJA and the other was personal too. So at the very least I know he enjoys my writing.

I knew it was close because of the wait but reading it in the rejection email is arghhhhh. Thinking I need some more eyes on it before I send it off again.
I'd still consider that a win, or maybe a semi-win. :)

If you need extra eyes, I'd be willing--if it's a swap. I'm short on critters at the moment.
 

defcon6000

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I received a rejection saying my story was close, but the ending failed, then the editor goes on to explain why the ending failed... and it's not the ending I wrote. I even double-checked the sub to make sure I hadn't sent in the wrong thing. So somewhere along the line, editor misread my ending and rejected me for it. : /
So I did that unthinkable thing and responded to the editor's R a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was simply a misunderstanding and the editor asked for a minor rewrite. One week later, I haz acceptance. :D (I'll put the details up in braggage after signing.)

Moral of the story: It's actually okay to respond to an editor (believe it or not, they're human!) But best reserved for special cases.


ETA: 56-day personal R from Kaleidotrope. I'll consider it a plus. ;)
 
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V1c

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awesome news, defcon! Can't wait to findout which mag (it bodes well for them, too, that they'd look into it)
 

fihr

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Moral of the story: It's actually okay to respond to an editor (believe it or not, they're human!) But best reserved for special cases.

I would have been a bit nervous sending a query re an R, but you had good cause and good judgement to do so. Well done, and congrats on the great result.

Sorry for the rest of the Rs everyone. Had quick R's from Nightmare and AS1M this week. The AS1M slush reader didn't "get" my story at all, though its had good responses elsewhere. But I appreciated the personal remarks anyway.
 

Eliza C

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So I did that unthinkable thing and responded to the editor's R a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was simply a misunderstanding and the editor asked for a minor rewrite. One week later, I haz acceptance. :D (I'll put the details up in braggage after signing.)

Great news, Defcon!
 

J.W. Alden

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That's awesome, defcon! Congrats!

My most recent R's: a 19-day from DSF and a 3-day from Electric Velocipede. Forward march.
 

johemedel

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25 day personal rejection from Shimmer. This one was a real shot in the gut. It was from a first reader, and given the speed of responses in the past I made the mistake of assuming the piece was on some sort of cusp since it had been over 3 weeks. That's not how the rejection read, of course. Long story short: I thought this was it, and it wasn't.

C'est la vie, non?

I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. But right now I have that creeping terrible existential writer crisis feeling in my stomach.
 

Project Deadlight

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That's not how the rejection read, of course. Long story short: I thought this was it, and it wasn't.

I think a few of us have been there. I remember one particulary nasty one from Cam Obscura that had been in their 'percolating' status for a month. Ended up with a form r after nearly 100 days or something.

That was when I had less subs out though. I'm now at the stage where very few Rs really hurt because there is always something else in the pile to get excited about. The solution really is to keep writing and subbing. :)
 

Datepalm

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In the interest of good record keeping - 40 day form R from The Future Fire. Reasonably nice, as such things go - not sure if they have tiers or just a nice form.

I think I might give up on this one. It's kind of weird flash and if it wasn't working for them I don't see it working for anyone. And it's a really early one I don't like that much anymore. Of course, mostly I need to write more stories to send out. Nanowrimo is such an evil temptress.

Sorry for the R's, all.