Rejectomancy

Pemako

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Oh, thank you so much, guys. You really are the best!!! I have been feeling pretty crushed, and it's great to have your support.

Yeah, I still have the acceptance email, which I forwarded to them, and it's pretty hard to believe in light of the email that the acceptance was a mistake. Oh well.
 

Marzioli

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I received an acceptance from Ap&x at the end of last summer, then never heard anything more from them.
That's brutal, like finding out your wife cheated on you... with her stepson! I third O'Dandelo. Good luck with that one. You know it's good enough, at least, to hit pro.
 

defcon6000

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Yeah, I still have the acceptance email, which I forwarded to them, and it's pretty hard to believe in light of the email that the acceptance was a mistake. Oh well.
Wow. Just wow.

You know, screw those guys. If they want to back on their word, then they don't deserve the opportunity to publish your story. These editors/publishers need to get it through their thick skulls that without us writers, their pub would be dead.
 

d.thomaswise

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Greetings all. Just a made a quick intro over in the check-in thread, but quickly found my way over here. And, since it appears I'll be spending most of my time in this thread, I figured I'd jump right in hit the floor falling.

Since Sunday: 3-day form rejection from Cosmos, 4-day form rejection from Threepenny Review, 40-day rejection from Flash Fiction Online, 20-day rejection from Daily Science Fiction.

I wonder if I can make a seven rejection week. I'll keep my fingers crossed and ruby slippers clicking.
 

O'Dandelo

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Greetings all. Just a made a quick intro over in the check-in thread, but quickly found my way over here. And, since it appears I'll be spending most of my time in this thread, I figured I'd jump right in hit the floor falling.

Since Sunday: 3-day form rejection from Cosmos, 4-day form rejection from Threepenny Review, 40-day rejection from Flash Fiction Online, 20-day rejection from Daily Science Fiction.

I wonder if I can make a seven rejection week. I'll keep my fingers crossed and ruby slippers clicking.

Welcome to our humble abode!!
 

mhaynes

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Yeah, I still have the acceptance email, which I forwarded to them, and it's pretty hard to believe in light of the email that the acceptance was a mistake. Oh well.

Obviously it's up to you how much of a stink you want to raise over this... But this seems much more unprofessional than some of the other things we've heard about in recent months on this board. And for an accredited market, no less. Rather stunning, to be honest.

Greetings all. Just a made a quick intro over in the check-in thread, but quickly found my way over here. And, since it appears I'll be spending most of my time in this thread, I figured I'd jump right in hit the floor falling.

Welcome, welcome!
 

O'Dandelo

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Obviously it's up to you how much of a stink you want to raise over this... But this seems much more unprofessional than some of the other things we've heard about in recent months on this board. And for an accredited market, no less. Rather stunning, to be honest.

We need a Judge Judy of the short fiction world.

I agree with Michael. It's a matter of whether or not you want to burn bridges with A%#x. Principle vs. future publication in a highly regarded market.
 

Pemako

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We need a Judge Judy of the short fiction world.

I agree with Michael. It's a matter of whether or not you want to burn bridges with A%#x. Principle vs. future publication in a highly regarded market.
Thanks, guys! I decided to just ignore it. After all, I can't force them to publish the story, much as I'd like to :tongue. It's ironic - I'm the kind of insecure person who expects someone to jump out from behind the door and say "just kidding!" whenever anything good happens, and this time someone actually did jump out from behind the door and say "just kidding".

To indulge in a bit more whining, of course I told friends and family about this acceptance, and everyone has been waiting with bated breath for my story to come out. Damned embarrassing.

Thanks for letting me bitch and moan. I don't know what I would do without you all. Seriously..
 

Marzioli

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Thanks for letting me bitch and moan. I don't know what I would do without you all. Seriously..
You've earned it. I'd say you got at least a good ten posts left before anyone starts to complain ;). Seems to me this wouldn't have been a problem if Apex had kept submishmash, or whatever online system they had.


And D. Thomaswise, welcome and hat off to your R's too.
 

SmallThing

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It's ironic - I'm the kind of insecure person who expects someone to jump out from behind the door and say "just kidding!" whenever anything good happens, and this time someone actually did jump out from behind the door and say "just kidding".

Oh, I'm totally that kind of person as well, and I'm so sorry this happened to you. It seems very wrong. I'd be doing my share of whining as well.

Probably more than my share.

:Hug2:
 

Pemako

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Flip me. Have you ever written to Catherynne to ask about this? And I was annoyed they form rejected my "under consideration" after 100 days. :(
Well, that's the issue. She's no longer the editor, though she was the editor at the time the story was accepted, and they're saying since they don't see anything in her notes saying the story was accepted they don't consider it accepted (though I did forward the acceptance to them). Sigh.
 

sarahthegrey

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To indulge in a bit more whining, of course I told friends and family about this acceptance, and everyone has been waiting with bated breath for my story to come out. Damned embarrassing.

Ack. This is the worst part, I think. You have my profound sympathy.

I wouldn't rule them out as a market, though. It sounds like the result of a less-than-fluid editorial transition. Someone in there likely felt pretty badly about it, even if they didn't express as much.

Again, though: that sucks in spades. I hope you find that poor story a new home!
 

O'Dandelo

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Well, that's the issue. She's no longer the editor, though she was the editor at the time the story was accepted, and they're saying since they don't see anything in her notes saying the story was accepted they don't consider it accepted (though I did forward the acceptance to them). Sigh.

It might be a slightly uncomfortable thing to do, but I'd try to find out if she's editing anything at the moment. If she is, get in touch with her and explain the situation. She'll almost certainly remember your story.
 

Lillie

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Bloody hell, Pemako.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you find a home for your story.
 

Dee Pratt

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It might be a slightly uncomfortable thing to do, but I'd try to find out if she's editing anything at the moment. If she is, get in touch with her and explain the situation. She'll almost certainly remember your story.


I was thinking this. She liked it enough to want to buy it. Maybe if she's at a new market, you've already got an in...
 

WordCount

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Auto-rejection from Clarkesworld. Apparently, a 1012-word story doesn't fit their 1K-word minimum.
 

Marzioli

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Auto-rejection from Clarkesworld. Apparently, a 1012-word story doesn't fit their 1K-word minimum.
I got one of those! I think my story was like 999 words or something absurdly close, which led me to the mistaken assumption it was doable. The worst part is, they don't seem to want to consider any story that was rejected for any reason, so even padding it up a bit wouldn't matter.
 

WordCount

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I got one of those! I think my story was like 999 words or something absurdly close, which led me to the mistaken assumption it was doable. The worst part is, they don't seem to want to consider any story that was rejected for any reason, so even padding it up a bit wouldn't matter.

I had gone down the list looking for fast-responding SF markets, and Clarkesworld was my last choice since Lightspeed's minimum is 1500.

I'll find a market for it soon, but I was kinda surprised by instant form rejection regarding something that was obviously OVER the minimum. That was what the marked wrong with it, too, so I know that was the "problem."

*wonders how accurate Openoffice's wordcounter is.
 

Lillie

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I had gone down the list looking for fast-responding SF markets, and Clarkesworld was my last choice since Lightspeed's minimum is 1500.

I'll find a market for it soon, but I was kinda surprised by instant form rejection regarding something that was obviously OVER the minimum. That was what the marked wrong with it, too, so I know that was the "problem."

*wonders how accurate Openoffice's wordcounter is.

It can be terrible.

Do you use straight quotes or curly quotes?

If you use curly quotes, OO adds one word for every pair.
ie. "I went to the shop." would be 6 words.

It's better with the straight quotes, but is still glitchy on other things like dashes (apparently, I'm not a big dash user).
 

Lillie

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Umm. I don't know.

I used to use OO, and I knew about the " glitch. There's been much discussion of it on the NaNo forums because a lot of people use it, and the word count is vital. Lol. It's been responsible for a few meltdowns!

I think that particular glitch is only OO (and maybe Libre office, I suppose), but maybe they all have their peculiarities.