Does The New York Times respond?

gettingby · Nov 2, 2014

Do any of you have experience with The New York Times, pitching or sending essays into the columns like Modern Love or Lives? Do they only respond if they are interested? Do they just leave you hanging if they're not? In the past, I got a rejection, but it was many years ago and one editor liked what I sent but another one shot it down. Two years ago, I pitched the travel section but never heard back. About a month ago I sent something new into a different section and haven't heard anything. I am hoping some of you have tried with them recently and can say when you heard back and how long it took. Also, how long should I hold off sending my work to another publication?

What I don't get is why they don't just send off quick rejection emails if they are not interested. I understand that they get a lot of stuff, but how hard is it to say yes or no? Why the silent treatment?

Maryn · Nov 2, 2014

In case you're not aware, no response is the new "no." Yeah, we'd all prefer an actual rejection, but we're not going to get it. I don't know about the NYT specifically, but it's the norm with a great many markets of many types.

If you do not year back from them within a few weeks of their stated response time, that silence is a rejection.

Maryn, sorry

kobold · Nov 2, 2014

Most often and most likely, no response does equal 'No.' Some markets and many agents are helpful enough to say as much in their guidelines.

There is, though, the occasional rare mix-up where something was not received, was deleted, shuffled to the wrong inbox, etc. It's happened to me three times.

However, after following up to find out if my work was in fact received, said work was ultimately (you guessed it) rejected.

gettingby · Nov 2, 2014

I didn't see anything about response times. I was hoping some of you could shed light on how long it took to hear something or when is the right time to give up. I want to try again if it's a no, but I also don't want to send something in while they are considering something else.

Angie · Nov 3, 2014

It can take four to six weeks to hear back from a publication as huge as the NYT - imagine how many submissions they receive every day. I wouldn't wait around for this one; move on and keep querying for other articles and at other markets.

TB4me2000 · Nov 5, 2014

It might be worth following up once, just to see if it was not received or forgotten about, but don't get hung up on it. Set a calendar reminder to do it in a few weeks, then move on.

Jamesaritchie · Nov 6, 2014

If they like a piece, it can sometimes take up to six months for a response. They always have responded to me, one way or the other, and I haven't heard of any changes.

That said, publications familiar with me, that I've dealt with or sold to, always respond, so sometimes I sometimes have no idea how they handle submissions from new writers.

Does The New York Times respond?

gettingby

Maryn

Baaa!

kobold

bedeviled

gettingby

Angie

Shaddup and lemme think.

TB4me2000

scribbling in the deep south

Jamesaritchie