Rejectomancy

Eliza C

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How can you tell?

The form format of 'thanks for submitting but didn't quite work for me' I always assume is booted from the slush pile, but I have received one personal response that said he enjoyed reading the story, and looked forward to my next submission - that one I assumed was actually passed up to him . I can't know for sure, but that's how it seemed to me.
 

O'Dandelo

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The form format of 'thanks for submitting but didn't quite work for me' I always assume is booted from the slush pile, but I have received one personal response that said he enjoyed reading the story, and looked forward to my next submission - that one I assumed was actually passed up to him . I can't know for sure, but that's how it seemed to me.

I'm pretty sure you're right. Same thing happened to me.
 

Niccolo

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While we're on the topic of JJA, let me toss my rejection into the ring. 5 days from Nightmare.

Now off to Clarkesworld, then Waylines, then everywhere else that accepts horror...:D
 

soapdish

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Sorry for all the recent R's, guys. Crickets for me. I need to get more on submission, I think.

Good luck on all the resubs!
 

Sai

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65-day form R from Tor. I'm glad they're getting faster, though I wish it had been a personal rejection (there's just no pleasing me!).
 

Marzioli

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80-day Bourbon Penn. It was a long shot with this story, but I agree it wasn't a good fit.

Drat! 120 day from Midnight Echo. No official word yet, but the EIC mentioned on his Facebook that the accepted authors have already been notified. Not really sure how they work, but they emailed me a long time ago saying this made it past the first stage. So I'm assuming it's a second-round R.
 
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Project Deadlight

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Form R from EV. After 78 days. I don't mind markets not allowing sim-subs if they respond quickly but 78 days... I could have had this story at 5 or 6 markets in this time. And then to just send a form?! The sooner some of the more popular sci-fi/horror markets adopt the same process as literary markets (namely, longer waits but sim-subs) the better.

Huffing and puffing and will blow down your house.
 

Project Deadlight

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80-day Bourbon Penn. It was a long shot with this story, but I agree it wasn't a good fit.

Drat! 120 day from Midnight Echo. No official word yet, but the EIC mentioned on his Facebook that...

That's me with an R too then. And once more a market that doesn't allow sim-subs that have held a story for 127 days. A lot of these magazines are run by writers so you'd think they'd understand how difficult it is for a writer to lose a third of a year to a single market.
 

Bartholomew

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JJA sends me form rejections in about 3 - 5 days. I work for him. Rejectomancy doesn't apply, I don't think. Super professional. =)
 

Project Deadlight

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I guess what's super annoying about the EV rejection is that the story actually suffered from being plucked from the slush pile. Had I been form R'd after a few days, like most of their subs, I would have been able to get on with subbing the story elsewhere. But instead I had to wait 78 days for something that most people got after 3 or 4.

Anyway, I got a nice personal from Shimmer just now so I'll stop whinging. That is a market with an excellent turnaround rate. And they mostly do personals. Much Shimmery love.
 

V1c

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Drat! 120 day from Midnight Echo. No official word yet, but the EIC mentioned on his Facebook that the accepted authors have already been notified. Not really sure how they work, but they emailed me a long time ago saying this made it past the first stage. So I'm assuming it's a second-round R.

Well, Argh. But then, I never even received notification that they go the story (let alone that it was a second-rounder) so I'll pretend it got lost in the ether until I get the official "R"

Commiserations to the others Aaarrrs out there, le sigh.
 

kd1984

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That's me with an R too then. And once more a market that doesn't allow sim-subs that have held a story for 127 days. A lot of these magazines are run by writers so you'd think they'd understand how difficult it is for a writer to lose a third of a year to a single market.

Just my two cents as a writer and an editor. Granted, my mag allows sim subs, so maybe this argument doesn't hold much water but...

Our managing editor has us send out rejections and acceptances in rounds. So while I may have read a story and decided not to accept it in a matter of hours, I have to hold my rejections until the window opens. Same goes for acceptances. For instance, I may have read and decided on your story in mid-December but could not send my responses until late February.

Either way, I get insanely frustrated by super long waits at markets that don't allow sim subs. Just thinking of a possible solution to the dilemna! :)
 

O'Dandelo

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50-day personal rejection from Glimmer Train. I knew it had made it past the initial read, so I admit I had my hopes up. Still, it was a long shot, and my first time submitting to them. So the nice personal note Susan added at the end should be something to be proud of, I suppose.
 

V1c

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Our managing editor has us send out rejections and acceptances in rounds. So while I may have read a story and decided not to accept it in a matter of hours, I have to hold my rejections until the window opens. Same goes for acceptances. For instance, I may have read and decided on your story in mid-December but could not send my responses until late February.

:)

I don't get why that happens. I've worked at lit mags and a big name publisher, never had that happen. If you don't want people to submit a second time in a time frame, then put that in the submit notes don't hold a piece. I really am trying to come up with a valid reason to hold rejections and don't have one. I've always sent the rejections ASAP, and all the places I've worked at has had that policy. Unless there are too many repeat no multi-sub offenders and the system shuts them down if they have one in the queue? IDK.



And O'dand- sorry for the R but yeah on the comments!
 

fihr

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I now preference markets by response time, because so many don't allow sim-subs yet hold it for more than 100 days. One story might only get subbed three times in a year, especially if it makes it past the first round of slush on a regular basis, yet not the final cut. Makes me want to sim sub despite guidelines, though I haven't yet. If I was a well-known writer, or regularly making pro (or even semi-pro) sales, I wouldn't sim sub. But as a virtually unknown writer, it's hard not to. Yet I worry that the one time I do it, I'll end up stuffing people around and get some kind of black mark against me, knowing my luck.

It's a shame to hear mags insisting on rejections in batches, rather than as they go. Just makes it unnecessarily harder for the writer to sub elsewhere.

I really appreciate mags that get their first round rejections out quickly - and second round in a timely manner, or at least keep people updated - and I have no problem with being asked to wait to submit again.
 
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Niccolo

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2 days from the dubious Clarkesworld. Before this, I hadn't submitted to them since August. Is it bad that this rejection brings back memories of my first months of actually submitting the crap that I wrote? No? Good :)
 

Marzioli

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Many condolences to Michael and Simon. It's hard to ferret out the positive in rejections like that, but I hope you get around to it. Your writing obviously deserves it!