Rejectomancy

Izz

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I've gone and created a blog page for my submission responses: Responses 2011

Sorted by date received, with market, days out and response type following.

So far, i'm averaging 1 personal R for every 5 total Rs.
 

Sagana

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I also got a rejection for my little twitfic. I was expecting that as I've never tried anything that short before. The other one is still out as well as the story at Apex. Getting ready to submit something else today or tomorrow. Might work some on the twitter - it was a bit short of plot.
 

soapdish

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Izz, that's just a little...masochistic :tongue

It doesn't bother you to see all your Rs listed out like that? Or do you see it like a challenge when it's all itemized out like that? I guess that would be one way to look at it, a challenge to turn the stats in the in the other direction--a visual way to watch that happen. Hmmm.

Sagana, sorry to hear about the R. Twitter fic is an art, keep practicing if you like it. :)
 

Aggy B.

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Got a form R from Clarkesworld this morning for The Hardest Kiss. It's been resubbed to Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
 

jgold

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Ha! Just like I said in the other thread... I received a rejection from Not One of Us for a YA magical realism story that will apparently never, ever sell.

*hugs* for all the other recent rejections.
 

russetpomme

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I got a 10 day reject from F&SF including international shipping. It contained the words "this story couldn't grab my interest."

ugh, pangalactic, that's no fun. Turn it around and resubmit (or revise if they've given you anything constructive to use in the rest of the rejection) to take the sting out - keep it up!

This thread is keeping me sane while I wait endlessly for any peep at all from my monthly W1S1 so far. Thank you all for posting - it actually makes it easier for me to sit down and do my daily words when I see everyone else keepin' on.
 

pangalactic

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ugh, pangalactic, that's no fun. Turn it around and resubmit (or revise if they've given you anything constructive to use in the rest of the rejection) to take the sting out - keep it up!

This thread is keeping me sane while I wait endlessly for any peep at all from my monthly W1S1 so far. Thank you all for posting - it actually makes it easier for me to sit down and do my daily words when I see everyone else keepin' on.

I sent that sucker straight back out. It's at Asimov's at the moment, so I'm sure I'll be getting another reject. TBH having read it back I'm not convinced it's good enough to sell anywhere I'd want to see it, but I'd rather put my energy into writing new better stories than fixing this one. And it doesn't hurt to keep submitting it on the off chance.
 

pangalactic

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In'tl snail mail rejection must be the worst. I won't know: I'm not ponying up $10 to send off to Interzone or Black Static. :)

Oddly enough, I just got a reject from Black Static last week as well. To add insult to injury, I (somehow) hadn't attached enough postage to my SAE, so I had to pay the extra plus a £1 handling fee to get my letter from the Post Office, just to find it was a rejection. Also, they slide in a subscription order form with the rejection slip. Nice of them.

I'd love to sell to Black Static though. It's one of my favourite magazines to read.
 

Gray Rose

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Just an aside, revising old submissions taught me a lot and made me a better writer, so I would definitely recommend revising at least some of your work that you feel could be strengthened.

Crickets here again.
 

pangalactic

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Just an aside, revising old submissions taught me a lot and made me a better writer, so I would definitely recommend revising at least some of your work that you feel could be strengthened.

Crickets here again.

Oh I absolutely agree. I'm just making excuses for the fact that I hate editing and I'd rather sit and find reasons not to write ;-)

</thread derail>
 

MattJ

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DSF just rejected me on a Saturday night. It was the second disappointment of the night. The first being the movie Sucker Punch.

Is there no rest for the weary W1S1er? :)
 

Sagana

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Did you expect Sucker Punch to be good? It looks like a neat world, but...

The trailer I saw had the best comments tho. Very funny.
 

Izz

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Izz, that's just a little...masochistic :tongue

It doesn't bother you to see all your Rs listed out like that? Or do you see it like a challenge when it's all itemized out like that? I guess that would be one way to look at it, a challenge to turn the stats in the in the other direction--a visual way to watch that happen. Hmmm.
Nah, doesn't bother me. It actually gives me a sense of accomplishment. Plus, i have an unnatural fascination with statistics :D

ugh, pangalactic, that's no fun. Turn it around and resubmit (or revise if they've given you anything constructive to use in the rest of the rejection) to take the sting out - keep it up!

This thread is keeping me sane while I wait endlessly for any peep at all from my monthly W1S1 so far. Thank you all for posting - it actually makes it easier for me to sit down and do my daily words when I see everyone else keepin' on.
Hi russetpomme! I don't think i've welcomed you to W1S1 before now, so let me throw out a huge :welcome:

Crickets can be frustrating, can't they? I've got a story that's under review at Asimov's, and i just want to get the rejection back so the waiting is over and done with (and it's only be under review for a day or so :tongue)




*hugs* and sympathetic expressions to everybody who's had Rs back since i posted last.
 

Nathaniel Katz

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Crickets are the only part that really discourages me. Rejections I can shrug off, but weeks where I here nothing sap my productivity and confidence.
 

zanzjan

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Also, they slide in a subscription order form with the rejection slip. Nice of them.

Ouch about the postage. )-:

I would have to guess (and I'm totally just guessing here) that there are two reasons for including the sub form:
1) An awful lot of writers (especially new ones) send work off without having the faintest idea what sorts of stories a particular magazine publishes. One of the best ways of getting that sort of knowledge is to actually read an issue or two, and a subscription is a good way of doing that.
2) Short fiction markets are all really, really hurting. If any of us writers want to have magazines to send stuff to, there have to *be* magazines, and one way to help that stay true is (if you can afford it, of course) to subscribe to a few that you, as a reader, enjoy. Since we tend to both read and write things we like, it works out quite handily that the magazines we enjoy reading are also more likely to be good fits for our work.

-Suzanne
 

pangalactic

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Ouch about the postage. )-:

I would have to guess (and I'm totally just guessing here) that there are two reasons for including the sub form:
1) An awful lot of writers (especially new ones) send work off without having the faintest idea what sorts of stories a particular magazine publishes. One of the best ways of getting that sort of knowledge is to actually read an issue or two, and a subscription is a good way of doing that.
2) Short fiction markets are all really, really hurting. If any of us writers want to have magazines to send stuff to, there have to *be* magazines, and one way to help that stay true is (if you can afford it, of course) to subscribe to a few that you, as a reader, enjoy. Since we tend to both read and write things we like, it works out quite handily that the magazines we enjoy reading are also more likely to be good fits for our work.

-Suzanne

I completely understand why they do it - in the moment of rejection though, it just feels a little like they're saying "you're not good enough to write for us; read some people who are instead". Which, obviously, they're not actually saying at all.
 

MattJ

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I was tricked by checking the Rotten Tomatoes rating before it opened. 85%. After we saw it, I went to RT to find out how they got it wrong. 19%.
I liked 300 and Watchmen (sort of, but I had enjoyed the comic a lot). So I was holding out some hope.

Did you expect Sucker Punch to be good? It looks like a neat world, but...

The trailer I saw had the best comments tho. Very funny.
 

MattJ

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I don't see it like that. When I get a rejected, I see them saying "Your story wasn't for me" rather than "It was a bad story." Fiction, like movies, ice cream, and many other things, is subjective.

My most recent from DSF said there are many possible reasons my story was rejected.

I completely understand why they do it - in the moment of rejection though, it just feels a little like they're saying "you're not good enough to write for us; read some people who are instead". Which, obviously, they're not actually saying at all.
 

katsincommand

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I've heard horror stories about people writing back after rejections that were too specific, so those loose cannons ruined it for the rest of us who actually would appreciate anyl actual input on our work.

But it's ok - if you submit enough, you'll start to recognize when your email rejection contains a little more than the standard. Just as long as you keep going!

And now its time to get back to my story due Thursday....
 

Gray Rose

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I've heard horror stories about people writing back after rejections that were too specific, so those loose cannons ruined it for the rest of us who actually would appreciate anyl actual input on our work.

It's the truth. I now send much less feedback than I did when I began editing. Most authors take personal feedback very hard, even when they say they would love to see it.
 

zanzjan

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I completely understand why they do it - in the moment of rejection though, it just feels a little like they're saying "you're not good enough to write for us; read some people who are instead". Which, obviously, they're not actually saying at all.

Yep, hear ya. I've gotten a fair number of form rejections from different markets that have, among the usual litany of suggestions ("learn English", "turn off your CAPS LOCK key", "get therapy", etc.) the idea that you may wish to subscribe to the magazine to get a better sense of what they publish. That does seem maybe a little more gentle than an actual sub form.

Hey, I got a rejection once that had scrawled in the upper corner of the form: "This story is unbearable!*". After that, I don't get bothered by much of anything anymore except the long silences.

-Suzanne

(* the story did, in fact, have bears in it, so it might have been intended to be a funny comment. But I was a newbie and distinctly crushed by it at the time.)
 

russetpomme

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Hi russetpomme! I don't think i've welcomed you to W1S1 before now, so let me throw out a huge :welcome:

Thanks so much! I've been lurking since January, but didn't want to announce my participation and then end up failing miserably. Three months in, I think I'm in it for the year, and this place has been in-val-u-able for keeping me on track. So many thanks to everyone!

I found myself last night looking through old rejections and cheerleading myself on with them. "Look self! Your first Abyss and Apex rejection was totally personal! WOO!" Still, it's all crickets for my 2011 subs (with one Twit-fic acceptance that totally made my week).
 

GreenRoom

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Nah, doesn't bother me. It actually gives me a sense of accomplishment. Plus, i have an unnatural fascination with statistics :D

Hi russetpomme! I don't think i've welcomed you to W1S1 before now, so let me throw out a huge :welcome:

Crickets can be frustrating, can't they? I've got a story that's under review at Asimov's, and i just want to get the rejection back so the waiting is over and done with (and it's only be under review for a day or so :tongue)




*hugs* and sympathetic expressions to everybody who's had Rs back since i posted last.

At least your story at Asimov's is under review. Mine's been in the open/received stage seemingly forever (nope, I'm not at all impatient or prone to exaggeration ;) Nor do I abuse duotrope... err) I envy you your under review status!