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The dead pile is what I call the list of short stories that I have given up on. In my excel spreadsheet (where i keep track ot these things so I don't duplicate submissions) I have ten fully active (in boldface) stories that are currently with magazines. I have two stories that will be sent out soon (normal font) and six dead stories (in the hateful italics) that I have given up hope on.
My decision to put stories in the dead pile is somewhat random. Most of them are not the ones that I have sent out exhaustively. Rather, they are the ones that, after a couple of rejections. I decide aren't all that good after all.
The trouble is, I'm beginning to feel that way about every short story I have ever written, including the live ones.
Today I received a rejection that had some comments about why they rejected it but the comments kind of told me that the editor missed the point of the story. Now I'm thinking about burying that story too.
One of the things I'm afraid of, and this is something I'm hoping for some commentary on, is that if I send out bad stories (or stories a magazine jsut doesn't want) enough times that they'll stop reading what I have to send and just reject my stuff out of hand. Is this true or am I just being paranoid? I hope that they get too many stories to really remember the authors they don't publish but in my own universe I am at the center...
posted
{The following is a true story. I don't remember the artist's name and I'm only partly sure of the magazine).
There was a cartoonist who submitted to the New Yorker every week for many years. Finally, after hundreds of submissions and photocopied rejections, an envelope arrived in the mail with a personal letter and a check. The magazine had purchased two of his cartoons. He went on to be quite a popular political cartoonist. Later, he asked the Editor about it and was told that they always looked at his cartoons, and had watched him develop to the point that they wanted to publish his work.
posted
How many stories a week do the editors read?
Unless (1) your stories are attrociously bad, (2) your stories are nearly good enough, or (3) you have a name that is particularly memorable for some reason, they are unlikely to remember you from one submission to the next.
I don't think (1) is the case, and (2) isn't a bad thing if it is happening. As I don't know your real name, I can't comment on (3).
posted
If they gave you personal comments, they are letting you know to keep trying. If you think they missed the point, figure out what happened and if you choose to, revise. Then send it somewhere else.
There is a good chance that it is not the same people reading your work. Initial readers, wading through slush, are only passing on certain stories. If you got that far, with real editors reading and taking time to comment, you are doing well and your stories will not be rejected just because they see your name! Instead, if your name is remembered, it will be with a "yeah, I remember something good about her - I'm curious/interested in what she has sent."
Of course they are getting tons of stories - unless you made serious cliched blunders that would make them laugh, they won't remember anything but the fact that you were close to being acceptible - they will be MORE interested in your work, not less!
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Christine, I have done a little first editing (three different magazines if that matters), and I have talked to most of the editors of the major SF/F publications at one time or another.
Editors remember the authors they buy from and they remember the authors they hope they will some day be able to buy from.
I believe that cartoonist was Gahan Wilson, and what happened to him really does happen to writers as well.
If you write almost well enough, and you keep sending stuff in, they will begin to open your envelopes with hope and eagerness that maybe this time you will have done it--that maybe this time they will be able to buy your story. Editors really do pull for the authors that are almost, but not quite there.
And sometimes they even ask each other about them, expressing hope that the author will keep trying and keep improving until a story finally sells.
Go ahead and set the story aside, if you must, but don't forget about it. The time may come when with an additional idea or a bit of tweaking it will be exactly right for a theme anthology or for a new periodical.
And keep sending stories in. The more you send and the better you get, the more excited the editors will be to see your name and address in the upper left hand corner of the envelope.
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Thanks, everyone, for your words of encouragement. I especially appreciate your little cartoonist tale, goatboy, and your personal experiences/conversations with editors, Kathleen. Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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As if some higher power was reading this thread and wanted to give me a chin up....
This morning I received a rejection from a piece that I swore one more rejection would be it on. But in the body of the rejection e-mail the editor gave me some insight into the problem with the story and an inspirational suggestion for how to fix it. I was so excited that I sent him back a thank you and he invited me to resubmit it once I made the changes.
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Oh my goodness! That's great news Christine. Persistence pays off . Good luck with the edit and the re-submit.
Posts: 1473 | Registered: Jul 2004
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That's very good news Christine. That second shot is an important step.
Thanks for the name Kathleen! I think you might be right. But, was it the New Yorker, or the Washington Post? I do not have the gift of remembering names, and in situations like this, it often leaves me lacking.
See? Editors are human beings and appreciate knowing that their comments make a difference. That won't happen every time you write back and thank an editor for advice, but it certainly can't hurt. (It will certainly help the editor remember you in a positive light.)
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