posted
I received a rejection letter yesterday that opened up with a 'hey, how's it going' sort of thing, then mentioned to note the new submission address. Then it said 'thanks for showing us your work' but went on to say the ending was disappointing. The letter made some general suggestions for improvement. Nowhere did it say the story was flat-out rejected and that they didn't want it. Does this mean they would welcome the same story with a new and improved ending?
Posts: 52 | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
I say re-write the ending, if you want to, and if you do send it back to them. What's the worst that could happen, they reject it again? At least they'd be more explicit the second time. But like Spaceman said, don't change your art because of one critic.
Posts: 2195 | Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Typically, editors don't want to revisit material they've already rejected once; if they do want you to resubmit, they are very very clear about it. The worst that can happen is that they'll start to remember your name in a negative way.
If you really think they might want to see it again, query the editor very politely and ask if you can resubmit it.
[This message has been edited by Beth (edited March 21, 2007).]
posted
And you can be happy they got to the ending. It's must better than having it rejected after 13 lines. I'd say the story shows potential, in that case.
Posts: 696 | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
If the rejection letter was email, reply and ask for clarification. Was it a rejection or a conditional acceptance? A conditional acceptance is when the publisher accepts if the writer makes specific changes.
To me, it sounds pretty clearly like a rejection. Evaluate whether your story would benefit from the suggested changes and move on to the next market.
posted
If they didn't explicitly say they wanted to see it again, I'd be reluctant to assume so. I once revised something at a suggestion made in a rejection letter, and sent it back to them, mentioning that in a cover letter---but got it back with another rejection slip, a form one this time, with "NO REVISIONS" scribbled across it. (Pissed me off, of course...I only sent them a few more things, and only after they'd been bounced by several other places. Putting them on the bottom of my list was the only revenge I thought fit to take.)
If you feel you must revise from this, do so...but either (a) send it somewhere else first, or (b) wait some time before sending it back to this market. But, above all, (c) don't mention you sent it to them before.
posted
The editors mentioned the same problem my Wise Reader spotted months ago. I just didn't feel like changing the ending at the time because it seemed like so much work . But now I feel like they're both right. I need to fix the ending. Darn. I hate editing/rewriting when I've done it a gazillion times already! Okay, it just feels like a gazillion times.
And really, I'm just thrilled they actually read the whole thing.
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