I have a story that's been doing the rounds for a year. It went round to many pro and high-tier magazines (7 of them, to be precise), and each time the answer was about the same: "close, but no cigar".
I'm hesitating on subbing it to the few pro markets left on my list, or whether I ought to make a bee's line for markets that may not be as selective, but still have a good reputation. Does a lot of people rejecting the story mean it's not good enough for pros?
Any thoughts on the matter?
Thanks.
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Not all the pro markets are alike. It's not a matter of a story being good enough for the pros or not, as if they are all one entity. The right editor on the right day is what you're really looking for, and if you keep getting "close but no cigar" messages then I would not necessarily give up.
The only thing to keep in mind is: Is the story right for the market? Without even sending it, you may be able to answer the question if you've read the magazine and also read the guidelines carefully.
Also, what are you looking for in a pro market? Is it that you want SFWA membership? (Which may not be a bad thing.) Or the pay scale or the glory? Well, I can assure you that there's no way I would look down on you for a semi-pro sale and I can't believe anyone else would, either. There are some excellent semi-pro markets.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
Sheer principle. I try the pros first (actually, it's just that I thought I had a good shot with this story, but seeing the rejections rack up I'm not sure it's up to par yet).
Good point about the market, but unfortunately I can't read every magazine under the sun to check what they like. I have a good feel for the few I do read, but it's already been to those ones I thought it would fit, and been bounced.
I'm not sure the pro I had in mind (F&SF) would like that kind of story (Van Gelder said something like fewer and fewer people were able to write good stories of that kind, but I'm not sure whether he's looking for them).
Hum.
Back to Ralan's marketlist.
Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :
Well, if you are me, you sub your story once to one market and give up after the rejection.
If you are smart, you take any critisims you get, make changes if you think you need to, and sub it again to the next market on the list until you run out of list.
I'm pretty sure you are not me, so that makes you smart.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Silver, the nice thing about F&SF is the turnaround. I'd send it to them. You'll find out within a month at the outside what they thought, and if Gordon DOES like it, well then there you go.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
Very good point. I had forgotten they were so fast.
Posted by plumeh (Member # 3160) on :
Being A Girl, I think that what alot of these guys have said is very romantic and I think It doesnt differ to much through the gender.
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
Lol... your idea of romance is... interesting, if you think THIS conversation was romantic? Methinks you posted this comment under the wrong topic? Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Do you guys know how nice you have it?
Outside the spec-fic pro markets, the mainstream pro markets don't bother telling you why they rejected your story. You just get a form letter, unless you're a personal friend of the editor.
If you're getting 'close' and personal comments along with your rejection, keep plugging. Don't give up. Once you exhaust your pro spec-fic markets then rehash the story a little and send it through again. Believe in your story.
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
According to OSC, only the pro markets are worth bothering with, if you want to be a pro.
I start with pro, but I'm not above sending to little markets, if they pay anything at all.
Posted by thayerds (Member # 3260) on :
If you are getting anything other than a standard form letter from a pro market, do not give up on the story. Shawna McCarthy ounce told me something at a convention. When I jokingly complained that all I'd ever gotten from her was a hand written note at the bottom of a form letter saying "Your writing is good, but the story never really gets started." she said, "Wow it really must have been good, I almost never do that. Send me something else." Maybe revise the story, get everyone, I mean everyone to read it, but don't give up on it.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
Thanks everyone, you've convinced me.
It goes to F&SF. And then we move on to 1/2 pros. I bet I can keep it going around for years.
Posted by Crotalus@work (Member # 2959) on :
I was going to chime in since I've critiqued some of your stuff. Glad to see you have decided to keep subbing to pros. Your stuff is definitely pro-market material. Don't let some silly thing like a rejection slip ever convince you otherwise.
Posted by Crotalus@work (Member # 2959) on :
Oh yeah. And I just got a rejection from F&SF, their turnaround is great. I plan to send the next story I finish to them first.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
When I finish a science fiction short story to my satisfaction---something that rarely happens with me of late---I generally kick it off to the pro mags, one at a time, and then retire it unless something else comes up.
What are the pro markets now? F & SF, Analog, Asimov's? Since Analog and Asimov's have the same publisher is there any point in sending a story to one and then the other? Realms of Fantasy if it's a fantasy? Weird Tales if they're currently open? Somebody starting something new up? Maybe Playboy or the New Yorker? I might be missing one or two possible markets here...usually it's just the first three and its over.
Not that the semi-pro and webzines and such don't have their place---they were never my primary goal. Print magazines were what I started with and print magazines are still what I'm trying for. Any financial reward I gain won't justify the effort I've put into it---certainly their stated rates suggest it wouldn't be terribly financially rewarding if money was my main goal at this point. (It's, as is said, a strong secondary motive, though.)
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
Pro and semi-pro isn't the same as print vs. webzine. I've been published in a low-paying print magazine (Aoife's Kiss) and there are professional webzines (Strange Horizons and Orson Scott Card's new venture).
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Indeed. I wasn't too clear on it. Specifically, it's the traditional print pro science fiction magazines that I've always wanted to have a story published in. When I started, there were, oh, five of them...right now, mmm, I'd say four or five or six, depending on how you count some of them. The other kinds---numerous kinds of publication, more than I probably know---are fine, but they're not what I've been striving for.
(In a way, I've been published in most of these magazines---in the letter columns. Gratifying at the time...often embarrassing to reread nowadays...but not quite the same thing as a short story.)
Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :
> Since Analog and Asimov's have the same publisher is there any > point in sending a story to one and then the other?
Yes. They have different editors with different tastes.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Ah, but do they combine slushpile operations or pass manuscripts from one to the other? I've always found it extremely unsettling to send a manuscript to one of them, to get it back, then to turn around and send it to the exact same address.
Posted by Silver3 (Member # 2174) on :
At Worldcon Schmidt and Williams both said that if they happened to be reading a submission that was better suited to the other, they'd yell in the corridor "Hey, here's something you'd like!"
The "Slush God" is John Joseph Adams, assistant editor at the above mentioned magazine, and reader of the slush pile. He is in control of your destiny a F and SF, so it would pay to pay attention to what he has to say.
[This message has been edited by Smaug (edited March 18, 2006).]
Posted by Elan (Member # 2442) on :
I clicked on the slushgod link... and here's a quote shown prominently on that site:
quote:I figure the only way I'll ever hold J.J. Adams's attention with a story is if I paperclip it to a skunk and toss it over the transom.
- Mary Robinette Kowal
So, I'm curious if Mary Robinette has ever TRIED that technique, and did it work? If so, I've got spare skunks out in the yard somewhere...
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
quote:At Worldcon Schmidt and Williams both said that if they happened to be reading a submission that was better suited to the other, they'd yell in the corridor "Hey, here's something you'd like!"
I have no idea how serious they were.
I suspect that they were kidding because neither editor has the right, when someone sends them a story, to refer that story to any other editor in the business without the express permission of the author of the story. (In other words, if they really did something like that, the publisher's lawyers would have fits.)
I also don't think it would do any good to include in your cover letter a note saying something to the effect that "if this story doesn't suit your needs, and you think it might be something [the other editor] might like, please feel free to pass it to that other editor." All that probably would do is get a rejection letter to you more quickly. Why? Because the idea is that you sent the story to one editor instead of the other because you had done your homework and felt that the story was better for that editor and not the other. If you're not sure, that un-impresses the editor you sent it to.
What you WANT to have happen is for one of them to yell to the other, "Hey, here's something you'd like, but I'm going to buy it because I really like it, too. Mwahahahaha!"
Edited to add:
If one of them actually did find something that they couldn't use, but that they thought the other editor would be interested in, you'd get a note on the rejection letter telling you to send it to the other editor. And you'd be crazy not to--immediately--because the editor who sends you such a note has probably told the other editor about your story, and that other editor is probably watching for it.
[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited March 19, 2006).]
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I was in the room when they said that too and they did sound serious. However, I'm sure they would talk to the author about it before the other editor bought the story. The impression I got was the practice was relatively common and acceptable to all involved.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
That depends on what you mean by "common". And the specifics of what you mean by "the practice". What KDW described, writing you a personal rejection suggesting you send it to the other editor (to whom your story has been mentioned), is the easiest thing for them because they have an SASE and probably don't have your number or the time to explain things in a conference call.
Yelling across the hall would be...well, there are guys like that, but I'd think it's more common to mention things over lunch or whatever if your situation allows it. I don't imagine any of us are particular that there be actual yelling, though
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
Elan, that's the Slushgod's Blurb-o-matic. Sometime last year he asked for blurbs from all his blog readers so I sent that one in. Next time you go to the site a different blurb by someone else will be up there.
The skunk reference is to Spilogale Publishing, which is F&SF's parent company. Spilogale is the genus skunks belong to.
(actually, it's just that I thought I had a good shot with this story, but seeing the rejections rack up I'm not sure it's up to par yet). 