In this thread, please include the rejection wording (if you can) and an explanation on why you found it encouraging.
quote:
Thank you for submitting "Sheep's Clothing" to Strange Horizons, but we've decided not to accept it for publication. I'm always happy to see a story containing no humans, and I like the alien sex in this. But I'm afraid the story overall didn't quite work for me.Partly that's because the dynamic between the protagonist and the conqueror (although I liked it) reminded me a little bit too much of part of _Tigana_, which led me to guess more or less where the story was headed; partly because I never quite had an entirely clear mental image of what the aliens looked like (I'm not even certain whether the two factions are the same species) or of how the sex works; partly because the story somehow just didn't quite connect for me emotionally.
But we appreciate your interest in our magazine, and we look forward to seeing your next story.
I've also adjusted the story according to his recommendations - because I saw his points - and have sent it out elsewhere. Maybe it will do better on this round.
Edited because I can't type.
[This message has been edited by genevive42 (edited August 24, 2010).]
quote:
Sara,
I'm so sorry, but Abyss & Apex has decided not to purchase "Talent Thief" for the magazine. This was among my personal favorite Flash submissions of last quarter and one of my top ten recommendations to the team.
Thanks again for allowing us to consider your lovely story.
[This message has been edited by satate (edited August 24, 2010).]
Thank you for letting me see "Mad Money." I thought the story was nicely done, but I’m afraid it didn’t quite work for me. I look forward to your next one, though.
Sincerely,
Sheila Williams, editor
Asimov’s Science Fiction
[This message has been edited by SteveR (edited August 25, 2010).]
quote:
Dear Frank,We have all read, reviewed and discussed your story and we loved it,
HOWEVER, per our Submission Guidelines, we do not accept or publish any tale
containing child abuse -- and feasting on a baby falls in that category.We do urge your to shop the tale around using Duotrope.com search engine to
find a market that is more open to such tales.
Do try us again soon.
BTW, I took their advice and sold it to a brit publication called Twisted Tongue
Sadly both pubs are no defunct. Oh well.
I had a story sit around for 3 months in Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine's 3rd stage (most stories get rejected in stage one) of its submission process waiting for an editor to pick it.
After 3 months the rejected it (as they do if no editor picks it).
I sent it next to WOTF--where it came second--you will be able to buy it in volume 26 [to be released this Saturday!].
[This message has been edited by skadder (edited August 25, 2010).]
I’ve had a few stories sit in the third round for ASIM (never had one picked up). I was wondering whether you had one slush reader who loves the story and one who doesn’t (and sometimes a third who goes either way). Since the 1st round at ASIM is anonymous on both sides, it’s a really odd quirk that I get pretty consistent feedback from the same readers (I wish the happy slush reader became an editor…). Possibly the one slush reader loves everything they read.
Oh, and I always get the same canned response from the editors (though I’ve noted it’s changed from about 1 in 3 stories getting picked up at the 3rd round to 1 in 20).
Good on you for believing in your story and knowing that it was strong enough to win WOTF.
Nick
quote:
We have all read, reviewed and discussed your story and we loved it,
HOWEVER, per our Submission Guidelines, we do not accept or publish any tale
containing child abuse -- and feasting on a baby falls in that category.
That made me laugh.
Nick
[This message has been edited by Nick T (edited August 25, 2010).]
A few years ago if you got to the third round there was supposedly a roughly 1 in 3 chance of publication, but that has apparently dropped significantly and now only 1 in 10 or fewer of the "third round" stories are selected for publication. I'm not alone in thinking that's not a good policy - they're holding on to stories for a long time with very little chance of actually accepting them.
ASIM have a three round submission process. From their webpage:
quote:
Andromeda Spaceways uses an anonymous three round submission process. If you send a submission to us, it enters round one as soon as we receive it and will be assigned a reference number. A submission moves through to round two and round three if our readers decide to bump it up the line. You can track where your submission is by checking below.
Once a submission is in round three, ASIM editors can view the story and author, and select it for their issue. Because ASIM is edited by a different person for each issue, we hold onto round three stories for three months so that all the potential editors have time to view them.
quote:
Thank you for submitting to Andromeda Spaceways.
Unfortunately, while we liked your submission, so far we have not found a place for it ... and it is against our policy to hold onto a story indefinitely. Much as we'd like to, we just don't have the room to print all the stories we get -- not even all the good ones. So sadly, I'm going to have to very reluctantly let this one go.
If it got this far, you can rest assured that your story is of high quality and you should be able to find a home for it. I look forward to hearing from you again.
Better luck next time!
I have supplied some notes from the readers, in case you find them useful.
(All these are only the opinions of the readers.)
Regards,
Nick
*edit* Just saw Tchern responded. The last email I received from them indicated it's now a 1 in 20 acceptance rate. My first submission to them had a 1 in 3.
[This message has been edited by Nick T (edited August 25, 2010).]