I was poking around duotrope today, checking on submission times for a couple of pieces I am waiting to hear from, and noticed the very odd fluxuations of response from A & A.
Most (as in two thirds) of the responses show authors receive rejections under 10 days. I have sent the magazine a total of 5 stories over the past few years. The answer has always been the same...
quote:...your story was well received but we have decided to pass on it...
...so I took them as their standard rejection letter. However, I've noticed the quickest response I have received from them was 20 days, and the longest 89. The current one I have with them is on day 25. Registered duotrope members report 19 stories that were submitted after mine that were rejected.
So I would like to know anyone elses experience with Abyss & Apex. Do any of you have any insights to their inner workings? Do they have stages of slush I am not aware of? Has anyone received a personal rejection from them? Or is this a matter of they read authors who have names that are easier to pronounce first?
Thanks in advance
Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :
I've only submitted to Abyss and Apex twice. Response times, 20 and 22 days. Only one got the "well recieved" comment.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
I have quite a few to them, not sure how many. I could count but it's more than five. And most of the time if not each time I received the "well received" note. But I'm not sure of how long it took, significantly longer than ten days though.
The first time I was encouraged but the second time I realized it was a form letter.
Posted by JenniferHicks (Member # 8201) on :
My one submission to them took 35 days and got the "well received" rejection.
Posted by Crank (Member # 7354) on :
My two rejections from A&A came after 57 and 83 days. Can anyone guess what their comment was both times?!
S! S!
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
I've had 7 rejections from them, and 1 pending response right now. I can't remember how many have been "well received" but at least 3 or so I think. Rejection times 129, 29, 16, 1, 19, 83 and 32 days. This is day 32 for the pending response and they have rejected a TON of subs that came well after mine.
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
Did they give you a reason for a rejection in one day Merlion? Not following guidelines or forgetting to attach story or something?
It's clear most of the people here have experienced the same process as I. I think they ask to wait 90 days before a query.
Thanks everyone!
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
Not that I recall. However, I believe that 1-day response was sent in the very day they'd re-opened for submissions. I figured, at the time, that was probably the reason behind it.
That being said, my current pending with them was also sent the day or maybe the day after a re-open. I'm hoping that all bodes well of course.
Posted by pdblake (Member # 9218) on :
I don't recall them specifically, but most mags, online or not, seem to take an age to reply. In which case they're not much different to literary agents.
(Yes, that was a scream of bitterness you heard)
Posted by aspirit (Member # 7974) on :
My only submission to Abyss & Apex received a personalized rejection and was supposedly read twice. The response time: 20 days. That was almost three years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if the process is the same. Their readers move quickly through the slush, and like many publishers do, probably reject most submissions immediately after reading. Other submissions might be set aside to be compared against, delaying the response time. That's my guess, anyway.
*Edited: Added a forgotten conjunction.
[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited September 03, 2011).]
Posted by Ethereon (Member # 9133) on :
Hi snapper. In my experience the flash fiction editors at A&A respond very, very quickly (1-10 days). Non-flash goes to a different set of slush readers and editors before potentially crossing Ms. Delmater's desk and generally takes longer. I have one personal response from Ms. Delmater, and it arrived after 70 days.
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
As noted above, flash and non-flash have different routes through the A&A world. Flash is often read very quickly, and can equally be rejected quickly because of their short submission windows (as in, I've haad a story rejected with the codicil "please try us with something else" - I've come close but never quite succeeded there with flash length stories, and one tip I have is that although they say they'll take up to 1500 words, they prefer it tighter/shorter).
"Normal" short stories usually get read and dealt with after the sub window closes. The first raft of rejections come out then, but stories that pass this then go to the second stage and in my experience the responses to those come back around the time of the next submission window. So for shorts, you're either going to get a response in about one month or in about three.
As with any market, things can go through circuitous routes or get lost - that happened to one of my two sales there. Because I've sold there, I tend to get personal feedback on rejections from Wendy.
It's possible things have changed - I haven't subbed there lately as I'm low on inventory and concentrating on pro markets more.
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
Got a rejection on the pending response today. It was "well received."
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
Thanks Tchern, your post helped to explain the process. Sorry to hear about the reject Merlion. Me? Day 58, still waiting.
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
I had a story with them for 80 days--I'll forward you the personal rejection I got.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Talking about taking a while.
Warren Lapine of Fantastic Stories of the Imagination which is now a yearly anthology.
Has stated: "I don't have a hard and fast response tme right now. I'm saying no to the ones that flat out don't work. I'm responding to the ones that come closer less quickly. Once the summer is over I expect to get to a more reasonable 2 weeks to 30 days."
I wonder if summer is over enough for him?
And evidently he waits until he has a bunch of stories and then has a story reading party. No hint how often that is probably because he doesn't know.
The problem is that he also stated that he will keep the stories he thinks need a second reading longer but there is no way to tell why is taking a while.
I sent in my story Aug 6 . Since he doesn't mind Multiple submissions I thought about sending a second story, seems like he should be starting to get a routine going with the stories.
Now that I have complained-vented- I may receive the rejection in the next few days. It seems to usually work that way.
Posted by Auskar (Member # 9674) on :
Abyss and Apex submissions...
It depends on the length of the story. Flash fiction goes to a different person than short stories. One is rejected faster than the other. I have no experience with approvals, alas.
Posted by Ethereon (Member # 9133) on :
Aug 6, LD? That long is frustrating enough for sure. I've had one at Escape Pod since March 25th. You get to the point where any response would be great!
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
Markets vary widely, but in my experience it's the minority that are quick and efficient in their response.
Don't worry about response times. Once a story is done, just send it out, and forget about it. Write more stories. When a rejection comes in, just send the story to the next market on your list.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
Of course that's sound advice but not so easy to do. Especially when a market is taking awhile and that some times means they are taking a second look at the story. At least for me it's not so easy, some people seem to have absolutely no problem with carrying out that advice.
I don't know the usual time for Fantastic but various pro markets have been trying to speed things up-- or my writing is getting easier to reject instead of harder-- IGMS still has one of the longer turn a rounds but they seem to be as bit faster too.
And still no rejection from Fantastic.
I do need to send them another story if I would get on the ball and print it out, that goes for F&SF too.
Looks like Realm of Fantasy is out of the picture again.
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
IGMS is much much faster than they used to be. When I started subbing a few years back there stated response time was 90 days and they usually took at least a few more days than that. Now, the stated time is still 90 but their average is in the low 30s.
I refuse to submit to Tor.com because of their absurd response times, same with Dark Discoveries. I mean fire and forget is all well and good but I think for a professional outfit to take 8 months to a year average to respond to stuff is honestly a tad unprofessional.
Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :
I think the last two times I sent something to IGMS is was more like two months before I received the rejection, and it was just under or just above three before.
Lifepod used to take a long time. The editor placed an apology in his form E-mail. I think they also speeded up some. Someone else took a very long time but I can't recall who. Never sent anything to Tor so it wasn't them.
Of the markets I send stories to IGMS was almost Number One for how long it took. But as stated they do better now.
