posted
I'm curious about everyone else's experiences with rejection letters. I've heard all kinds of things about them, but so far I've only received 3. I'm told that when they hand write something on the letter it's a good sign, and otherwise you got a form letter, but I've noticed that the tone was significantly different on this last letter than the first 2. The first two said, in essence, that they didn't like it. They also came back within two weeks. This one took almost six weeks and said the story did not fit their current needs and wished me luck publishing it elsewhere.
So, does anyone know more about this than I do? <exaggerate> What does it all mean?!? </exagerate>
posted
Funny you should bring this up now, Christine. I was just at a talk given by Shane Tourtellotte, a Hugo-nominated SF writer, and he discussed this very thing. He said that rejection letters run the gamut, and that it's important to know that some are actually better news than others.
Out and out rejection: a form letter, clearly generic, not addressing your story at all, a la, "Dear Author, Thank you for your interested in X magazine. However, we are not accepting...." You get the idea.
Better: A typewritten or handwritten note that says something personal about your story, so that you know it was actually read and, though it was rejected, it was at least worth the editor's time to respond personally.
Even better: The above personal letter with specific notes on how the story could be improved. This should not be taken as a straight rejection unless clearly stated...it should be taken as an offer to review a revised version of the story once you make the changes suggested.
I hope that helps. It sounds like you got one of the better rejections, which means you may actually be on your way. Submit to as many other magazines as possible...the next editor may be the one to give it a shot.
posted
The market you are targeting is also significant. Some small press markets will give you much more personalized feedback than larger markets. I tend not to fool around much with small press markets because they are low pay and low exposure, but if you are looking for good feedback you might try a webzine called Abyss and Apex. You can find the link to them on Ralan.com. I know several people who've submitted who report that they give constructive feedback on most stories. I've tested this and can report it was true on the stories I sent them.
posted
Ok my DSL stinks today--I tried to post this three times today--here we go again.
I have 67 return letters on my latest novel. (all told I have probably 150 or so on all my works combined) I think I have every variety there is. Form, personal, form with notes, no letter at all just something scrawled on my query letter, scams ect.
Form letters—well sometimes I think there is an editor’s program out there that generates them. They all seem to say about the same thing—thank you for your interest—blah blah—they mostly have your name on them, and many have the title of the work filled in—some just say dear author—most end with we wish you luck in placing your work elsewhere—that’s SOP these days. If it says thanks but we are not accepting new clients good luck—unless they say something specific about your work—that is most likely a form letter even if it has the title ect in it.
As to the amount of time—what did their guide lines say? Go by that. Also just because they kept it longer does not mean much. Perhaps they had more subs that month than the others—or the others have a staff just to read queries. I’ve been told a quick response means if a rejection that they knew flat out they didn’t want it (may also mean they didn’t even look at it), an on time response means little—they keep their word on response times, a long time—well it can mean your work was right on the line (you will usually get a response like—I am sorry we could not take this on but—then they will say something personal—if it uses SOP and says not taking clients—then it means they are not taking clients and they did not read it most likely because they are so very busy with their current client list) That on the line means they wavered.
As to a personal handwritten note—LOL well I got many of those—the note right on the work (query) NO, NO THANKS—one was scrawled down the side of my letter –it took me days to figure out what it said. I am sorry not to take this on, your idea interests me a lot but my client list is full. Then I have gotten the ones that were very personal---I am going to regret not taking this on—but I just don’t know where to place it—and the SOP good luck in finding blah blah. Another said—wow, I don’t think I have ever gotten such a professional looking query—alas I am not taking on new clients at this time, wish I were. One guy scrawled on the top of my query—this shit doesn’t sell anymore. Nice and pro, Huh?
Then there are the post cards—Thank you for you interest, but the story didn’t thrill me quite enough. Good luck. Blah blah SOP. And many variations there of.
A friend and I were at one time querying the same agents—she got a letter that thrilled her it went on about her characters, her setting ect---it had her name and return addy on the top and the title of her work—it was she thought her first good rejection. Sadly I had received the same exact rejection letter a few days before—it was a fill in the blank form.
Harsh? You bet—rejection is harsh.
But when you get the one that says—and this was the request for further material—
Dear Author (yes it said dear author) many thanks for your query or submission of chapter to (agency) Please forgive the form response---(at this point I tossed the letter on the table and walked away.) My hubby picked it up and said uh you want to read this.) It went on to say the agency receives about 200 submissions a week We work hard ot respond in a timely manner. Then it went on to say they were writing me to request more material---
Whew. So they come in all shapes and sizes.
After that I got an e-mail asking for the full ms and then an e-mail saying they wanted to rep me and contracts were forthcoming.
posted
Also, you mention having three rejections. For what it's worth, I had over 100 rejections before making my first pro short story sale. Woody Allen said that 90% of success was just showing up. Keep writing stories and mailing them out and eventually someone will buy one.
posted
I've had my share of rejections, but the most bizarre -- and delightful -- was from a newspaper. The editorial director sent me a hand-written note on a separate sheet of paper that said: "Dear Ms. [Kolona]: There are times that we must reject pieces we truly like. This is a delightful piece -- but I just can't use it right now. You might try [name], our Living editor (as opposed to the several dead ... uh, never mind). Otherwise, please keep us in mind. As you know, we do use humor, but sparingly. Again, thanks for writing. You do it well."
I didn't understand why the editor didn't just send my article to the Living editor, since it was the same newspaper, but I sent the article to the the same paper, different editor. I then got a phone call from the first editor telling me the second editor just walked the article over to him saying he couldn't use it but thought it might be something the first editor could run.
The phoning first editor then apologized for not being able to use my article, told me some very nice things about my writing and asked me how long I've been a professional writer! I'm mortified to report that I giggled and stammered out a stupid answer I mercifully don't remember.
That same article got a nasty rejection from an in-flight magazine editor who wrote in the margin of a form rejection letter: "You must be kidding. Why would we publish an article that makes fun of us, even in a jesting way" (which I thought was redundant).
That same article went on elsewhere to get a look-see "on speculation" and was rejected, and went through a few more rejections besides. Go figure.
My experience pretty much matches the ranking the rejection letters Hildy gave.
There are some phrases used in rejection letters that I don’t think mean much of anything unless backed up by other comments. "Good luck publishing the story elsewhere" for example, or "thank you for sending along the story" in the first place. It’s just the editor’s way of being polite.
You get a better idea of what they thought of a particular story when you’ve sent them a couple of things. My first submission got a rejection letter that was not a photocopied sheet and included all the polite phrases above, but little else beyond "Not for us" (or something like that). I was pretty excited about that until another story to the same magazine got a "cute, and well written" added to basically the same text as in the first letter. I took that to mean they liked the second one better (if they were going to take the time to comment), and basically, the first letter had been a form letter. The overall tone of both letters was polite and courteous, and both had about the same turn around time, which for a rejection is more indicative of the magazines slush reading practices and current mail load rather than the quality of your work.
posted
I thought you all might appreciate this, it was written by Stephanie Bond (a romantic-comedy author):
Dear Editor,
I received your rejection letter yesterday. The letter was very interesting, and free of typographical errors. However, after careful consideration, I have decided your offer of refusal does not meet my writing needs at this time. Therefore, I regret to inform you I must reject your rejection.
Since I receive such a large volume of rejections, it's impossible for me to comment on each one at length. I can say, however, that there are certain elements of your rejection which simply won't work. For instance, you said the fact that my hero is a writer would be unappealing to readers. For your convenience, I have enclosed a list of twenty-two books your company published last year in which the hero was a writer. Also, you made the comment I didn't drop enough clues for the reader to expect the twist ending. I contend that is the precise reason it is referred to as a 'twist ending.’
I wish I had better news for you. Unfortunately, in this highly competitive market, I have to be very selective about which rejections I can accept. If you would like to use my comments to modify your rejection letter, I'd be glad to review it again. Otherwise, I wish you much luck in placing your rejection elsewhere.
posted
I just got a rejection letter from a magazine editor. It was the shortest one I've received (out of fewer than ten -- I haven't submitted much, yet) but I think it falls into the category of a "good" rejection letter.
quote:Thank you for giving us the opportunity of looking at this manuscript, but I have found it not quite suitable to our present needs.
I rather like your style of writing and suggest you try us again.
I mean, the editor wouldn't have bother to suggest I try again if he didn't want me to send him another manuscript, right? Or am I just reading too much into something that's actually a standard polite rejection-letter phrase?
posted
I would take the editor at his word and submit again. Many years ago, I used to edit a small press magazine called Pursuit. One frustrating thing for me was that all the time I would get stories that fit into the general overall theme and tone of the magazine, but would be written so poorly that I wasn't willing to put the effort into trying to "save" the story. On the other hand, I would also get a lot of stories that were well-written, very professional and readable--yet completely unsuitable for what I needed. I would always write very flattering rejection letters to these writers asking them to try again with something more suited to our publication, and it frustrated me how few writers ever submitted something as a follow up.
Usually magazine guidelines are vague, because the editors want to leave an opening for as many good submissions as possible. But that doesn't mean that magazines are open to a great story that doesn't fit. Analog isn't going to publish a straight western even if Louie L'Amore submits it.
So, if they want more work, I suggest reading a few issues of the publication in question to help zero in on which of your stories would be most appropriate.
posted
EricJamesStone, I'm guessing that the first part of the letter which you quoted was typed, and the second (encouraging) part was hand-written.
If I'm right, then you should be especially encouraged. No editor takes the time to hand-write something on a rejection letter unless what is written is significant.
Please take the editor's word for it and send something else. And keep sending stuff that you think will fit the magazine. The more good stuff you send, even if it gets rejected, the more the editor will hope that the next thing you send will be something the magazine can use.
Editors tend to pull for the writers who are good and who keep trying. (And they are more likely to talk to their editor friends about such writers, so if you keep it up, the good word may get around.)
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