Rejectomancy

alexshvartsman said:

...and speaking of which, a 23-day rejection for round 2 story at DSF just landed in my mail box as I was writing this. Gotta figure out where else I can send a tiny flash story that's more humor than SF.

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I believe that Andromeda Spaceways... has an interest in humorous SF. Granted, you may want to look for better-paying markets even than it, first. But if it's very short and they bought it then the $20 minimum wouldn't be bad at all.

mhaynes said:

I believe that Andromeda Spaceways... has an interest in humorous SF. Granted, you may want to look for better-paying markets even than it, first. But if it's very short and they bought it then the $20 minimum wouldn't be bad at all.

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Thanks for the suggestion! I actually rate ASIM quite highly on my "submit to" list, but I firmly believe this story isn't a right fit for them, even though it's humor.

I just sent it off to "Brain Harvest" which may be a better fit. It really IS an odd duck of a story, so we'll see.

I've just started W1S1 (and my progress on my W1S1 novel has been, well, pretty much nonexistent), but I did write my first piece of flash fiction and submitted it to Asimov's. Just got the rejection, but it was a personal rejection!!! Yay!!! Actually helps - I've been in the I-can't-write-anything-so-why-am-I-even-trying doldrums for days, so a personal R is nice (though an acceptance would be much nicer).

Whoa, a personal R from Asimov's is still something to be proud of! Have you sent the story back out again yet?

Cafe Doom contest results are in and, while I made the top 10, I did not place in the top 3. Alas.

Sai said:

Whoa, a personal R from Asimov's is still something to be proud of! Have you sent the story back out again yet?

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Yeah, to Clarkesworld. Yep, glutton for punishment.

Actually, it's a quandary, because I'm not really a glutton for punishment, and those Rs really sting, even when I tell myself they won't. On the other hand, I don't want to avoid subbing to Clarkesworld out of fear. So just batten down the hatches, I guess.

FYI, Fender Stitch -- or at least one their slush readers -- was not enamored of 2nd person POV (at least in one story).

mhaynes said:

FYI, Fender Stitch -- or at least one their slush readers -- was not enamored of 2nd person POV (at least in one story).

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Did you have one rejected?

Just got a very nice R from Every Day Fiction. Feeling all giddy since it's not a form and had made very helpful points.

Sorry for the Rs everyone. Good luck with resubbing them all!


I only have crickets here as well.

mhaynes said:

FYI, Fender Stitch -- or at least one their slush readers -- was not enamored of 2nd person POV (at least in one story).

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Project Deadlight said:

Did you have one rejected?

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Yes, earlier today. The 2nd person POV was the thing they cited as not being comfortable with (in that story).

Got an R from Journal of Compressed Creative Arts. Edited and resubbed.

Expecting rejections tomorrow from Analog and DSS. Both are currently responding to subs sent on my submission day. HATE that feeling of bitter-expectation/excitement.

Sorry about the R's, guys.

mhaynes said:

FYI, Fender Stitch -- or at least one their slush readers -- was not enamored of 2nd person POV (at least in one story).

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That's a shame. I submitted a 2nd-person PoV story to them back in Oct. (I think before they had slush readers), and a certain individual liked it but was still rejected since it was a flash piece.

mhaynes said:

Yes, earlier today. The 2nd person POV was the thing they cited as not being comfortable with (in that story).

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Weird - i had a story they really liked in 2nd person but still didn't take. :/ what does it all mean?

5-day Cosmos rejection. Quick!

That;s the true rejectomancy - we can speculate all we want, but it's almost impossible to nail down exactly what the editors want/don't want on any given day. I think the idea is to write a story so compelling that an editor who normally doesn't like the voice/length/POV/genre of your work can't help but buy it!

(So says Alex, who has a story sitting at Fender Stitch for a week now, but it's 3rd person POV)

Still sitting on a heap of crickets here. The silence is deafening.

alexshvartsman said:

That;s the true rejectomancy - we can speculate all we want, but it's almost impossible to nail down exactly what the editors want/don't want on any given day. I think the idea is to write a story so compelling that an editor who normally doesn't like the voice/length/POV/genre of your work can't help but buy it!

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ITA, Alex. If you picture an editor, he's got a huge pile of stories in front of him/her and a very small number of slots to fill. Bottom line, he probably just picks the ones that stand out as better than the rest, the ones that grab him the most, not a lot of rules to it.

I have a couple of things still out. A couple of R's have rolled in, and a lot of silence. I can't post anything specifically right now because, clearly, I have blocked out the trauma of it all!

Sympathies and hugs, everyone.

Fruitbat said:

ITA, Alex. If you picture an editor, he's got a huge pile of stories in front of him/her and a very small number of slots to fill. Bottom line, he probably just picks the ones that stand out as better than the rest, the ones that grab him the most, not a lot of rules to it.

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I agree that there aren't a lot of rules to it, but I think it's simpler than that: an editor picks what he or she likes to read, not necessarily the best. Which helps to explain why I see so many 'meh' stories get published; they're not stories I like, but obviously the editor liked them.

defcon6000 said:

I agree that there aren't a lot of rules to it, but I think it's simpler than that: an editor picks what he or she likes to read, not necessarily the best. Which helps to explain why I see so many 'meh' stories get published; they're not stories I like, but obviously the editor liked them.

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Exactly. It's kind of weird, but there are a few editors that I feel like I 'know' from reading the anthologies/magazines they edit and from the occasionally personal rejection. I'll find myself writing a story and thinking "Oh yeah, so-and-so is going to like this."

Just got a form R from Clarkesworld. Reminds me how subjective it all is - last submission to them resulted in a personal R, and I thought the story wasn't nearly as strong as this one. Does anyone know how many slush readers a magazine like Clarkesworld has? - just wondering what the chances are of being read by the slush reader who likes my stuff at least a little.

Right now it looks like they have 5 slush readers. I'm 23 in the queue right now, probably get my R tomorrow. Does anybody know if Clarkesworld does tiered forms?

everyone Good luck at the next place.

Still crickets for me. *sigh*