The dreaded "but..."

CL_Hilbert · Nov 30, 2014

For the last two months I've been getting nothing but vague personal rejections. Basically they all boil down to, "I enjoyed this, but not right for us at the current time. Please try again."

I'd figure them for forms, but they almost all mention something minor about the story (like length or subject). Unless these places have a slew of different forms, idk.

Getting pretty disheartened, though. So many editors apparently enjoy reading my stuff, but all the same editors have absolutely no inclination to buy it. Clearly I'm doing something wrong, but I haven't a clue what it is.

Anyone in a similar boat lately?

Drachen Jager · Nov 30, 2014

I don't understand, from your list of stories on your blog it looks like you're publishing lots.

CL_Hilbert · Nov 30, 2014

Is two acceptances per year considered lots? Duotrope says I've submitted 64 times this year. 2/64 doesn't seem like a great average to me. But maybe that's normal? I wouldn't know to tell. I feel like the writers I admire have another new "read my latest publication here" post every week.

Drachen Jager · Nov 30, 2014

Depends on how much you're writing.

I suspect many of those writers are writing a new story every week at least.

I mostly write novels. I got a serial published in a mag, but I couldn't sell any short fiction for the life of me, so I'm no expert here (Duotrope is great, but I found the Grinder worked even better for me).

Maryn · Dec 1, 2014

CL_Hilbert said:
...I'd figure them for forms, but they almost all mention something minor about the story (like length or subject)...

I think this part I excerpted is more important than it may seem to you.

If you're submitting works with subject matter or length which is not what they want, then you're probably not researching each market thoroughly enough before submitting. Are you getting current guidelines and reading recent issues? It's a pain, and costly, but if they like your writing yet note you're missing the mark on such basics as subject and length, that's what you need to do.

There was a time when wanna-be writers could get sample issues at cost. Perhaps some are now made available online?

Maryn, hoping to help

CL_Hilbert · Dec 1, 2014

No, I subscribe where I send. The comments are usually in the positive end of the rejection, like "I enjoyed reading your flash piece (XYZ)" or "I liked the dark undercurrent" than they are "too long" or "wrong tone." (I've had enough of both to know the difference.) Most of them say things like, "I enjoyed reading this, but unfortunately, I have to pass. Please try us again."

That said, I do write outside of the popular vein of fantasy right now. Most pro-publishers are really into urban fantasy/magical realism, stuff along that vein. Meanwhile, I've got dwarves and dragons. Beneath Ceaseless Skies always has favorable things to say, but they like more action in their sword and sorcery, whereas I'm more about stories with people making difficult choices.

If you can trust the editors when they say they enjoyed it, please send more, I think it must be that I'm just a slightly-oblong-peg in the round-hole-market right now. Either that or I'm good, just not as good as the next guy. :/

Editing to clarify: I'm getting these rejections after being bumped up out of the slush pile. I almost always get a note from a first reader or assistant editor telling me they're passing me up the chain. Then I get the "not quite right" from the EIC. I suppose it still could be a simple tone-match error, but IDK. It seems like if it were an easy un-match, the slushers would catch it? I feel like my malfunction is probably somewhere else.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 1, 2014

It sounds like your writing is fine, and not the problem. From what you say, my guess is that you just aren't writing stories they want, which is a common problem, but an extremely aggravating one to have.

A big part of my writing process, no, my selling process, is trying to come up with a story I know magazines will want, and that I also want to write. Fit is crucial, and if you don't write stories that fit the magazines, which means giving editors the kind of stories they want, rejections result, even when you write well.

Two out of sixty four is not at all good, but the fact that you are selling two shows you have what it takes to sell short stories. This is another indication that you simply aren't writing the kind of stories the editors want, or your acceptance rate would be much higher.

What to do about this is really up to you. If you're like me, you have to write stories that please you, but you also want to write stories that sell. For me, figuring out how to do both was the trick that allowed me to start selling a much higher percentage of stories.

The dreaded "but..."

CL_Hilbert

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

CL_Hilbert

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

Maryn

Baaa!

CL_Hilbert

Jamesaritchie