Rejectomancy

AnnieColleen · Jul 20, 2011

Wow, crazy!

100+ (I forget exactly) for a poem at SH. Nothing else is overdue, but I still hear an awful lot of chirping, somehow...

faerydancer · Jul 20, 2011

Sorry to hear about those R's, Lillie. I've had every sort of rejection from Shimmer you can imagine so I feel your pain.

Nothing coming in for me today. Looks like I'm in for a wait at quite a few pubs.

pangalactic · Jul 20, 2011

Aggy B. said:
Me too. Sitting at 513 days with GUD. And 117 at ChiZine. Yikes.

What's going on with GUD these days? I can't even get their website to load at the moment, and a nearly 18-month wait for a response seems a litle excessive.

Izz · Jul 20, 2011

pangalactic said:
What's going on with GUD these days? I can't even get their website to load at the moment, and a nearly 18-month wait for a response seems a litle excessive.

As to the website being down: their server died while their admin was on an overseas vacation. He's back now, but still working on getting everything back up and running, i think.

Not so sure on the long response waits, though.

pangalactic · Jul 20, 2011

Thanks, Izz. I wasn't aware of that. I was worried that the mag had folded and I'd just missed the announcement.

Aggy, according to duotrope (which I haven't been on for aaaages until tonight) your story has been there longer than anybody else (who uses Duotrope, anyway). Fingers crossed you get a response at some point :/

JC Romel · Jul 20, 2011

Is this personal? It's from Heroic Fantasy Quarterly:

Thank you for submitting "The Last Dragon Dancer" to Heroic Fantasy
Quarterly. The story caught our attention but after consideration we’ve
decided not to accept it for publication.

Please consider Heroic Fantasy Quarterly again. We wish you luck placing
your story elsewhere.

The first line made me think they accepted it, but then the hammer fell. The problem is that it's vague enough to be one of those "Every kid gets a ribbon" rejections...

shelleyo · Jul 20, 2011

JC Romel said:
Is this personal? It's from Heroic Fantasy Quarterly:

The first line made me think they accepted it, but then the hammer fell. The problem is that it's vague enough to be one of those "Every kid gets a ribbon" rejections...

Unless they say something specifically about the story, you're safe in assuming it's a form.

Shelley

Izz · Jul 20, 2011

I'd say it's a second-tier form, JC. Story made it through slush to an editors' desk/inbox.

faerydancer · Jul 20, 2011

I agree that it's a secondary form. It has that "we thought about this more than most of the stories we get" vibe. Sorry about the R, JC.

faerydancer · Jul 21, 2011

Rejection just came in from Clarkesworld. I got the "this story was close" form rejection, so that means I passed slush, right? Yay, anyway! hehe

Izz · Jul 21, 2011

Ooh--good rejection!

shelleyo · Jul 21, 2011

faerydancer said:
Rejection just came in from Clarkesworld. I got the "this story was close" form rejection, so that means I passed slush, right? Yay, anyway! hehe

That's awesome to get from Clarkesworld, Brenda. Awesome! Short an acceptance, it's about the best thing, isn't it?

Shelley

faerydancer · Jul 21, 2011

It really is! It makes the rejection much easier to swallow and I get to tell myself, "Hey, maybe my work isn't a pile of crap," which is always positive. hehe

REDefiant · Jul 21, 2011

Ouch, tough R from Shimmer.

Dear Cameron,
Thank you for allowing us to consider "Tumble," but I'm afraid I'm going to pass.

You might find this article on cover letters useful: http://gralinnaea.com/?p=1657

Best,
BATMAN
Associate Editor
-----
Shimmer Magazine
www.shimmerzine.com

There is no way I'm going to forget a cover letter EVER again, unless specified. I feel like such an ass.

Izz · Jul 21, 2011

*hugs*

We all make mistakes from time to time, so don't worry about it (i often forget to attach manuscripts to submissions, which i'd wager is more annoying to slushies than no cover letter

). And you're already better equipped for next time

oh, and do you think you might be able to edit out the slushie's name from your post, please? Thanks!

REDefiant · Jul 21, 2011

Does that edit work? Adds a little more excitement to the whole thing, if I do say so myself!

Izz · Jul 21, 2011

REDefiant said:
Does that edit work? Adds a little more excitement to the whole thing, if I do say so myself!

Yes! Nobody wants to mess with Batman.

But i do have to wonder how long Batman would last as a slush reader...

JC Romel · Jul 21, 2011

I was wondering why Batman was associate editing Shimmer. Now it all makes sense!

And Brenda, a "this was close" R from Clarkesworld is one of the rarest in the game. Frame that sucker.

REDefiant · Jul 21, 2011

He would last long enough to (maybe) read my story, realize I'm evil, and then kill me.

Luckily for me, Batman is busy filming his next blockbuster.

And nice R, Brenda! I read your story in Apex, so a rejection like that doesn't surprise me at all. You've got some serious talent.

Lillie · Jul 21, 2011

Great R Faery!
Sorry it's an R, but close is so good!

Red, sorry to hear that.

At least you'll know for next time.

And, wow! They have practically quoted my cover letter...
No, not the death threats one. The bare minimum one. Except mine is shorter.
Maybe I should include that the story is attached. But I would have thought that was self evident.
And just embarrassing if I were ever to forget to attach it.

shelleyo · Jul 21, 2011

Izz said:
Yes! Nobody wants to mess with Batman.

But i do have to wonder how long Batman would last as a slush reader...

I think the population would end up thinned a bit. Or he'd make Alfred do it, and Alfred would end up with a drinking problem.

Shelley

faerydancer · Jul 21, 2011

Sorry to hear about that R, RED. It happens to all of us sometimes, so don't sweat it. And I mean, any letter from Batman can't be that bad, right?

Thank you for reading my story. I'm so glad you liked it. That means a lot

Thanks, JC and Lillie. I was pretty happy even though it's still an R. I sent it off to Fantasy so I'm back to crossing my fingers hehe

Aggy B. · Jul 21, 2011

Urgh. Nothing but crickets today.

Regarding the story at GUD. There was a post in the GUD forums a few weeks back (or maybe it's on the submissions page, can't remember) that said they were closing to subs 'til next summer because they had more than enough short-listed material to fill four issues. I had hoped that meant they would be starting to finalize the next couple of issues at least (mine's short-listed for issue 8) but they've been silent since then. Makes me a little cranky. By this point I could have at least gotten a rejection back from Tor.com.

alexshvartsman · Jul 21, 2011

Izz said:
Yes! Nobody wants to mess with Batman.

But i do have to wonder how long Batman would last as a slush reader...

Batman has lots and lots of pent-up rage. Reading slush is clearly the source of that rage. How did we not see that sooner?

REDefiant · Jul 21, 2011

Editor by day. Vigilante hero by night.

Rejectomancy

AnnieColleen

Invisible Writer

faerydancer

pangalactic

Gargling blasters

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

pangalactic

Gargling blasters

JC Romel

shelleyo

Just another face in a red jumpsuit

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

faerydancer

faerydancer

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

shelleyo

Just another face in a red jumpsuit

faerydancer

REDefiant

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

REDefiant

Izz

Doing the Space Operatic

JC Romel

REDefiant

Lillie

practical experience, FTW

shelleyo

Just another face in a red jumpsuit

faerydancer

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

alexshvartsman

REDefiant