Worse than a rejection

Whoa--that's insane! What a psycho! Sorry you had to deal with that...

Melina

skylarburris said:

Any other editors out there take a beating? Has writer rudeness got you down? We spend hours putting together publications, and if we are small press editors, we very often spend our own money, earning little or no profit. How often do you ask yourself--Is it worth it? Should I just stop publishing? But there are kind authors too. I have even had some rejected authors write me to thank me for taking the time to comment. And I do love to publish this magazine. So I will plug on, despite the dejection.

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Oh, Sky, I so feel your pain. When I was the copy editor for one company's internal magazine, I mistakenly changed one correct word for something else; I don't remember what it is at this point. But the writer of the article came storming over to me, demanding to know my rationale for the change. When I realized I had made a mistake, I apologized. She said, "From now on, if you want to change any of my words, you clear it with me!" Um, no, I clear it with the editor in chief, who had agreed with my change in the first place. Whatever.

Do plug on. Some people are cranky and have nothing better to do than demand perfection -- on their terms -- from everyone around them. These folks, in my humble opinion, are happiest when they have something to be angry about. Feel sorry for them, but don't eat the crow they're trying to shove down your throat. And perhaps add their pen names to a growing list of I'll Be Damned If I Ever Print Articles From These Ingrates Again names.

My instant impression is that the response had nothing to do with you, it was about the person who wrote it. But it sure is rich material for a story!

I'd choke him with kindness.

Send a nice letter pointing out that you didn't have to choose HIS poem to put in, and considering his response you'll have to take it into account if he submits again. And that you'll be sure to discuss his letter with OTHER publishers.

then point him here so we can lambast his tush - with that sort of attitude he's not going to go far as a professional writer, that's for sure. Imagine sending a note like that to The Atlantic Monthly or another large magazine.

kids.

*snorts*

Mistake

skylarburris said:

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I had to share. I got something worse than a rejection. I edit a small press literary magazine, and I occasionally publish special online issues in addition to the print issues. Access to online issues is free, so they are entirely a labor of love. I am always mortified if a mistake makes its way into the final product, as any editor would be. I had a typo in my latest online issue, some inverted letters, which my spell check, for some reason, did not catch, and which my eyes glanced over. I know it happens to everyone, even the most careful of editors, and I know I have seen errors in every published book I have ever read. So I try not to beat myself up too much. But here was the response I received via e-mail from the writer I published. I hardly need to beat myself up, when I have someone doing it for me. Expletives have been edited out with ***. Otherwise, it's word for word:





Mr Burris,

I had hoped that as a big poet, editor-in-chief, and supposed Christian, that on one of those levels and the fact there were only about ten pieces you would like maybe do a spell-check (like yr average JC student). I'm quite displeased that the word ABRAHAM prove beyond yr capabilities. Perhaps a quick summer class at the HS, working on their paper, you cd master the fine poetic art of faithfully reproducing the art that YOU are making $$$ from, you goofy fraud. Go f*** yrself with yr fake-*** religion. Learn to spell, b****.



I mentioned in an earlier thread how I have noticed a marked increase in rudeness in the past three years. In the past, I have received rude messages like this from authors I have rejected. This is a first from an author whose work I have accepted.



Any other editors out there take a beating? Has writer rudeness got you down? We spend hours putting together publications, and if we are small press editors, we very often spend our own money, earning little or no profit. How often do you ask yourself--Is it worth it? Should I just stop publishing? But there are kind authors too. I have even had some rejected authors write me to thank me for taking the time to comment. And I do love to publish this magazine. So I will plug on, despite the dejection.

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Such letter writers are their own worst enemy. No one needs to deal with such people. Just cross him off your list and ignore everythihng he sends from now on. We all make mistakes, but yours wasn't nearly as big as his.

Don't get mad--he's clearly a jerk. The fact that he's a contributor is mind-boggling. I wouldn't respond, but I would let your fellow editors know about it, and to avoid this schmoe.

Hang in there, skylarburris! Never forget there's a few nice writers out there, too, like, well, me for example. Here's a story:

Not long ago, an editor spelled MY NAME wrong and changed some correct-in-the-original grammar so that it was wrong in the printed version.* What did I do? I sent her an e-mail thanking her for publishing my piece, and pitched another idea. I got the assignment!

Hey, I'm just starting out and it's a low-paying market. The way I see it, the editor chose my story (hurray!) and provided an opportunity for me to publish. That warrants a thank you, not a rant filled with bile.

* I gave the magazine the benefit of the doubt, but after checking several sources and conferrring with some grammar gurus, it turned out I'd had it right.

The tone and content suggest a person who is not rational and his response is totally out of proportion. I would suggest cutting off contact with him completely.

Ouch Skylar. You have my sympathies. It may help to remember the First Rule of Journalism: Consider the source.

The person is a poopiehead. Try to forget about it.

Skylar, I've always believed that when people "talk trash" about others or to others, it says more about them than it does the person they're talking about. This person's letters say way more about them than it does you. Just keep on keepin' on, and as others have already stated, remember we aren't all like that.

Did I call him a schmoe?

That's an insult to the schmoes of the world. Ignore him.

If you're ever asked by another editor about him, be honest.

Gee, Skylar, sorry you've had to deal with such an igmo.

I'm appalled an author would talk that way to an editor! An editor that published his stuff at that! Maybe it's the 14 years of Catholic school I endured but I would never do something like that. It would be more like:

Dear Editor,
I'm sorry to take up some of your time, but i happened to notice that there was a misprinting (if this was online--), would you happen to mind changing it when you have the time? Thank you very much!

My editors can attest I always ask for changes this way =) Even when it's a typo! So someone as sheepish as me cannot possibly imagine that some one like who wrote you even exists!

But people like that get on my nerves -- he's never made a mistake in his life? Please!
But stick to it please Skylar. We need good editors. And I think more often than not you'll deal with writers like me who write to their editors like they are the queen of england. I'd be so worried about angering someone who would publish me!

skylarburris said:

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I had to share. I got something worse than a rejection. I edit a small press literary magazine, and I occasionally publish special online issues in addition to the print issues. Access to online issues is free, so they are entirely a labor of love. I am always mortified if a mistake makes its way into the final product, as any editor would be. I had a typo in my latest online issue, some inverted letters, which my spell check, for some reason, did not catch, and which my eyes glanced over. I know it happens to everyone, even the most careful of editors, and I know I have seen errors in every published book I have ever read. So I try not to beat myself up too much. But here was the response I received via e-mail from the writer I published. I hardly need to beat myself up, when I have someone doing it for me. Expletives have been edited out with ***. Otherwise, it's word for word:





Mr Burris,

I had hoped that as a big poet, editor-in-chief, and supposed Christian, that on one of those levels and the fact there were only about ten pieces you would like maybe do a spell-check (like yr average JC student). I'm quite displeased that the word ABRAHAM prove beyond yr capabilities. Perhaps a quick summer class at the HS, working on their paper, you cd master the fine poetic art of faithfully reproducing the art that YOU are making $$$ from, you goofy fraud. Go f*** yrself with yr fake-*** religion. Learn to spell, b****.



I mentioned in an earlier thread how I have noticed a marked increase in rudeness in the past three years. In the past, I have received rude messages like this from authors I have rejected. This is a first from an author whose work I have accepted.



Any other editors out there take a beating? Has writer rudeness got you down? We spend hours putting together publications, and if we are small press editors, we very often spend our own money, earning little or no profit. How often do you ask yourself--Is it worth it? Should I just stop publishing? But there are kind authors too. I have even had some rejected authors write me to thank me for taking the time to comment. And I do love to publish this magazine. So I will plug on, despite the dejection.

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Forgive me for asking, Skylarburris, but does this guy claim to be a Christian himself? I noticed he said 'and supposed Christian' concerning you in his letter, that's why I'm asking.

IMHO, the guy has a serious problem with attitude -- and language. If he's calls himself a Christian, he most certainly does not act like one. A lot of Christians have foul mouths, (Myself included), but we know enough not to use it when writing, say, on the Net or in a letter to an editor. That's probably one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make (Especially someone claiming to be a Christian), because it can ruin someone's career as well as reputation. There's a right place and a wrong place for the language as well as the attitude. The right place might be in his poetry. But toward an editor? That's definitely the wrong place.

You asked the question, though, 'Should I just stop publishing?' My personal answer: if it's a work and labor of love, like you've pointed out Skylar, no. Don't ever give up on what you love. There're always going to be people offended and taken aback by what you say or do -- many times you won't know it until you get some nasty letter from a disgruntled individual. But if you're doing this work because you love it, quitting is exactly what this person wants you to do. Don't give in to him; do deprive him of the satisfaction he seeks; keep plugging away like you said you would at the last.

In the end, you know it'll work out for your good.

skylarburris said:

Well, I (unwise, unwise) wrote the poet to apologize for the error and to inform him that it had been corrected. I received the following reply:

That was the worst bunch of **** I've ever been associated with and you can take yr stoopid "slightly used" calendar of the baby jesus and file it with yr other works of genius in yr outhouse. The poem, "only a typo", what a brilliant thing for an 'editor' to say! . . . . Your magazine sucks ***, dumbo. No need for reply. I have a great contempt for yr cheezy enterprise. In 3 months I'll write back & re-spell "stoopid", then we'll be even.

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Boy, does Poopiehead look stupid. He was the one who must have read the publication, took the time to submit, got accepted, and got published. And now he's trashing the publication? Puh-leeze. If he had such a problem with the content, he obviously should have done some better research, and only submitted to Poopieheads With No Love In Their Lives.

"... we Californians..."

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Ah -- that explains it.

Seriously, though, this man is not in his right mind and I would, as others have suggested, cut all contact with him. And if he sends any more submissions, check them for anthrax.

This doesn't sound at all rational. Something else must be going on that doesn't have anything to do with you or the typo. Maybe something medicinal or hallucinatory? Anyway, my suggestion would be to spend a bit of time for yourself going back and reading the nice responses of people you've rejected and published, and know that for every one nutjob, you've helped the careers/self-confidence of twice as many others.