Should a writer thank the editor if the editor provides advice in the rejection email

I would probably be afraid I'd be spamming the editor's inbox if I sent something back knowing how busy they are.

I always thank agents or editors for specific advice or comments. I've had many responses thanking me for the thanks, as the recipients had come to think their efforts were unappreciated, their time wasted.

If I have the agent or editor's address, I send a notecard. If I use email, I write Thank You in the subject line. The message itself is only a couple of lines.

I don't believe that a professional who takes the time to send a personal response is likely to mind a brief and undemanding thank you.

I always thank an agent or editor for specific advice if it's by email. In my career I've never been upset by somebody offering thanks for advice I've given, email or otherwise. It usually improves my day to be recognised for helping or helpful comments.

Many writers are told never to waste any more of the editor's or agent's time with a thankyou after a rejection. Now, some do send thank yous if the R had helpful, specific comments. But, many don't out of fear of annoying the editor/agent. So, I think it's probably unfair to hold it against the non-thankers, given the pervasive advice not to thank.

~suki

My opinion is that when an editor goes above and beyond, thank him. But if you're giving advice with every rejection, do you really want every writer to send you an e-mail? Would you even have time to read them? And will you still feel this way, or be able to send individual advice, when you start receiving a thousand, or two thousand, submissions a month.

Anyway, it's good to send a thank you when an editor goes above and beyond, but as an editor, I never have the time to do this for more than a tiny percentage of submissions, and don't care one way or the other whether a writer responds.

It saves me time when they don't.

Yes.

Anytime anyone gives me feedback with a rejection, I thank them. It's common courtesy.

It's fine if an author feels compelled to thank me, but it doesn't really register because I'm so busy with other things. IMO, it isn't at all necessary.

Jamesaritchie said:

My opinion is that when an editor goes above and beyond, thank him. But if you're giving advice with every rejection, do you really want every writer to send you an e-mail? Would you even have time to read them? And will you still feel this way, or be able to send individual advice, when you start receiving a thousand, or two thousand, submissions a month.

Click to expand...

I imagine a swamped editor would do what the Clarkesworld editors did when their laudable but quixotic endeavor to give personal responses to each submission grew untenable:

She'd stop it.



* Especially quixotic when you're offering 10 cents a word. That there's an open invitation to a submissions-tsunami.

Most magazine editors I've seen discuss it say they don't want replies to rejections. The rest haven't mentioned their preference.

This is the first time I've seen someone who wanted writers to reply to rejections.

So I'd say you're expecting too much, because you're asking writers to know you want something different, without telling them. You either have to let them know you expect thank yous in your submission guidelines... or you have to let it go.

I agree with Suki, and the others, it's not the norm, and we are almost at times told it's frowned upon.

I only thank when it's either an agent I know, and we've had correspondence beyond just a simple query letter, or when my gut tells me too. I just recently got a rejection with very helpful feedback along with some very good comments about what they liked, I took the chance, thanked them and asked if they would consider a revise and resubmit... in this case the agent said they'd be happy to have a second look. So each and every case is different.

Just pay special mind to the thank you's you do get, and don't get upset when you don't get them

suki said:

Many writers are told never to waste any more of the editor's or agent's time with a thankyou after a rejection. Now, some do send thank yous if the R had helpful, specific comments. But, many don't out of fear of annoying the editor/agent. So, I think it's probably unfair to hold it against the non-thankers, given the pervasive advice not to thank.

~suki

Click to expand...

This is how I approach it. That editor did give me advice, but didn't offer me a publication, so it's probably best that I let them get on with reading the other thousand submissions and forget me for now.

I guess I view it as an impersonal process, mostly. My 'thank you' is to incorporate any good suggestions they make and get it out to the world somewhere else. Or to write a better story and get it published with them sometime in the future.

Don't think we aren't taking your words in, because we writers thrive on editorial feedback. At least I do. Anything but "unfortunately blah blah blah, no, etc." is a good sign that the editor engaged with our work enough to feel like commenting.

So, a general thanks to you and your kind.

Polenth said:

Most magazine editors I've seen discuss it say they don't want replies to rejections. The rest haven't mentioned their preference.

This is the first time I've seen someone who wanted writers to reply to rejections.

So I'd say you're expecting too much, because you're asking writers to know you want something different, without telling them. You either have to let them know you expect thank yous in your submission guidelines... or you have to let it go.

Click to expand...

This also. If you want thanks, maybe mention in your guidelines that "a quick thank you email for feedback is permissible."

I've seen many, many guidelines that say "please don't reply to rejections, even to say thank you." Probably most people assume this is true, even if yo say nothing.