Help with a Rejection Please

I just received a response for a flash fiction submission. My first ever submission. Seemed a pretty standard rejection. "liked the concept" but "unfortunately will have to pass" and "noticed some even prose".

So I was wondering - and this is a complete newbie question alert - what exactly do they mean by uneven prose? Is it that some parts were good enough and others weren't? Or something else entirely? And is it okay for me to contact them and ask for a few pointers? Or would that be bad form? Thanks in advance to anyone who answers.

Katrina S. Forest said:

I assume the quote was "noticed some uneven prose" or you wouldn't be asking about it.

Could mean a bunch of different things. It's kind of impossible to tell without having read your piece.

I don't think replying to the rejection will get you anywhere. The most professional thing to do is take the feedback and move on. Re-read the story and run it by some beta-readers, mentioning the specific feedback. You could also post the piece in SYW once you have two more posts and do the same.

Best of luck.

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Yes, uneven haha. The only reason I mentioned replying to the rejection is that I've seen a few people mention being rejected by this magazine and in one particular thread a poster was encouraged to reply to the magazine. But, yes the SYW forum seems the best way to go.

Maryn said:

To me, "uneven prose" means that the language, style, tone, or some other aspect changes from one part to the next.

For instance, using elevated vocabulary in one sentence, and using gonna and gotta in the next would be uneven prose.

You're within only a couple of posts of being able to use the appropriate Share Your Work board. If you choose to post it there for feedback, mention specifically that you're seeking places where the prose is uneven, so people will bear than in mind as they critique.

Maryn, glad you subbed

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Thanks Maryn. That's what I thought it means too.

Drachen Jager said:

I find what often happens with newer writers is they don't go through a thorough beta reading process and they lack the skills needed to see the mistakes they've made by themselves. So often you can be left with a good story that is well written in parts, but has recurring flaws in sentence structure, missing words that impair meaning, or even completely incomprehensible passages.

The first step is to read the story aloud to yourself. If it doesn't sound natural in some parts you've got to look at why. Once you've done that, find a good beta reader or post it on SYW.

If 'uneven' is a fair characterization of your writing you'd better get it fixed because you won't get far otherwise.

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I had three beta-readers reading it. Two gave me a few suggestions. I agreed with them that the changes would be beneficial so incorporated the relevant changes. Then a third and final beta-reader who told me they were "a harsh, hold nothing back" type reader. They said that they loved it and had no suggestions to make.

I trusted the judgement of my readers and went along with that. My piece was onviously liked by them but not the editor. As the author any fault clearly lies with me and as you say I need to get it fixed asap.

Quickbread said:

For the editor to have given you personal feedback on the piece, it must have made a positive impression, so you should take that as a compliment.

Sometimes, I read a piece or section out loud to get a feel for how the language sounds, and I can usually hear it when a bit of prose doesn't quite match up to the rest. For flash especially, that would be an easy way to try and see it from a fresh perspective.

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I'm not that flattered by the rejection. It sounds good but it was a word-for-word copy of another rejection letter I've seen posted in this section.

But your advice about reading it aloud is something I've been told before and I am find it very useful so thank you.

And I have one last newbie question for you.

This flash fiction is currently awaiting a response for another magazine. I c hecked that simulataneous submissions were okay of course

If I were to post it in the SYW forum would that violate guidelines about not publishing it anywhere previously?

I've heard people say that you have to make sure you haven't posted it on blogs, forums etc etc.