How much information do you need on rejections?

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Blunt Ed D) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:25:21 GMT

A straight yes or no is fine, but I think it's better for both writer and publisher if it's possible to provide the writer some comment on why the story wasn't suitable for the market.

Though I have seen stories where there is so much wrong with them that you could spend days trying to explain the various points and it would still be futile, because from the standard of the writing you can tell the writer wouldn't have the necessary frame of reference to understand...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (dogpoet) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:52:51 GMT

scottstandridge wrote:

dogpoet wrote:

Steve speaks the truth, Dogpoet. I personally have had to reject good stories before because we had something with a similar subject/storyline slated for the next issue already.

Fair enough, but are you in the habit of specifying what the problem actually was? I've had...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Douglas Clegg) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:51:26 GMT

All I ever need is a "yes" or a "no." But some editors like to go further, and if they wish to do so, that's their prerogative. Some editors -- like Ellen Datlow -- are in place because of their commitment, experience, and expertise, and any word from those kinds of editors is invaluable.

But again, in terms of what I "need," per the original question here, "yes" or "no" is fine. But not both.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (nebuly) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:40:10 GMT

As to critiques, generally I personally will only specify problems/offer critique if I think (based on what I've seen of the author's work, which is usually just the one story) that the person might conceivably have a chance of writing something we'd like one day. I get lots of stories that--as harsh as it is to say--are just SO bad and with SUCH a lack of style or storytelling talent displayed, that I really don't think I could critique them into shape....

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (scottstandridge) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:21:54 GMT

dogpoet wrote:

Steve speaks the truth, Dogpoet. I personally have had to reject good stories before because we had something with a similar subject/storyline slated for the next issue already.

Fair enough, but are you in the habit of specifying what the problem actually was? I've had a fair few of those sort of rejections that don't, and as I say, in the absence of any reasons...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (dogpoet) — Sat, 31 May 2008 07:02:09 GMT

It is completely pointless saying something like that without providing any detail, you're right.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (wm ollie) — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:30:34 GMT

I had an agent rejection that said 'while you have a great flair for story telling and a solid grasp of plotting, you fall victim to mistakes and missteps that a great deal of writers do'.

That pissed me off to no end, because I had, and still have no idea what she was talking about. I feel if you're going to make a statement like that, then you should give some kind of illustration of what you mean. (What mistakes and missteps?) The fact that she didn't pretty much...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (dogpoet) — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:25:18 GMT

Steve speaks the truth, Dogpoet. I personally have had to reject good stories before because we had something with a similar subject/storyline slated for the next issue already.

Fair enough, but are you in the habit of specifying what the problem actually was? I've had a fair few of those sort of rejections that don't, and as I say, in the absence of any reasons for the rejection, it might just as well be a form rejection.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Stephen Bacon) — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:38:20 GMT

The only 'real' piece of information in the email is the 'yes' or 'no' part. Anything else is generally not much use.

The two best rejections I've ever had were from Barbara Roden for All Hallows - where the rejection was concise and constructive, with suggestions why she didn't like it - and Gary Fry for the Paging Mr Hitchcock anthology, where the rejection was incredibly detailed and constructive. Although he pointed out why the story didn't...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Horror fic) — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:25:34 GMT

Qusoor wrote:

dogpoet wrote:
Seriously, does anybody else get these "we like this, but we ain't buying it," rejections?

Yep. Those are the people I go back to. They consider the story wasn't a useless waste of their time, so they see something in my work.

Yeah, I've gotten those. The first...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (scottstandridge) — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:30:51 GMT

Steve Vernon Nova Scotia wrote:
It doesn't always come down to how good or not good a story is, Dogpoet. Sometimes they've bought their quota, or they are looking specifically for a certain length story to fit a gap in a magazine page count. You might write a wonderful sea story and they just happened to have bought two other sea stories last week.

Timing, luck and lucky timing play a lot more of a role...

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Shocklines) — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:06:00 GMT

If someone's not going to sleep with me, I demand to know why!

Oh wait....

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Steve Vernon Nova Scotia) — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:56:50 GMT

It doesn't always come down to how good or not good a story is, Dogpoet. Sometimes they've bought their quota, or they are looking specifically for a certain length story to fit a gap in a magazine page count. You might write a wonderful sea story and they just happened to have bought two other sea stories last week.

Timing, luck and lucky timing play a lot more of a role in this business than folks might care to admit.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (dogpoet) — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:51:03 GMT

Maybe it's just me, but I don't find the whole "there's nothing wrong with this, but we're still not going to buy it" routine helpful.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Qusoor) — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:02:04 GMT

dogpoet wrote:
Seriously, does anybody else get these "we like this, but we ain't buying it," rejections?

Yep. Those are the people I go back to. They consider the story wasn't a useless waste of their time, so they see something in my work.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (dogpoet) — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:48:59 GMT

Seriously, does anybody else get these "we like this, but we ain't buying it," rejections?

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Shaun Jeffrey) — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:27:24 GMT

Why would I want to thank someone who didn't see my work of genius for what it was

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (jasonb57) — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:17:25 GMT

More on topic...information in rejections...Apex sometimes uses form rejections. Our editors aren't required to use them and I'll bet at least half the time they send some form of personalized response.

I typically will leave feedback pertaining to why I rejected the piece.

But really, most of the time the form letter nails why we don't want the story. I'd think this is true in general so if you're a writer I wouldn't let form notices get you down....

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (jasonb57) — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:14:06 GMT

Personally, I'd rather not receive thank you responses. Best way to show thanks is to comment on your blog (or on a forum) about the nice response/suggestions/critiques you received from Apex. Those will make an editor love you more than a brief email saying nothing more than "Thanks!"

A nice and sneaky way to make more of a mark in an editor's head is to do what Nick stated earlier: thank the editor for the feedback and such in your next submission.

Re: How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Steve Vernon Nova Scotia) — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:25:15 GMT

I expect a yes or a no.

If I get more than that I figure the story was strong enough to warrant a personal response. I certainly don't expect a personal response, however. I figure I have to earn it.

As for thanking an editor for rejection I sometimes mention it in my next submission but I don't make it a habit to send out "thank you notes" all by themselves. As Nick inferred, the editor's inbox is likely full enough as it is.

How much information do you need on rejections?

feeds@yuku.com (Horror fic) — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:58:29 GMT

When your submission to a publisher is rejected, how much information do you want/need?