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SFReader Forums > Writing > Gripe! > Odd Comment in Rejection Slip

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Chaos, Perpetual
Acolyte

Date Joined Dec 2006
Total Posts : 283

Posted 12/19/2006 2:02 AM (GMT -5)

I recently received a rejection from a very credible publication(pro magazine), but the first paragraph in the rejection caught me off-guard.

"Now, a writer's most common mistake is to forget his address on the first page of the manuscript. How are we supposed to send you money?" The rest of the letter went on to explain why the manuscript was rejected, which, to the best of my comprehension, is simply because they weren't keen on the concept.

Understandable. It happens.

Regardless, I began to wonder about the prior comment. Did I forget to put my info on the first page?

I pulled out the returned manuscript, and my name and address were very promimently placed on the upper-left corner. It's the first thing on the page, in fact. This seems odd that they would reprimand me for not including it. This causes me to wonder; did the editors not pay any attention to the manuscript? Heh.

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/19/2006 3:34 AM (GMT -5)

Probably they've had a rash of manuscripts come in without the addy, and they just started opening the rejection letters that way, or rotating several such warnings through the rejection pile, or some such. If the other comments lead you to believe they actually read your story, you aint doing too shabby. It sounds better than the form-printed rejection check-off list so often recieved.
Mike

Michael D. Turner
"Psyched Up" in _Turn the other Chick_-ed. E. Friesner-Baen books
www.baen.com
"Dutchman Rescue"in Continuum SF #6
www.continuumsciencefiction.com/orders.htm

"An Incident at Black Tongue Tavern" in _Bash Down the Door and Slice Open the Badguy_ from Fantasist Enterprises:
www.fantasistent.com/books/anthologies/BASH.php

Frank Menser
Earth Tourist

Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 304

Posted 12/19/2006 11:17 AM (GMT -5)

I allways love when their comments...if they gave any, demonstrate that they maybe gave your work a passing glance at best(LOL).

Frank

It's just my imagination...running away with me.

Coming soon, BREATHE in DREADED PALL magazine.

Nicholas
Sage

Date Joined Jun 2006
Total Posts : 1041

Posted 12/20/2006 7:37 AM (GMT -5)

Chaos, I can do you one better (or worse): a couple months ago I got a rejection email from Blood, Blade, and Thruster that seemed to indicate they had read the manuscript, but they addressed me as DIANE!

www.myspace.com/Ropespor

www.myspace.com/ozmentshouseoftwilight

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/20/2006 4:20 PM (GMT -5)

Perhaps a cut-and-paste error?
Better, and equaly frustrating, would be the acceptance letter with the wrong name.
Mike

Third Axe Publishing
Neophyte

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 141

Posted 12/21/2006 1:09 AM (GMT -5)

Frank Menser said...
I allways love when their comments...if they gave any, demonstrate that they maybe gave your work a passing glance at best(LOL).

Frank

Recently, I was querying publishers and started with those that accepted electronic submissions. Following guidelines closely, I sent out an e-mail query to several different places, and one responded with a rejection in less than five minutes. To my way of thinking, there's no way that person gave the query even casual consideration. That's the frustrating part.

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Nicholas
Sage

Date Joined Jun 2006
Total Posts : 1041

Posted 12/21/2006 2:26 AM (GMT -5)

What do y'all think of some of these magazines now (like _Horror Garage_) that say in their guidelines that they'll only contact you if they want to accept your manuscript? I personally think anything, even a form rejection email, is proper etiquette. Just _ignoring_ writers who send you material you can't use strikes me as rather rude, frankly.

www.myspace.com/Ropespor

www.myspace.com/ozmentshouseoftwilight

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/21/2006 3:32 AM (GMT -5)

As if the writer has no other options but their publication. Its not only rude, its unprofessional and I suspect self-limiting-- damn few pro writers will put up with such BS.
Mike

Chaos, Perpetual
Acolyte

Date Joined Dec 2006
Total Posts : 283

Posted 12/21/2006 7:56 AM (GMT -5)

With publications that adopt a "no response" policy, I tend to adopt a "no submission" policy. ;)

Bill Ward
Biblioholic

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 1718

Posted 12/21/2006 1:01 PM (GMT -5)

The only time I could see a no respone policy as being of any value is for an antho or contest, where if you haven't heard anything by a fixed date you can consider it a rejection. I think that's ok, I think an open-ended no response policy is insulting, and not very professional.

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/21/2006 2:39 PM (GMT -5)

I can see it in a limited frame, as WDWard said. But even then its a bit off. With e-mail its just not that hard to send a note saying, "Sorry, No thanks." Every editor talks about the slush pile and I know they get quite large, but if I can reply to a couple of hundred messages in a few days, surely its not that much trouble to send a short responce declining a story.
Mike

STForstner
Acolyte

Date Joined Nov 2005
Total Posts : 384

Posted 12/21/2006 6:33 PM (GMT -5)

I agree with the no response, no sub policy. Can you imagine a mechanic saying: "If you don't hear from me that means I can't fix it"? Or your doctor: "If you don't hear from me, it means there is nothing I can do for you"? To not respond is not only rude, but runs the risk that a submission might get lost in the email. How hard is it to send out a form letter?

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/22/2006 4:04 AM (GMT -5)

So the writer can try elsewhere with a clear concious.
Mike

Willowman
Neophyte

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 106

Posted 12/28/2006 5:56 PM (GMT -5)

Well...it is proper etiquette on a writer's part NOT to sub to another publication while having the particular piece out at another pub...so the "no response" rule is just idiotic in this business. Writers would never be able to sub to another publication if the first rejected them and they didn't know it. Again, this rule is very idiotic and amateurish.

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carnifexpress
Sage

Date Joined Feb 2005
Total Posts : 1314

Posted 12/30/2006 12:40 PM (GMT -5)

I agree... I've been accused of sending out generic rejections for anthologies and novellas, but at least I sent out something so that the author can submit elsewhere.

Unfortunately, places that do this are still getting submissions... it will take authors not subbing to these places for there to be a change, but I don't see that happening on a large scale.

Armand Rosamilia

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Bill Ward
Biblioholic

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 1718

Posted 12/30/2006 4:37 PM (GMT -5)

Maybe we should start a list of markets that do this...?

carnifexpress
Sage

Date Joined Feb 2005
Total Posts : 1314

Posted 12/30/2006 4:50 PM (GMT -5)

WDWard said...
Maybe we should start a list of markets that do this...?

Would be worth it... and then I'll do my best to keep off of the list.

Armand Rosamilia

Visit Carnifex Press for more information!

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Freehold short stories:

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Chaos, Perpetual
Acolyte

Date Joined Dec 2006
Total Posts : 283

Posted 12/30/2006 4:53 PM (GMT -5)

Generic rejections are not a problem in my book. An insightful, personal reply to a manuscript is of obvious value in most circumstances, but I recognize that there are many publications which are swamped with submissions, and cannot always afford such endeavors in a timely fashion. Therefore, the form response/generic response letter enters the equation.

The way I personally view it, a publication has every right to make the decision whether or not to reply to rejected submissions. However, as a writer, I also have ever right to decide whether or not to submit to the given publication. In the certain case of a publication that offers no response whatsoever to submitted works, my preference just happens to be...no.

carnifexpress
Sage

Date Joined Feb 2005
Total Posts : 1314

Posted 12/30/2006 5:04 PM (GMT -5)

Exactly... what William is saying is for us to simply list them on a thread as a public service to the writers that frequent the board... the publishers that state that they won't even give you a rejection, that it is implied once the ToC is posted.

Armand Rosamilia

Visit Carnifex Press for more information!

http://www.CarnifexPress.net

Freehold short stories:

"Like A Thief In The Night" http://gryphonwood.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_gryphonwood_archive.html

"Dew Scented" Stalking Shadows anthology

The Freehold site is now up!

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/freehold

Chaos, Perpetual
Acolyte

Date Joined Dec 2006
Total Posts : 283

Posted 12/30/2006 5:34 PM (GMT -5)

Yes, certainly; my previous post was merely a response reinforcing the base value of receiving a response, any response, rather than nothing at all.

Shall we begin the list here, or devote an entirely new thread to the topic?

Bill Ward
Biblioholic

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 1718

Posted 12/30/2006 6:31 PM (GMT -5)

I think a new thread would make the most sense. I actually haven't had any experience with any market not sending a rejection (other than one contest, not really the same ballpark as a regular market doing this)...so I'm not sure where to start.

erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/30/2006 9:15 PM (GMT -5)

Well, I've only ever had markets not respond when they were taking a really, really long time deciding if they wanted my story. And thats the problem with the "no responce" rejection idea.
Black Gate held my story "Psyched Up" for eleven months and sixteen days before I withdrew it to offer it to Esther Friesner for _Turn the Other Chick_, which was closing in a few DAYS and I'd just heard about through the grapevine (it was not open to unsolicited submissions). I had written the story (my first solo story) when I got frustrated with running out of 'Chick's ' anthologies to read. It was always intended to read like a _Chicks in Chainmail_ story, so I withdrew it from Black Gate and printed and mailed (overnight) the manuscript to Esther. John O'Neill replied to my withdrawl, apologizing for holding my story so long with no word, explaining that it was in serious contention and wishing me luck on placing it elsewhere. I spent three days believing I'd sunk myself when Esther sent an e-mail accepting the story.
I've sent many other stories to B-G since then, but nothing so suited as that one, and I don't know that I'll ever sell one to John O' Niell, but I've always waited him out because I know it takes him a long time. If I'd assumed he was no longer considering it, I would have just sent it off to Esther and John would probably had made an offer on it, only to find out it was no longer available. That would have been embarassing to both of us.
Black Gate isn't the slowest market I've ever submitted too (that would be Grey Friar press, which allows sim subs because they take such a lackadasical pace with their projects) and many, many markets go through periods where, for one reason or another, they respond very slowly to submissions. The current standards became standards because they work, and work well in most situations. Any market that can't be bothered to uphold their end of them is, in my mind, not a serious place to be published, no matter what they pay or where they get seen. They are somebody's ego-trip.
I have stories out now that have been laguishing for many months. To me, this is a good sign-- they haven't been rejected yet. I will eventually query. I know the markets in question are just suffering from an over-abundant slush-pile and encrouching real-world responcibilities. They've said as much on their web-sites and I'm not tempted to rush them. The goal is not to get a responce, it is to sell the story. It is always easier and faster to say "no" than "yes". A quick rejection is not better than a slow one-- instead it is an indication that I was wide of the mark. Even if I get rejected (especially if I get rejected) I want it to be a hard decision. If most writers get rejected in a day, I want mine in a week. I want to feel I came close. I got a rejection recently after my friends started getting acceptances. It wasn't as good as a sale, but was rewarding in its own right, to know I came close. That is so much better than having to read the ToC to b sure you're not on it, and never knowing if they passed you over on the first day or you were the last to be cut.
Besides, if they can't be bothered to tell you "no thanks" how long will it take them to _pay_ you when they do take your stuff?
Mike

Nicholas
Sage

Date Joined Jun 2006
Total Posts : 1041

Posted 12/30/2006 10:08 PM (GMT -5)

Good points Mike. I would just add that I've begun sending out follow-up queries rigidly. If a pub's listed response time is 8-10 weeks, I'll calculate 10 weeks from the date I submitted and send a query on that day. The reason I've started doing this is because three times now I've waited an interminably long period of time on an editor, only to query and discover they either never received or else lost my manuscript, and I had to resubmit. An editor can take as long as he/she needs to consider my work; I'm just concerned about making sure they actually HAVE my work. It is a frustrating feeling to realize all the time you thought a story was under consideration it was actually just moldering on your hard drive.

I can think of two publishers off the top of my head who explicitly state in their guidelines that they do not send rejections, and I have come across a couple others. The two I can think of right off the bat are Horror Garage Magazine and Arkham House, the book publisher. If someone is interested in starting a thread flagging these pubs, I can do a little hunting and find the other ones I've come across.

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erazmus
Master

Date Joined Jul 2005
Total Posts : 4539

Posted 12/30/2006 10:50 PM (GMT -5)

Nicholas,
Most of my submissions are electronic, and most recieve at least an auto-responce saying they've been recieved. I don't think its a good idea to start making lists here, unless someone knows of a market doing this that doesn't mention it in their ralan's listing or on their guidelines.
Mike

Willowman
Neophyte

Date Joined Jul 2006
Total Posts : 106

Posted 12/30/2006 10:58 PM (GMT -5)

I think the list is a great idea, myself. I see no harm in it whatsoever.

http://www.underthewillowpublications.com
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