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| SFReader Forums > Writing > Gripe! > On being an editor | Forum Quick Jump
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AlexMoisi
Neophyte
      
Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 65
| Posted 3/27/2008 12:38 PM (GMT -4) |   | | Wow...just wow...I am impresed with what people will submit and how ridiculous some cover leters are...How can someone expect you to take them seriously when they tell you to google their name for a full list of publications they are featured in.
How can people afford to haggle with an editor over a story?
I recieved e-mails telling me I'm making a huge error by refusing their story because they plan on selling it to Weird Tales, they just wanted me to have a first try at it.
I recieved e-mails telling me I'm a ignorant becuase I didn't understand the subtle message underneath the words.
I recieved one e-mail telling me the author will never write a predictable story becuase that is boring and uselss and no one should desire that a character act in a manner that can be expected from him.
I recieved 20,000 word story when my guidelines state I acccept works up to 5000 words.
Someone told me to pick one of their stories from their frepress (I think) account and just send him the money for it....
Wow...just wow...
I expected it to be bad but not so bad...
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Jordan Lapp
ppaL nadroJ
Date Joined Sep 2006
Total Posts : 2534
| Posted 3/27/2008 1:14 PM (GMT -4) | |
Edward Knight said...
One of the worst things you can do is respond to the...crap. If you ignore it it will go away sooner. And the best thing you can do is send out a generic looking rejection within a day of getting...crap. That helps them understand you aren't buying what they are selling and that you won't bother with it. I agree... and disagree.
It is best not to respond to writers who snap at your rejections, but we have found a certain cathardic relief in posting their responses online (with names deleted, of course). A bit of an (anonymous) public shaming hopefully encourages them to keep their cool next time. If you don't have forums of your own, you're welcome to post them in EDF's forums on our Hall of Shame thread.
As for anonymous rejection slips.... that might make sense when you start to get as many subs as Ed gets. At EDF, we've found that our personal rejections are one of our biggest selling points. Plus you get an extra link on Duotrope's very short list of markets who respond with personal rejections.
Jordan Lapp Managing Editor
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H.P. Lovesauce
Necronomicondiment
Date Joined Jul 2007
Total Posts : 575
| Posted 3/27/2008 1:19 PM (GMT -4) | | | Alex was adequately warned that when you stare into the abyss, it takes that as a sign of encouragement and dusts off its Tolkien-ripoff quest story to send to you. | | Back to Top | | |
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Lyn
Adopt
Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1278
| Posted 3/27/2008 1:22 PM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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SilviaMG
Neophyte
Date Joined Feb 2008
Total Posts : 51
| Posted 3/27/2008 2:41 PM (GMT -4) | | | Wow. That seems extreme. The other day I was thinking my cover letter lacked spunk but now I'm glad it's "Dear editor, please consider my (word count) submission titled (title)." | | Back to Top | | |
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darkbow
Rabbit lord
Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 1584
| Posted 3/27/2008 2:52 PM (GMT -4) | | "Dear editor,
Attached is my (word count and genre) story, "(title here)." I hope you will consider it for publication in (name of publication).
As for the writer, I have (recent 2 or 3 published credits).
Thank you for your time, and good reading to you.
Ty Johnston"
If they ask for more, such as a bio, I send it. Otherwise, what you see above is it. It might not be exciting, but I feel it gets the job done and the editor doesn't have to wade through a bunch of garbage. A few editors will say in their guidelines they specifically aren't interested in writing credits, and for them I just drop my list.
I have very, very rarely replied to a rejection, unless it happens to be from an editor I have an ongoing working relation with. Usually when I do reply it's to thank an editor for bringing to my attention a problem in a story that I had overlooked. I think maybe once I responded with an explanation about something because the editor seemed confused (not that it's the editor's fault ... I considered it my own fault for not writing clearer in the first place), and just wanted to clear it up because he seemed interested.
www.tyjohnston.blogspot.com
http://radiodarkbow.blogspot.com Two songs a day, every day.
"Walking Between the Rain" at Every Day Fiction on March 21, 2008
"Beneath a Persian Sun" upcoming in Carnivah House's "Infinity Swords" anthology
"Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow" in "The Return of the Sword" anthology
"Hot Off the Press" Ray Gun Revival #25, 2007 | | Back to Top | | |
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Swashbuckler
One-man sword-and-sorcery machine
Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 1231
| Posted 3/27/2008 3:16 PM (GMT -4) | | We didn't have much of that at all with our Carnivah House anthology, "The Infinity Swords."
We did have one fellow who wrote half a story in a day or two, and said he would write the rest if we bought it. After he received the rejection, he queried to see if we wanted to read the rest of the story. We didn't.
And we did have one sub with no author's name, until you got to the very end of the story. And a few queries from people who didn't include author's name or story title in the query, so I had to go back through email to learn who strangelyanonymouswriter@aol.yahoo.com was and what they had written just so I could answer a query.
And we had a few very obviously amateur subs (along with some pretty damned good ones we just couldn't afford to buy.)
But we got no nasty replies to rejections, and a handful of people who thanked us for suggestions and taking the time to read the story. So, overall, editing has been a pretty good experience so far.
Steve Goble
Visit my blog, Swords Against Boredom, for news on published fiction and upcoming stories. | | Back to Top | | |
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Edward Knight
Jack of all Trades and Master of None
Date Joined Jan 2004
Total Posts : 1038
| Posted 3/27/2008 4:29 PM (GMT -4) | |
Jordan Lapp said...
Edward Knight said...
One of the worst things you can do is respond to the...crap. If you ignore it it will go away sooner. And the best thing you can do is send out a generic looking rejection within a day of getting...crap. That helps them understand you aren't buying what they are selling and that you won't bother with it. I agree... and disagree.
It is best not to respond to writers who snap at your rejections, but we have found a certain cathardic relief in posting their responses online (with names deleted, of course). A bit of an (anonymous) public shaming hopefully encourages them to keep their cool next time. If you don't have forums of your own, you're welcome to post them in EDF's forums on our Hall of Shame thread.
As for anonymous rejection slips.... that might make sense when you start to get as many subs as Ed gets. At EDF, we've found that our personal rejections are one of our biggest selling points. Plus you get an extra link on Duotrope's very short list of markets who respond with personal rejections.
Oh, I give personal replies to many writers who submit properly. It's the one that send really stupid stuff that get little attention. I don't mean stupid writing I mean stupid request such as "read this story on my website."
I don't think I'd do the "shame" thing. Many writers will try to do the old get even thing by bad mouthing your press at every opportunity. I still think t best to just ignore them.
Edward Knight
Editor
Journey Books Publishing
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darkbow
Rabbit lord
Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 1584
| Posted 3/27/2008 6:11 PM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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Lyn
Adopt
Date Joined Sep 2007
Total Posts : 1278
| Posted 3/27/2008 7:04 PM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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nathan
Sage
Date Joined Mar 2006
Total Posts : 2111
| Posted 3/27/2008 7:39 PM (GMT -4) | |
AlexMoisi said...
I recieved e-mails telling me I'm a ignorant becuase I didn't understand the subtle message underneath the words. Okay, okay--I know this an editors thread, lol. But I will admit to feeling slightly frustrated when editors seem to miss allusion, methaphor or literary reference.
Now, everybody can't have read everything, or remember all of everything they've ever read, let's be fair. And sometimes what is seen as obvious to the person in the know (the writer) is extremely obstuse (sic subtle) to the person not in the know (the editor) who's just read 50k in words before they got to the story.
But I'll be honest--and of course no editor whoever posts on this board falls into this category--I've had editors who seemed woefully ignorant of the genre they're soliciting stories within. As if their frame of reference was last weeks NYT best seller list...and only that. Who would miss symbolism lifted straight out of say, the Young Goodman Brown, or a stylistic device from Occurance At Owl Creek.
Fair or not, being an editor is seen as an intellectual and academic postion--as oppossed to, say, digging a ditch and when editors seem unaware or shallow (ecspecially in the confines of their own genre) and (dare I say it) not very well read, then the reaction from a submitting writer can range from bemusement to active wall banging with your head.
On the other hand Ed Knight once told me got a submission written entirely in crayon.
VIEW IMAGE"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews
Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages." | | Back to Top | | |
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darkbow
Rabbit lord
Date Joined Oct 2005
Total Posts : 1584
| Posted 3/28/2008 12:47 AM (GMT -4) | | | | |
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