Thinking About Rejections and Getting Them

Finding Your Angel in the Haystack  (Lit Mag News) took me into places I do not really know - publishing and the magazine market - even though I have been in the middle of it for the better part of five years. It also confirmed what I sensed as a viable approach is correct.

For many writers (especially those new to the publication game), a submission rejection is a conclusive stamp of disapproval from a respectable institution. The whole of the organization that sends it, along with many others in short order, are raining “NO!” down upon you, decisively, and with regularity. You are left cold and shivering, drenched in negatives, and will need to spend a goodly amount of time getting dry before you can weather that storm again. Rejections are depleting. They are setbacks. You do not pass go. You do not collect $200.

That feeling of depletion certainly doesn’t serve you. Especially when you consider that quiet battles are actually raging at all of your favorite lit pubs, and your work may well be at the center of them. You’ll get clues to that possibility embedded in some of your rejections, and once you know what to look for, you can walk away from rejections energized.

Putting rejections into perspective: (3) Ted Gioia (@tedgioia): “This is a good time to recall that Gabriel García Márquez got rejected by The New Yorker in 1981—and the next year he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.”  

Two rejections received so far for this week. 

6/24: 

Thank you for submitting your work, "Pieces About A Small Indiana Factory Town, 1836 – 1984." Regretfully, we cannot find a place for it in our upcoming issue, but we wish you the best of luck placing it elsewhere.

At Epiphany we are committed to evaluating every submission we receive thoughtfully and respectfully. Many issues factor into every decision we make either to publish a piece or pass on it, from its consonance or dissonance with other work we've accepted to the simple issue of personal preference, which cannot be anything but subjective. To familiarize yourself with the work we do (and some of the work we've loved best), check out our website, subscribe to our print magazine, or consider buying a digital subscription for full access to our current issues and 20+ year archives.

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We value long relationships with the writers and artists who entrust us with their work, and hope you’ll keep us in mind for other submissions in the future.

Sincerely,

The Editors

 6/25: “After Making Landfall” garnered another rejection.

Thank you for sending us your submission for consideration for the Fairlight Books short stories website.

Unfortunately, we didn’t think that the story was quite right for our list, so we will decline from publishing your work on this occasion. Please do not feel that this is a reflection on your writing. We enjoyed reading your work, and felt it was well written.

Please feel free to take a look at the stories on our website to get a feel for what we are publishing, and we would welcome further submissions of short stories from you in the future.

Best wishes,

The Fairlight Books Editorial Team

______________

Fairlight Books Ltd
Summertown Pavilion, 18–24 Middle Way, Oxford, OX2 7LG
https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/

 Ideas of what to do after being rejected: (4) No MFA Required - by Kristen Weber 

The good news is that you don’t need an editor’s title to do the same thing. The next time you read your manuscript, don’t try to fix anything. Print a hard copy out if you can and mark the places where you have a reaction.

B for bored.

C for confused.

R for rushed.

M for more.

Don’t stop to solve the problem. Don’t rewrite the chapter. Don’t convince yourself the feeling isn’t real. Just mark it and keep going. By the time you reach the end of the manuscript, you’ll have something incredibly valuable: a map.

I have been trying to find the energy I need for revising “Agnes” and getting her out. That was two days ago. This post was started over 2 hours ago. Interrupted by the distraction of aches that should have been gone days ago but not, and a computer crash. I thought to take in a movie today, but I am going nowhere except for smokes and caffeine. Today is the day to deal with my story, and I am applying Ms. Weber's ideas to the story.

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