I hate waiting to find out if a story/article that I've submitted has been successful. I know its a part of this trade that I'm trying to break into but that doesn't mean that I have to like it. There is one thing that I hate more though, and that is when you post something on Monday only to have it returned on Wednesday. When this happens the piece clearly hasn't been considered properly and probably hasn't even been read. Thankfully this has only happened to me a couple of times.
On the other hand it you get your manuscript back and it bares the marks of being held and thumbed and read that is very satisfying. It could of course mean that the editer screwed it into ball before they tossed it to one side, but I choose not to think so.
4 comments:
Hi Colette, I picked up your blog from the Sexyshorts site. I have to say you're pretty lucky if you get a reply so fast, even if it is a rejection! Most editors I know take at least 10 weeks to read and reject (Thats with snail mail) e-mail submissions aren't much faster either, but Ive had a few of those that are rejected the same day. THAT is very depressing too. They all seem to have reading committees or outside readers who say yay or nay before they take a look at it themselves. I am planning to attach a hair to the next ms I post to Take Break, like Nancy Drew Girl Detective.. my stories all come back so pristine I really have my doubts she bothers to unfold them! Hmm now Id better read your profile! Cheers Ginny
I agree! I always check returned subs carefully to see if they bear any signs of having been read.
Having said that, I prefer quick rejections because at least I can send the work back out. When someone has had my work for 6 months I'm never sure if it's a good sign or a bad sign. It also means I have a story that I can't send anywhere else until I know for sure. The longest I've ever had to wait for an answer was over a year from a literary magazine which I won't name.
I can't understand what warrants that length of time. They're not likely to get the volume of submissions that editors of the more commercial magazines get. Needless to say I've never subbed to them again!
Hello Colette! I have been sending stories out for a while now, although not as much as I'd like. The secret to not getting your panties in too much of a twist while you're waiting is to get involved with something else, quickly, and send that off, and so on.
Good Luck!
Dawn
I've had a few rejections within a week of submitting, too. Depressing, aren't they? Better to live in hope for a few weeks at least.
But Dawn's right - get working on something else straight away. And if something's rejected, see it as a re-marketing opportunity and get it tweaked and re-subbed as soon as possible.
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