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| Don't Give up the Fight |
Yesterday I received my third rejection this year. Oh well. Not the end of the
world, but a bummer. What do you do when you have a piece rejected? I know:
it's time to seriously revise, zen out big time. Then go into secretary mode. Send it off again,
get it out of here.
Absolutely no hard drinking or buying shoes.
The good news is that for every three to six rejections - BINGO! - I often get my foot in the door. Yesterday I also received corrections for a piece that is coming out in a hip literary magazine (I'll blab when it goes to print) with comments from my adorable editor whom I met -by chance- while working in Paris in January. Sometimes it all comes together, hey?
And last week I received the publishing agreement for another piece I have coming out in the summer, and news that I will be paid £100! Rather breathtaking for this poor author.
Neither of these stories was accepted the first time they were submitted. The first was praised by several editors, but was submitted 6 times. The second, while they were interested from the start, had to be shortened by 3000 words and went through a sophisticated editorial board before it was accepted. Over a year of waiting!
It's agonising, isn't it? Are there any rules to this? I have had pieces I think are worthwhile rejected again and again, and a story I ran off and hardly checked accepted with embarrassing praise. Why does one editor accept a piece and another sends you a form rejection slip? Why does one rave about your work and perhaps another not reply at all?
Try this for size: Unfortunately, we aren't able to accept this story for publication.. There are many possible reasons for turning down a story, and we regularly turn down great work just because it isn't quite right for us..
I mean, what a tease. Are they just being nice letting you think that yours may have been that 'great' piece that they've had to let slip away? Hmmm. I'm not convinced. Even Granta editor Ellah Allfrey recently said they've done away with reading interns because they weren't able to identify great work. (Perhaps some of mine that came trickling back?)
As we all know, small magazine are run on the whiff of an oily rag. They involve passion, sacrifice. Choice of material comes down to individual taste. Magazine space. Prior acceptances. Issue themes. I recently had one piece put on hold by a magazine I've been trying to break into for yonks, because it didn't fit their themed issue for March. Now it's going through the mill for the next selection. Groan. But happy groan. It makes acceptance feel like a mix of luck, talent and serendipity - on top of all your hard creative work.
I read a great blog post ages back by American writer Robin Black, whose first collection 'If I Loved You I Would Tell You This' came out to wonderful reviews and is an unforgettable read. She speaks about this drama. Why this story yes, and now?
Sometimes it's like a slap in the face. You might feel wounded and down, but don't give up the fight!
Absolutely no hard drinking or buying shoes.
The good news is that for every three to six rejections - BINGO! - I often get my foot in the door. Yesterday I also received corrections for a piece that is coming out in a hip literary magazine (I'll blab when it goes to print) with comments from my adorable editor whom I met -by chance- while working in Paris in January. Sometimes it all comes together, hey?
And last week I received the publishing agreement for another piece I have coming out in the summer, and news that I will be paid £100! Rather breathtaking for this poor author.
Neither of these stories was accepted the first time they were submitted. The first was praised by several editors, but was submitted 6 times. The second, while they were interested from the start, had to be shortened by 3000 words and went through a sophisticated editorial board before it was accepted. Over a year of waiting!
It's agonising, isn't it? Are there any rules to this? I have had pieces I think are worthwhile rejected again and again, and a story I ran off and hardly checked accepted with embarrassing praise. Why does one editor accept a piece and another sends you a form rejection slip? Why does one rave about your work and perhaps another not reply at all?
Try this for size: Unfortunately, we aren't able to accept this story for publication.. There are many possible reasons for turning down a story, and we regularly turn down great work just because it isn't quite right for us..
I mean, what a tease. Are they just being nice letting you think that yours may have been that 'great' piece that they've had to let slip away? Hmmm. I'm not convinced. Even Granta editor Ellah Allfrey recently said they've done away with reading interns because they weren't able to identify great work. (Perhaps some of mine that came trickling back?)
As we all know, small magazine are run on the whiff of an oily rag. They involve passion, sacrifice. Choice of material comes down to individual taste. Magazine space. Prior acceptances. Issue themes. I recently had one piece put on hold by a magazine I've been trying to break into for yonks, because it didn't fit their themed issue for March. Now it's going through the mill for the next selection. Groan. But happy groan. It makes acceptance feel like a mix of luck, talent and serendipity - on top of all your hard creative work.
I read a great blog post ages back by American writer Robin Black, whose first collection 'If I Loved You I Would Tell You This' came out to wonderful reviews and is an unforgettable read. She speaks about this drama. Why this story yes, and now?
Sometimes it's like a slap in the face. You might feel wounded and down, but don't give up the fight!
Ah, just what I needed to read. Some rejections do baffle me, others, I think Hmn, perhaps I could improve this, and on it goes. I do take rejections from hip mags as a personal challenge, though ;)
ReplyDeleteYes the hip mag thang is a different arena. And unpredictable choices which can be good. Have you seen The White Review? I love it. Oh well. And can you believe I had a brainwave while driving (after reading a comment somewhere by Tania Hershman that niggled in my mind) and put a new ending to my Mslexia entry?? Now I have to send in another story!! What a silly..
DeleteNo, not seen White Review - one to check out - thanks. Those better endings always show up at inconvenient times, damn them. But good to have been tapped with the inspiration before the deadline - always a silver lining. Good luck with the story - both of them!
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