I got a response from Clarkesworld Magazine last night regarding my submission. Unfortunately, I did not get accepted and received a form rejection letter. I don’t feel too bad about either outcome for several reasons. First, a rejection letter is not only a badge of honor, but also my first concrete evidence of being a real writer. ALL writers get rejections at some point in their career. Second, the form rejection doesn’t bother me as much because it’s their new policy. They do not provide personalized rejections anymore due to the volume of submissions they receive. Which leads me to my third reason, they receive roughly 400+ submissions a month, but only publish 12 stories a year. I was shooting for the stars when submitting to them because the odds were not only heavily against me, but increasingly so for a first time submission. Either way, I’m happy to have finally tossed my hat into the ring.
Once more into the breach I’ll go, submitting the story to another publication. Of course, that won’t occur until it’s been drenched in highlighter and red pen. A couple of comments I received from my Beta Readers pointed out some good spots to tighten things up. Once the re-touch is completed I’ll be kicking it over to Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show to see if they’d like to put this puppy in print.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Yep, every writer gets rejections, and usually a *lot* more often than acceptances
. But you’re right, that first rejection is a badge of honor. And form rejections are more plentiful than personal rejections too, especially from the pro mags.
You’ll find Intergalactic Medicine Show usually has about a 100 day turnaround as compared with Clarkesworld who respond within 1-3 days.
Hope all goes well!
Hey, Gabriel revising and sending it back out is exactly the right response. Your tactics are sound too, sending to the most ambitious markets first. Rejection’s all part of the game so wear that badge of honour with pride. After all, you’ll soon have a chest full.
Here’s a link to a good arcticle on the subject of rejection . . .
http://www.dublinquarterly.com/05/ft_akeegan.html
Good luck and keep on subbing.
Cheers,
Lee
You have a great attitude about this, and it will pay off in the end. And it’s funny about rejection letters – my grandpa still brags about the letters he received from the Saturday Evening Post and other famous magazines. It shows that you put yourself out there, and that’s always something to be proud of.
Mate, where can i read this, (it’s very early here which may be why i can’t find a link)
That first rejection is a big deal, isn’t it? It says you had the guts to take the leap! Way to go!!
Twitter: Abby Ang
June 4, 2009 at 10:02 am
Love your attitude about this. Good luck! I haven’t received any rejections, just been ignored =( and i haven’t received any acceptance either. Hope you get there soon =)