Aeryn Rudel's Blog, page 59

Real-Time Rejection II: The 4th Rejection of “Story X1”

Nearly half-way there! The fourth rejection for “Story X1” has arrived. If you’d like to see the last three rejections,go here.

Okay, here’s what number four looks like:

Thank you for your interest in our magazine. Unfortunately, after reviewing your submission, we have decided that it is not for us at this point in time. As much as we hate to reject anywork of fiction, please remember that it is not a value judgment based on your lovely skills and talent; it really is us, not you. We hope to...

Submission Protocol: The Escape Clause

I recently received a further consideration from a publisher that included what can best be termed an escape clause, and it prompted me to ask the following question.When should you, if ever, pass on a publication that is obviously interested in your story?

First, the letter:

I love this story! I have short-listed it. And it’s a short list.

Would you mind if I held on to this story until the close of submissions,February 1st? We just opened and we’ll receive a lot more submissions.

Please adv...

Rejections and the Revision Decision

How many rejections do I let a story accumulate before I revise it? That’s a question I get asked a lot these days (maybe because I plaster my rejections all over the internet). It’s a good question, and my answer usually is something like, “Well, what kind of rejections are we talking about?”

It’s really the type of rejection that informs my decision to revise rather than the quantity of rejections. To show you what I’m talking about, let’s look at some of my recent rejections, and I’ll tell...

Real-Time Rejection II: The 3rd Rejection of “Story X1”

Another notch in the ol’ rejection belt, and the third rejection for “Story X1.” If you need to get caught up on the saga of “Story X1,” go here.

Let’s take a look at that rejection:

Thank you for the opportunity to read “Story X1.” Unfortunately, your story isn’t quite what we’re looking for right now.

In the past, we’ve provided detailed feedback on our rejections, but I’m afraid that due to time considerations, we’re no longer able to offer that service. I appreciate your interest in XXXan...

Real-Time Rejection II: The 1st & 2nd Rejection of “Story X1”

Well, that didn’t take long, and we’ve even got a two-for in rejection land, but it’s not all bad news for “Story X1.” (If you’re just tuning in to the “Story X1” extravaganza, see the first post in this series.)

The first market I chose for “Story X1” is atop-tier, pro horror market, one I would dearly love to crack, and one that is super, lightning fast with responses. I received the following rejection six hours and nine minutes after the submission (which, oddly, is a longer than usualfor...

Real-Time Rejection II: The Saga of “Story X1”

Some of you may remember a series of posts I did called Real-Time Rejection: The Journey of “Story X.” If not, here’s the basic gist. I finished a story and then began sending it out immediately. I then posted the responses (rejections) as they came in, in “real-time.” I submitted “Story X” ten times for publication, with the caveat that if it didn’t get published by the tenth submission, I’d retire it and post it on the blog. Well, I submitted it ten times, and it was rejected ten times. I w...

Submission Protocol: The Waiting Game

If you’re a writer who regularly submits short storiesand who also uses submission tracking sites like Duotrope, then the following scenario will likely be very familiar to you.

You send your submission to a publisher, noting on Duotrope their average response times for rejections and acceptances, then sit back and wait. Your submission crosses the rejection threshold, and you dare to hope, “Could they be considering my story?” Then your story crosses the acceptance threshold, and you start g...

Tiered Form Rejections: Fact or Fiction?

If you’ve been submitting stories to the many literary and genre magazines, journals, and zines out there, then you’ve no doubt heard that some markets have more than one type of form rejection. Not only do these publishers have more than one, they have different tiered or higher levels of rejections, and the higher the tier, the closer the story got to an acceptance (in theory).

Here’s my two cents. I think tiered rejections are absolutely a thing, though they’re more common with larger mark...

An Interview with Strix Publishing – The Book of Three Gates

Strix Publishing is at it again with another Kickstarter for fans of horror and H. P. Lovecraft in particular. This time it’s a collection of stories and essays called The Book of Three Gates.I recently spoke with Strix founder Simon Berman and the very talented artist Valerie Herron about their latest project. Check it out and see why you need to run right over to Kickstarter and support this bad boy.

AR: So Strix Publishing has launched another Kickstarter campaign with another very intrig...

The Long View: Genre Markets for Novelettes & Novellas

If you regularly submitshort stories to genre markets, you’ve no doubtlearned the longer yourstory the fewer publisherswhowill accept it. Thispost isn’t meantbe a condemnation of longer stories, but it is beneficial to understand where manygenre markets stand on novelettes and novellas.

I’m going to take a close look at the market for three popular genres—horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, i.e., the ones I know best—and seehow many accept stories of the most popular lengths. All of my stats will be...