TheScrivener's picture
TheScrivener from Seattle is reading short stories February 1, 2014 - 11:11pm

Are you supposed to do anything with personal rejections---like are you supposed to thank them or something?  Also if they say they want you to send them more work, do you mention that in a cover letter? Is there an expiration date for such an offer?  (Me = new to this trying to get published thing).  It was Pleiades---anyone familiar with that market? 

MattF's picture
MattF from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected Fictions February 2, 2014 - 1:44am

We had this discussion once a while back and I think opinion was fairly split.

I do not respond to personal rejections--my thinking is the editors are busy enough, it's more an annoyance, and it's not their purpose--they want to encourage you to send more work.

I do remind them in cover letters that they'd commented on a previous story and requested more work. Everything you can do to get a foot in the door.

I'd say there's no expiration, but editors change frequently and you're likely to be referring to someone no longer there, but it still can't hurt (and definitely might help).

Pleiades is a very good magazine. I've never submitted there, they'd kind of fallen off my radar, but I intend to. And congratulations--personalized rejections from tough markets are pretty heartbreaking but pretty encouraging as well. They fall in the best bad news/worst good news category, but you're doing something right. Now send them something else.

Jose F. Diaz's picture
Jose F. Diaz from Boston is reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel February 2, 2014 - 10:23am

If they ask for more work, send them more work.

If they just flat out reject your work, don't be a schmuck and thank them for rejecting you. 

Unless you can be funny about it. Always be funny about shit when you can.

Jack Campbell Jr.'s picture
Jack Campbell Jr. from Lawrence, KS is reading American Rust by Phillipp Meyer February 2, 2014 - 11:02am

I never respond unless a response is asked for. They way I see it, they can only read so many emails a day. I don't want people clogging up their inboxes with thank yous when I am trying to submit to them, so I don't want to get in the way of other people submitting either. Really, as many submissions as an editor gets, how likely is it that they are going to remember that you did or didn't send a thank you? In reality, it's an empty email. They are going to think, at best, "Well, that is nice." *delete* It doesn't really accomplish anything, in my opinion.

 

TheScrivener's picture
TheScrivener from Seattle is reading short stories February 2, 2014 - 11:03am

Thanks!---I was not inclined to respond, but I didn't want to be accidently committing some sort of faux pas and then somehow offending the only journal I've sent to that responded with more than a form letter!  (BTW---rejection wiki is...something.  The whole notion of tiered rejections---again another thing that was off my radar before.  I can understand people who get tired of trying to get published.  )

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break February 2, 2014 - 11:59am

Yeah, I never respond to rejections. I'm not going to thank them for rejecting me nor am I going to thank them for taking the time to read my work (that's their fucking job). In the event that they specifically ask to see something else--then and only then do I respond.

Jonathan Riley's picture
Jonathan Riley from Memphis, Tennessee is reading Flashover by Gordon Highland February 2, 2014 - 12:51pm

Here is a link to the old discussion. Not too many responses but, it's here.

http://litreactor.com/discuss/responding-to-rejection

TheScrivener's picture
TheScrivener from Seattle is reading short stories February 2, 2014 - 2:29pm

Brandon---by sending something else, right?