Tim Johnson's picture
Tim Johnson from Rockville, MD is reading Notes From a Necrophobe by T.C. Armstrong July 5, 2013 - 6:53am

A friend of mine linked me to this blog post. It takes a while to get to the point, but essentially, it just says, "respond to rejections cordially." "Duh," I thought, but then I thought, "Wait. You guys respond to rejections?"

I've read editors don't like responses to rejections because they clutter up their already-cluttered inbox. Being a non-literary editor myself, I can appreciate that (shoo, PR people!). So the most I've been doing is thanking editors in advance in my submission/cover letters. I normally let rejection letters go.

What do you guys do? Have you read any interesting articles or discussions on the matter?

Jack Campbell Jr.'s picture
Jack Campbell Jr. from Lawrence, KS is reading American Rust by Phillipp Meyer July 5, 2013 - 7:03am

I wouldn't resond to a standard slushpile magazine rejection. I've heard of people sending thank you notes for novel manuscript rejections. I don't think I am in favor of it. It's polite, yes, but I think the difference it would make for my next submission would be like pissing in the ocean to raise the tide.

Carly Berg's picture
Carly Berg from USA is reading Story Prompts That Work by Carly Berg is now available at Amazon July 5, 2013 - 8:08am

I don't know about books, but I wouldn't respond to rejections for stories either. I think it just makes you look like a pest. Thank yous aren't a huge no-no, I guess, but they are that little bit of extra work for the editor when no information of interest to them is conveyed. Also, it seems to me like trying to suck up. I can't imagine thanking someone for rejecting me. Is it like "Thank you sir, may I have another, please?" Ha. I've received a few responses to rejections, wanting to know why or calling us names, haha. If I remembered their names later on, I'd pass even if I liked their next story because who wants to deal with a PITA. People give the craziest writing advice, don't they? :P

Tim Johnson's picture
Tim Johnson from Rockville, MD is reading Notes From a Necrophobe by T.C. Armstrong July 5, 2013 - 8:53am

I got some further clarification from this guy, and what he was really trying to say was, if you get a heartfelt rejection (not a form rejection) where the editor really expresses regret in having to reject your work, it could be a good idea to respond with a "Hey, thanks anyway. I really appreciate the consideration." That's a judgement call, but he said taking that leap was a big factor in establishing a relationship with an editor, which worked out well for him.

I don't think he did a particularly good job of expressing that in his post, but I understand the sentiment and can see how that little crack in the door of "I'm really sorry to have to reject your piece because we genuinely like it but don't have the space or it truly just isn't a good fit for what we're doing" could be exploited. But I also think that could be dangerous.

MattF's picture
MattF from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected Fictions July 5, 2013 - 4:51pm

Most personalized rejections come with a request for more work. Every time I've made a 'final editorial round' they've asked to see more. That's the cracked door you have to exploit. Send them another story and mention it in the cover letter. Otherwise, I agree with Carly: Don't respond.

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like July 5, 2013 - 8:47pm

I used to send a basic "Thanks for your time" after a rejection. Then I read you shouldn't ever respond, so now I put the thanks in ahead of time, like TimJ does already. 

Now I read MattF says the requests for more work are legit, whereas someone else on this site told me that you shouldn't take requests for more work seriously. "They say that to everybody" or something like that.

Who to believe? Editors vary, and so do writers' experience with them.

I figure as long as you're not actually being a pest, you're as far off the hook as you can hope for. I mean people (editors) can be in pissy moods over anything, and if yours is the next email they read, they might be more likely to think it sucks regardless of its content. That's how work goes (unless you're always happy and love your job, etc).

MattF's picture
MattF from Tokyo is reading Borges' Collected Fictions July 6, 2013 - 1:19am

There are form rejections that encourage you to submit again because it's how magazines survive--and yes, they say that to everybody.

There are personalized rejections (or even "higher" form rejections) that let you know that your work was close and ask you to send more.

The difference is quite clear, and you'd be insane not to take the latter seriously. (But again, don't respond: send work and mention it in the cover letter).

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like July 6, 2013 - 6:42pm

Okay, thanks for the clarification, MF. I've had both kinds. I've also had a few which did not include an invitation, but only a "Thanks for your interest in _______."

I've thus far been insane. I almost never submit to the same place twice. There are just so many mags, I thought I'd keep sifting through. But maybe you're right.

ReneeAPickup's picture
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig July 7, 2013 - 2:01pm

I don't. Once I got very detailed notes on a story and an invitation to submit again from a magazine I really wanted to get into, so I sent a quick "Thank you for the notes, I look forward to submitting again", because it was obvious the editor put a lot of time into considering my story, but as a general rule, I don't respond even to personal rejections.

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break July 7, 2013 - 2:37pm

I don't either. As was the case with Renee, I'll only do it if it's obvious the rejection is personal and encourages another submission. Other than that, it's "fuck it" and move on.

John Loeffler's picture
John Loeffler from Brooklyn, NY is reading Gallatian Canyon by Tom McGuane July 7, 2013 - 6:23pm

I don't respond to form rejections. If you don't have the time to write me personally, I won't do the same. If its a personalized rejection of more than, say, three sentences, I'll drop them a quick "Hey, thanks for the response, I look forward to submitting again in the future" reply and leave it at that. I feel like I should at least acknowledge that they took a minute or two to write me back when they really didn't have to.

Bradley Sands's picture
Bradley Sands from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs July 9, 2013 - 1:24pm

When I was an editor, "thanks for reading" emails in response to my rejections were a waste of a few seconds of my time.

Richard's picture
Richard from St. Louis is reading various anthologies July 21, 2013 - 4:28pm

Yeah, definitely don't respond to a form rejection. I also don't know if you need to respond to a semi-personal rejection, unless it asks you a specific question. But if there is an open dialogue created, and you want to respond, or answer a question, or ask a follow up question, sure, why not. I've had editors ask me questions when I withdrew a story, or if I had more work if there was a deadline looming (especially anthologies). I have, as a writer, written some short notes when I've gotten REALLY close with some big publishers, just saying, "Thanks for the kind words, it means a lot, I'll keep submitting, etc." As an editor at Dark House Press, since I do give a lot of personal rejections (just a sentence or two on why I passed—"Too noir, not enough neo-noir," or "It didn't have the emotional impact that I wanted, I didn't care about the characters as much as I should," etc.) I tend to get a good number of responses, but rarely is it a conversation that NEEDS to keep going. :-)

Kaz I Lay Dying's picture
Kaz I Lay Dying from 'Mercuh is reading 1491 July 21, 2013 - 5:01pm

I'll respond to any kind of fairly personal rejection (even for stuff unrelated to writing) just to say thanks for taking the extra time and maybe respond to some points in the rejection. It's worked out for me in the past, so I figure it can't really do any harm. The worst that can happen is they ignore it. For form letters, though, I don't bother.