Tag: Rejection Letters
4 Reasons for the Same-Day Rejection
Here’s the scenario. You fire off a short story submission, fully prepared to wait the two weeks or one month or however long it takes for them to read your story and make a decision. You check your email a couple hours later and BAM! They’ve… Continue Reading “4 Reasons for the Same-Day Rejection”
2016: A Writing Rearview Review
And that’s a wrap on 2016, some might say mercifully so. As for how 2016 treated me and my writing career, I would rate the year as “not too shabby.” Let us now turn to a whole bunch of stats because they are the… Continue Reading “2016: A Writing Rearview Review”
When Should You Reply to a Rejection Letter?
Should you reply to rejection letters? A good question, and 99.9 % of the time my personal opinion is a resounding NO. The most compelling reason is that many publishers will straight-up tell you not to reply to a rejection in their submission guidelines, and… Continue Reading “When Should You Reply to a Rejection Letter?”
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,… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: The Escape Clause”
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,… Continue Reading “Rejections and the Revision Decision”
Submission Protocol: The Waiting Game
If you’re a writer who regularly submits short stories and 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… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: The Waiting Game”
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… Continue Reading “Tiered Form Rejections: Fact or Fiction?”
Rejection Letter Rundown: The Considered Rejection
Often you have to wait quite a while for a publisher to get back to you about a submission, which is just a reality of being a writer, but when you have good reason to hope your story will be accepted, the waiting can be pretty… Continue Reading “Rejection Letter Rundown: The Considered Rejection”
September 2016 Submission Statement
September was a solid month, and my progress with short story submissions was much less sloth-like than previous months. It’s a mixed bag this time, with rejections, acceptances, and some noteworthy publications. September Report Card Submissions Sent: 7 Rejections: 5* Acceptances: 1 Other: 0 Publications:… Continue Reading “September 2016 Submission Statement”
7 Top-Tier Horror Markets: My New Story Gauntlet
Once I’ve finished a new story and it’s ready for submission, I have a short list of top-tier spec-fic markets that it goes to first. I have dubbed this list “The Gauntlet,” and they are some of the toughest but most prestigious publications I know of… Continue Reading “7 Top-Tier Horror Markets: My New Story Gauntlet”
Effectively Wild – A Baseball Horror Story
Night Walk & Other Dark Paths
Acts of War: Flashpoint
Acts of War: Aftershock
Acts of War: Stormbreak
Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy 