Rejection, rejection, rejection...
- Thread starter Naomasa298
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Keep in mind, Clarkesworld is one of the hardest markets to penetrate out there. It has an acceptance rate of less than 0.2%.
Got a 23-day form letter from khōréō and a bad 1-day personal from Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores. I know they don't want horror, but the story I sent I consider to be more dark fantasy, and I was hoping they might consider it "Eldritch" as well. It also falls under "myths and legends," which they are also interested in. But it looks like I really missed the mark with this submission. Oof.
"Thanks for your submission, but we'll be passing on it. It reads much like a horror story, which we aren't looking for, and it's 'moral' is also not the kind we're looking for."
Oh well, live and learn. At least they read it.
135 for the year now.
"Thanks for your submission, but we'll be passing on it. It reads much like a horror story, which we aren't looking for, and it's 'moral' is also not the kind we're looking for."
Oh well, live and learn. At least they read it.
135 for the year now.
Note the contraction "it's" and not the possessive "its." Maybe they're hiring editors.
Remember, these are the people who objected to my meat eating.
Also - they have different editors and slush for each track, so if you want them to consider it under eldritch or myths and legends, you have to submit it under that track. My first submission to them went to their fantasy editor, who basically told me to f*ck off.
2 day form rejection from The Dark.
Odd how?
My story had an odd tone for them. Their rejection was fine.
131-day personal rejection from the Dalliances line at Cupid’s Arrow Publishing. Their acquisitions editor called it an interesting story but not a romance, which is pretty hilarious given the novelette in question was published in a romance anthology and no reader has ever complained it wasn’t a romance in the five years since then.
They suggested sending it to a sister imprint of theirs, but I doubt I will. I’ve submitted to them before and got the silliest feedback I’ve ever received in a personal rejection. Their first reader has so much trouble wrapping their head around a character having the title of Knight-Mother that they rejected the story outright. “Is she a knight? Is she a mother?”
Normally, I give editorial staff and publishers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the submissions process, but I think I’ll be steering well clear of this publishing group in the future!
They suggested sending it to a sister imprint of theirs, but I doubt I will. I’ve submitted to them before and got the silliest feedback I’ve ever received in a personal rejection. Their first reader has so much trouble wrapping their head around a character having the title of Knight-Mother that they rejected the story outright. “Is she a knight? Is she a mother?”
Normally, I give editorial staff and publishers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the submissions process, but I think I’ll be steering well clear of this publishing group in the future!
3-day rejection from Interzone and 1-day rejection from Clarkesworld.
3-day form rejection from Plott Hound. Dammit, and it was the only dog story I had, too.
75-day form rejection from The Missouri Review.
Just a general question: do most publishers have the same form rejection letter for every rejection? Lightspeed states in their guidelines that they will only say "send more" if they actually want more. Is that common among publishers or do most just respond with "hope that you'll keep us in mind in the future" and similar taglines to keep a polite tone?
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