Another week, another story rejection
When I seriously set out to get published this year, I knew it wasn't going to be easy. Oh, sure, in my daydreams, this was the year I made it and made it big. Every story I submitted was published on the first try. The more cynical part of me knew I'd be rejected. A lot. Boy, was it right! I have four stories in circulation right now, which I'm actively submitting to print magazines. Three of them have already been rejected, two of them three times. The fourth is a long shot. I don't plan to give up, but I'll admit the rejection gets to me. When I get another rejection, especially one which is a standard form letter without any indication that the story had any redeeming qualities, I wonder whether I'm good enough. I know I'm a decent writer. I don't think I'm a great writer, but I think I might be a good one. That doesn't mean that I'm good enough to get published, though. I'm hoping I am, but every time I get a rejection, I wonder.
Sometimes a rejection is encouraging, with a handwritten note by the editor saying he really liked the story but it wasn't a good fit for his magazine. He could be lying through his teeth just to be nice, but when I receive one of those, I'm encouraged enough to send the story elsewhere, and if I have another story that might work for that magazine, it's the first place I'll send it to.
Sometimes the rejection letter will contain specific criticism which leaves me wondering whether the editor read the story right. Like the one I received Monday, saying that the story feels like part of something much larger, and that the character was an archetype and not a fully-realized character. To the first part, I said, well, yes. When the genre is fantasy, I can't just write a story without creating a whole world, with history and societies and larger conflicts of which I'm only showing a piece. The story itself is just a snapshot of that--there's always more going on, issues that aren't going to be resolved in those six thousand words. I just hoped what I did write was self-contained, stating a conflict and resolving it even if there were some tantalizing bits left open. As for the second, let's just say I didn't see it. True, my character is not morally complex, and I made no attempt to make him sympathetic, but I thought the only reason the editor called him an archetype was because I refused to name him, only giving him a title. Then, once my indignation cools, I remind myself that writing is about communicating. There will always be someone who doesn't get it, but when that someone is the editor of a magazine which publishes hundreds of stories of that genre, I have to wonder if I might have failed to communicate. Maybe I don't need to have those unresolved tantalizing bits in there at all, and maybe I could at least name that unsympathetic character. Then again, maybe not. I'm pretty sure I'll submit that story elsewhere with no changes.
And then there are the most promising and infuriating rejections of all, the ones that invite me to rework and resubmit the piece. I've only ever received one of these, two weeks ago, which said that the story was good but just not ready, and that it needed about 500-800 words cut. Which is frustrating for a story which I consider my most polished work, and which I struggled to find words I could cut just to get it under a wordcount of 6,000. But there was some specific advice included on what to cut, and even if it's stuff I would prefer to keep, I'll do my best to do what the editor wants. Of course, even after I do all that, there's no guarantee the editor will accept the revised piece, but given how rare second chances are, I intend to do my best.
So, after all this, am I discouraged? Sure I am. Maybe I'm not good enough. But, for some reason, I'm still confident. I believe I will get published this year. I don't yet know what story will succeed, or who will accept it, but I think it will happen.
Sometimes a rejection is encouraging, with a handwritten note by the editor saying he really liked the story but it wasn't a good fit for his magazine. He could be lying through his teeth just to be nice, but when I receive one of those, I'm encouraged enough to send the story elsewhere, and if I have another story that might work for that magazine, it's the first place I'll send it to.
Sometimes the rejection letter will contain specific criticism which leaves me wondering whether the editor read the story right. Like the one I received Monday, saying that the story feels like part of something much larger, and that the character was an archetype and not a fully-realized character. To the first part, I said, well, yes. When the genre is fantasy, I can't just write a story without creating a whole world, with history and societies and larger conflicts of which I'm only showing a piece. The story itself is just a snapshot of that--there's always more going on, issues that aren't going to be resolved in those six thousand words. I just hoped what I did write was self-contained, stating a conflict and resolving it even if there were some tantalizing bits left open. As for the second, let's just say I didn't see it. True, my character is not morally complex, and I made no attempt to make him sympathetic, but I thought the only reason the editor called him an archetype was because I refused to name him, only giving him a title. Then, once my indignation cools, I remind myself that writing is about communicating. There will always be someone who doesn't get it, but when that someone is the editor of a magazine which publishes hundreds of stories of that genre, I have to wonder if I might have failed to communicate. Maybe I don't need to have those unresolved tantalizing bits in there at all, and maybe I could at least name that unsympathetic character. Then again, maybe not. I'm pretty sure I'll submit that story elsewhere with no changes.
And then there are the most promising and infuriating rejections of all, the ones that invite me to rework and resubmit the piece. I've only ever received one of these, two weeks ago, which said that the story was good but just not ready, and that it needed about 500-800 words cut. Which is frustrating for a story which I consider my most polished work, and which I struggled to find words I could cut just to get it under a wordcount of 6,000. But there was some specific advice included on what to cut, and even if it's stuff I would prefer to keep, I'll do my best to do what the editor wants. Of course, even after I do all that, there's no guarantee the editor will accept the revised piece, but given how rare second chances are, I intend to do my best.
So, after all this, am I discouraged? Sure I am. Maybe I'm not good enough. But, for some reason, I'm still confident. I believe I will get published this year. I don't yet know what story will succeed, or who will accept it, but I think it will happen.
