Thursday, February 11, 2010

My first rejection

Well, Abyss & Apex passed on my submission. Got a very nice personal rejection from the flash fiction editor. She called the story intriguing, said she liked the writing and the setup, but felt that this was the start of a bigger tale.

Very perceptive, because it is. It's the first section of a short story that has sort of stalled out. I thought the beginning could stand on its own. I still think it could but may need some tweaks.

I can't say I'm not disappointed. It would have been great to have my first submission accepted. But looking at the stats on Duotrope it was a long shot. According to the numbers there nearly 95 percent of submissions to Abyss & Apex are rejected.

I guess the next best thing to acceptance would be a personal rejection and I got one of those, so that's something. And the fact that the editor said she liked my writing was good to hear. Makes me think I'm not wasting my time trying to make a go of this.

5 comments:

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  2. You have to start at some point. This means you send out more stories. I am proud of you no matter what. You will get published one day. You will.

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  3. I think it's fantastic news! I mean an acceptance would have been over the top but this is great. You actually took a step of faith and walked the walk. You tried and that's a lot better than most people ever do. You got that first denial out of the way and the personal rejection is a heck of a lot better than a form letter or no response at all. You're taking positive steps and I'm proud of you.

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  4. Although it seldom seems like it to the writer, rejections are useful as learning tools. Never take them personally, and like everything they are given to opinion, the publication's needs, and even sometimes the number of tales read before your submission.

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  5. Thanks everyone. I know that rejections are part of this and they can come for many, many reasons. I am keeping my head up and still writing. Working on new stories. Tweaking old ones. Plugging away. I'd love for success to come easy, but I know that it doesn't no matter what you are trying. Success can be even harder to find when it comes to writing. So I'll keep working. Getting better and trying to find the positives even in the negatives.

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