Author ISO Rejection
Reject me.
I can take it. Really.
I’m serious.
I’m sick of sending writing into the void and having nothing happen to it. Every single thing I’ve sent to NPR has fallen into a black hole. The other night I talked with a friend of mine who is a freelance writer as his full time day job and he asked me how a certain market I write for pays. I told him that it was my highest paying market and he said, “We need to get you into better markets.”
I remembered why I don’t query other markets: the queries fall into a hole and are never heard from again. The Writer. Writer’s Digest. Bust.
Rejection makes me feel like a writer. It’s a sick sort of validation. Bear with me here: a rejection says more than “I don’t want to buy this work.” It says “Dear writer, I don’t want to buy this work.” When you get nothing at all, you’re not even noticed. You’re a gnat.
Last year I was invited to contribute to a book of essays. I was excited, so I wrote something I figured was fitting. I then got a request for a rewrite. I rewrote. *crickets chirp* Now I’m at the end of the year money-chasing phase and I look to see if the book is out, and lo, it is. I search the TOC on Amazon and I’m not even in there.
No rejection. Nothing.
Damn it.
I can take rejection. Really. I prefer it to being ignored.
About the Author: I am a writer and podcast producer, writing for magazines and RPGs. I am a wanna-be fiction writer with several short fiction, comic scripts, and one novel sale. Playing For Keeps will be out August, '08.
Marie | Dec 4, 2006 | Reply
Really, when you think about it, querying is akin to applying for a job. For a job, unless I’m offered an interview, I usually hear… *crickets* nothing.
At least querying, depending on who is queried, you often get a response. For novels, most agents respond, even if it’s only a rejection letter. It’s too bad a few markets you’re submitting to don’t acknowledge your submission. But how many jobs in the past have you applied for and never heard from?
Kendall | Dec 4, 2006 | Reply
They invite you, request a rewrite, and then blow you off?! Wow, that’s astoundingly unprofessional! ;-(
Mur Lafferty | Dec 4, 2006 | Reply
Actually, Marie, it’s different. If I offer a story/article to a publication, don’t hear anything, and then shop it elsewhere, if the first one ever gets back to me and finds out I’ve sent the work elsewhere, *I* am the one who looks unprofessional.
It’s an unspoken rule that you don’t query two markets at the same time with the same story. So it’s good to get the “no thanks” from the first before you try the second.
Hysteria | Dec 5, 2006 | Reply
Mur,
Wow, I know how that goes. I’ve submitted a few articles to an RPG comic, and there are two that were supposed to be published, and one I never heard anything back at all. I sent a couple of followups, but haven’t heard anything back from them, either, which bugs the heck out of me.
Jay Penney | Dec 5, 2006 | Reply
Quite a few places speak this rule openly, right in their guidelines: “No simultaneous submissions”.
Simon Sherlock | Dec 5, 2006 | Reply
As in not hearing back from job applications, it is not so much unprofessional but RUDE (especially when you’ve been asked to contribute something and then just hear nothing).
Anonymous | Dec 5, 2006 | Reply
Mur, may I leap on your rant and add a thought of my own? I am new to the writing business, but it became clear quickly that the gatekeepers have their own rules, different from the rules for writers.
While we have to make sure our manuscripts are pristine, our work in on time, etc. It seems like publishers/editors are not really obligated to make a decision and contact us within the times they list on their websites. It seems common for writers to wait up to a year to hear back on a submission.
I understand that these people are busy, but so are we and we play by their rules, but they don’t seem compelled to reciprocate.
I guess the best markets are the ones who do have a predictable turnaround time. All we can do is support the ones that play fair and skip those who don’t.
So far in my experience F&SF and Flashing Swords have been really good about responding within a month or so. I won’t mention the problem markets here, but would be happy to talk about them on the forum, privately.
Keep up the great work, Mur. I recently had my first sale and I finished NaNoWriMo. Your podcast was a big part of my education and motivation. Thanks.
–Bryan Hitchcock
Kaylea | Dec 6, 2006 | Reply
I’m not sure where in NPR you’ve sent stuff, but I bet Tony Kahn (Morning Stories, WGBH) would at least reply and be a pro about it. He’s a big podcast pioneer at NPR and he uses listener audio in his show.
Rashenbo | Dec 10, 2006 | Reply
LOL! Silence is a beast! When confronted with “no” or endless crickets chirping… I think most folks would go for the “no”
SupComTabz | Dec 15, 2006 | Reply
Did you watch “A Prairie Home Companion”? In one of the DVD special features they interview Garrison Keillor who says something to the effect of “I’m tired of writers complaining about how hard it is to be a writer… it’s a job.. just like any other job….” He, of course, being a more seasoned writer than I am said it better, but I can’t find the quote for love or money… but it was beautifully simplistic about how much heartache can be had in writing.. yet, in the end, it’s a labor of love.
I just found your podcast and really enjoy it. Keep flying.