*facepalm*

[agilebrit]

Okay, fellow writers on my flist, when you get a rejection in which the editor actually takes the time to give you crit, do you:

(a) Shrug, say, "Oh well," and sub it to the next market.
(b) Rewrite the story based on the crit.
(c) Thank the editor for their time, whether or not you agree with the crit.
(d) Whine about it under lock and filter on your LJ...and send it off to the next market.
(e) Write a nasty screed to the editor, defending your work. When he writes you back, reiterate that you feel attacked, boo-frackin'-hoo. When he responds by smacking you with a banhammer, tell him to "Go f*** a spastic porcupine."

If you answered (e), congratulations, you're the latest in a long line of numpty authors who will not last long in this business.

Seriously, rejection isn't personal. The editor isn't rejecting you, s/he's rejecting that particular piece of writing. Some other editor may love it to bits and shower you with cash. This doesn't mean the previous editor was wrong, it just means that they didn't like that story.

It's not about you. It's about your work. Separate your ego from it and resist the urge to hit the REPLY button unless you're going to thank the editor. Because arguing? Never ends well.

And we wonder why editors send form rejections...

Of course, the form rejections get the frothing replies of rage too. But I bet they don't get them as often.

Comments

[neo-prodigy.livejournal.com]

Wow. Generally I usually do A,B, or C.

Sometimes when an editor takes the time and gives some sage feedback (and even if I don't always agree, I understand where they're coming from and it's clear that they know what they're talking about), I'll thank them and submit to them again because even if I'm being rejected, I'm still getting something out of it.

I have gotten some scathing rejection letters from some pissy editors and some bad markets but even then, I've never done E. I just scratch that market off of my list and move on.

Some people.........wow.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I'm coming across about one of these a month, seems like. And as far as I'm concerned, they can just keep on chlorinating themselves out of the Acceptance Pool.

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

The thing people have to understand is that it's that one editor's opinion on that specific day. If he/she had read the same piece a week earlier, the story might have gotten a different reaction. The reception of the piece also has to do with what other stories have been crossing the desk. If a writer submits a story about a time-traveling spastic porcupine and there has been a steady stream of time-traveling porcupine stories, no matter how fetching the story is, it is unlikely to be selected.

Have you heard back on your Rabbit story?

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I'll hear back on the rabbit story sometime after the end of July, when the contest closes to subs.

It's really funny to see what editors are getting. One day one of them posted a picture of a bunch of little ballerinas and said "This is what my slush pile looks like right now. MAKE IT STOP." LOL