An Encouraging Rejection
Oct 25, 2020 18:29:16 GMT -6
Post by Alatariel on Oct 25, 2020 18:29:16 GMT -6
Did you know there could be such a thing as an encouraging rejection?
We put rejections on the Boasting Wall because we like to celebrate having the courage to try, to put our work out there for others to see and judge. It takes a lot to do that and to press forward, even after a rejection.
It's normal and expected to get "form rejections". A very clear and concise message of "thanks but no thanks". But I'm quite proud of the rejection my story just received. I kind of predicted it wouldn't be picked up by this particular magazine- they are a "retropunk" magazine and though this specialized submission didn't ask for "punk" themes (steampunk, clockpunk, cyberpunk, etc), I suspected they still wanted to fit that style. My story wasn't punk-ish at all. They wanted dark fairytales retold in a fractured way. I gave them a twisted version of Sleeping Beauty.
This was their message to me this morning (For my story Beauty, Song, and Death):
Thanks for submitting!
This one was deliciously dark! Sadly, We've found another Sleeping Beauty in the pile that is a better fit for our aesthetic, so I'm going to have to send this one back to the nest. I'd keep sending this one around the horror & dark fantasy markets if it was mine.
Now this I find encouraging! And I will keep submitting it, try to find it a good home.
We put rejections on the Boasting Wall because we like to celebrate having the courage to try, to put our work out there for others to see and judge. It takes a lot to do that and to press forward, even after a rejection.
It's normal and expected to get "form rejections". A very clear and concise message of "thanks but no thanks". But I'm quite proud of the rejection my story just received. I kind of predicted it wouldn't be picked up by this particular magazine- they are a "retropunk" magazine and though this specialized submission didn't ask for "punk" themes (steampunk, clockpunk, cyberpunk, etc), I suspected they still wanted to fit that style. My story wasn't punk-ish at all. They wanted dark fairytales retold in a fractured way. I gave them a twisted version of Sleeping Beauty.
This was their message to me this morning (For my story Beauty, Song, and Death):
Thanks for submitting!
This one was deliciously dark! Sadly, We've found another Sleeping Beauty in the pile that is a better fit for our aesthetic, so I'm going to have to send this one back to the nest. I'd keep sending this one around the horror & dark fantasy markets if it was mine.
Now this I find encouraging! And I will keep submitting it, try to find it a good home.
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You add them to your profile as you do them around the forum.
