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Rejected by Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine.

And speaking of rejection slips, here's one I received in the mail when I came home from work this evening (click on image to enlarge):

Please excuse the quality of the scan--the letter was wet when I found it in my mailbox. What's heartening about this is it's actually a personalised rejection slip... and the editor says my story has "nice writing", so there's hope! Yay!

All I have to do now is to figure out which magazine to submit to next.
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Comments

  1. Edmund Yeo24/6/06 11:53 am

    Try Locus magazine then. Or Dragon. It's possible to try some smaller newszine or fanzine that's related to sci-fi and fantasy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Artemis Hunt24/6/06 2:47 pm

    Don't ever give up, Ted. If you like, you can send over your story for me to beta. Your writing, as I mentioned earlier in The Water Tower, is always nice. You have to just plot a little bit more for your stories. Remember, it's got to be exciting every step of the way and the reader has to want to go on. Things HAVE to happen, vividly and dynamically. It's got to GRAB the editor.

    BTW, how did you submit it? By email? Or by snail mail? (Thinking of trying too.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. bibliobibuli24/6/06 8:01 pm

    poor ted

    just as long as it isn't wet with your tears ...

    just wondered - how you thought about joining an online critiquing group? they work well and give good feedback without the sting of rejection ... i am a member of writersvillageuniversity.com and have found it very useful

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ted Mahsun25/6/06 2:27 am

    Swifty: Thanks for the suggestion! But I think neither Locus nor Dragon accept short story submissions. No problems though... I'm sure I'll find some suitable candidates in my copy of Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2006. I'll thumb thru it later when I can steal some time.

    Lynette: Thanks, Lynette! I shall take you up on the offer. Always need good beta readers! Send me a note and I'll reply with my story attached ;)

    My story was submitted through snail mail, a requiremnent stated in the the magazine's submission guidelines. A lot of magazines require snail mail magazine submissions so I have a small collection of 84c US stamps at hand for the SASE that goes along with a submission. (Makes it easier for them to send you their rejection :p)

    Sharon: No time for shedding tears when there are manuscripts to be sent out and stories to be written and rewritten! None of this spilt milk shenanigans for me! Hah!

    I have thought of joining a critiquing group, I just haven't found one that I've taken a liking to yet. I shall try the one you suggested, Sharon. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lydia Teh26/6/06 9:29 am

    That's a positive can-do attitude! As one editor said in a rejection letter to me, "don't let the ink run dry." Or to rephrase to suit modern context, "don't stop tapping on the keyboard." :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ted Mahsun26/6/06 10:41 am

    Thanks, Lydia!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous26/6/06 4:09 pm

    Hi Ted! Good to know that you are in good spirit and will be sending your work out again to other publications.

    Allow me to share one success story of a previous rejection.

    I used to contribute articles to the newspapers.
    There was one that I particularly liked but was rejected by the paper that usually published my work.

    I was upset because I thought it was good. After the 'dust of indignation' settled, I sent it to a publication overseas and it was accepted.

    That was four years ago, also the first time my work was published by a publication that has circulations in S'pore, M'sia and the Phillipines.

    The lesson is, never give up. Sometimes, one man's poison is another's meat.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ted Mahsun26/6/06 8:29 pm

    Thanks for the great story, Yvonne! I think rejection really has to be taken in stride and to consider it a step closer to being published.

    ReplyDelete

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