Time to Rant
All right, I guess this wouldn't be the same blog it used to be if I didn't rant a little about daily, monthly, yearly irritations of being an aspiring fiction writer. In my anal-retentive spreadsheet of submissions that I've been keeping for years now (okay, so it's not a spreadsheet, it's a Word document with columns and rows, I can't use Excel to save my life), I have a few no responders highlighted in red. Sending a fiction submission out, having it sit at a magazine or e-zine or what have you for months, and then never get the common decency of a reply... well, it's irritating.
Among the naughty is a magazine I ran across in Poets & Writers magazine, called Bucks County Review. Apparently at some point it was a "new venture" according to the editors' notes, but apparently it's also a slow venture or a "oh, never mind" venture. I submitted in November 2005 and still have received no response, and emailed queries about the status of my submission are bounced back. Oh, joy.
Another market I happened across in Poets & Writers was Lorraine & James. I had never heard of them until I saw their call for submissions in Poets & Writers in February. As of May, the magazine's Web site said it is already on hiatus. Easy come, easy go. (I'm sure there's a sad story behind this -- it said not only might this be a hiatus but they might call it a wrap -- but it's still a bit frustrating when you wait three months and never receive a reply and then come to find out the magazine's just gone.)
Well over a year ago I sent a story to storySouth. Don't ask me what's up with them, but I never got a response even with a few follow-up emails (that actually didn't get bounced back) so I say, um, get with it people. I was a little surprised because storySouth is behind the Million Writers Award every year, so I would have expected a bit more professionalism there.
And I do have one last question: does anyone know what's up with The Paumanok Review? I sent a submission there and got bouncebacks to my followup emails. However I have dealt with Katherine Arline before and she is very professional. So... I'm curious if anyone knows if that publication is on hiatus or what.
Okay, there are a few other rant-worthy publications out there when it comes to non-responders, but I guess I can save that for another day. This is getting a little long.
Ah, the writing life. It can be... awfully quiet sometimes. Truth is, I'd rather have somebody respond that they hate and despite a short story of mine (which has happened, well they didn't say that in that many words, but that was the gist), than just get silence. And of course, the dreaded email bounceback does make me worry whether everybody's okay over there, wherever they are.
Thanks for reading and keep on writing...
LLB
Among the naughty is a magazine I ran across in Poets & Writers magazine, called Bucks County Review. Apparently at some point it was a "new venture" according to the editors' notes, but apparently it's also a slow venture or a "oh, never mind" venture. I submitted in November 2005 and still have received no response, and emailed queries about the status of my submission are bounced back. Oh, joy.
Another market I happened across in Poets & Writers was Lorraine & James. I had never heard of them until I saw their call for submissions in Poets & Writers in February. As of May, the magazine's Web site said it is already on hiatus. Easy come, easy go. (I'm sure there's a sad story behind this -- it said not only might this be a hiatus but they might call it a wrap -- but it's still a bit frustrating when you wait three months and never receive a reply and then come to find out the magazine's just gone.)
Well over a year ago I sent a story to storySouth. Don't ask me what's up with them, but I never got a response even with a few follow-up emails (that actually didn't get bounced back) so I say, um, get with it people. I was a little surprised because storySouth is behind the Million Writers Award every year, so I would have expected a bit more professionalism there.
And I do have one last question: does anyone know what's up with The Paumanok Review? I sent a submission there and got bouncebacks to my followup emails. However I have dealt with Katherine Arline before and she is very professional. So... I'm curious if anyone knows if that publication is on hiatus or what.
Okay, there are a few other rant-worthy publications out there when it comes to non-responders, but I guess I can save that for another day. This is getting a little long.
Ah, the writing life. It can be... awfully quiet sometimes. Truth is, I'd rather have somebody respond that they hate and despite a short story of mine (which has happened, well they didn't say that in that many words, but that was the gist), than just get silence. And of course, the dreaded email bounceback does make me worry whether everybody's okay over there, wherever they are.
Thanks for reading and keep on writing...
LLB
posted by LadyLitBlitzin at 8:33 PM
6 Comments:
That is similar to my experience with applying to jobs (I am trying to find a better one). I have been at it for almost a year and rarely get responses. I have only gotten one rejection. All the others are left open and unfulfilled.
Oh man, that stinks. I've been through times like that too though. You've just got to keep plugging away. I really do hate it when you don't get any response whatsoever though. It's just rude and inconsiderate.
Keep on trying though! Don't give up!
I'd suggest e-mailing storySouth. I've submitted to them and they've always been very prompt with subs (i.e., a month or two). One thing I remember, though, is the editor there once e-mailing me with the hassle spam filters are causing with subs, both receiving them and in author's receiving responses.
Thanks Anonymous! Well, I did email them but maybe I got caught up in the spam filter. I suppose it's worth a shot... just to have the peace of mind.
Hello...as for storysouth, I understand your frustration. It took nearly eight months for me to receive a rejection. It seems this site is sometimes a forum for the editors to publish their own writing, so take it with a grain of salt. It also professes to be a site for writing about the "new" south...sorry, but the latest issue offers a bit of fiction that was translated by someone who attends the U of Arkansas (the only claim to the south). The story isn't southern in any sense, nor was it written by anyone with a southern connection. Just the translator? Perhaps this comes off as "sour grapes", and maybe it is, but just thought I'd offer my two cents. Keep on trying though, that's all we can do.
Thanks Anonymous -- that's really frustrating that storysouth is including stuff that doesn't even have a connection to the south. Yeah, the story I submitted was actually very much connected to the south. Frustrating!! But you're right, all we can do is keep plugging away!
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