Rejected, at Last

Had to pay for it even ...

Just received my latest rejection email. It is a bit of a relief because I expected to wait until June when the other rejections mature. I paid for this one to be reviewed so the response time was better than most.

One is overdue by months, I sent a friendly inquiry once so I’m not going to check again, one is scheduled in June, and the last is not committed to a date. But June sounds nice. The summer season should heal crushed hopes nicely.

I aim for non-agented submissions so it is all on me and I trend toward cautiousness. Just what a busy editor needs, emails from an anxious writer. Not.

Now I know there are some out there thinking, why don’t they just send manuscripts through a jaded AI system and select the ones it doesn’t rate as trite or average? I think the reason is there are no jaded AI systems developed yet. The ones on the market tend to over-praise, so they wouldn’t be much help. But the day is coming when you’ll have to beat the machine before you get to a real editor.

But seriously, six months to get a a yea, maybe or no? It is an insane amount of time. At least a maybe would be helpful. Rejects should go out right away. Let me get on with my mundane life instead of waiting on a knife’s edge wondering.

I imagine most editors were also writers at one point in their lives so they know the other side. All I want is a little empathy. And yes, I know that turns into a ton of more communication but that’s the work. Communicating an idea, a concept a horror, a worry, a love story, something mysterious—isn’t it?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments, agree, disagree, take me to school, whatever. I’m fresh on the feedback.