Friday, April 09, 2010

Didn't Get It

So after three days of coughing, sneezing, and other gross elements I will not discuss here, I come back to this lovely jewel waiting in my inbox:

We at Necrotic Tissue received your submission: "Sealed With Anguish". After considered review by our editorial staff we have decided not to publish your story.

You're a strong writer, and I really enjoyed the story, but there was one problem I had with it. Keep in mind I'm one editor, and another editor may love this piece.

While there were horrific elements in the story, it is not the type of horror we look for at Necrotic Tissue. Deadly amounts of silver were placed in some samples, but it's not clear if this was intentional or an accident. For that reason, I would consider this to be a drama piece instead of horror.

Please also take a few minutes and log our response time at
www.duotrope.com. We work hard to respond to writers in a timely manner, which allows them to submit again to another market if not selected for publication. Reporting response times helps us attract writers and helps writers make good decisions about where they want to submit.

Please come join us at:

The Haunt, Horror Mall's very own forum (
http://www.horror-mall.com/haunt/NecroticTissue)

MySpace (
www.myspace.com/necrotictissuemag)

First of all, I thank the editorial staff at Necrotic Tissue Magazine for sending me feedback with my rejection. It's quite refreshing after the numerous form rejects. However, I don't think they got what the story was about. It was implied how the deadly amounts of silver got to the kid. Everyone who crit this piece seemed to get it. I don't know. This is the fourth rejection for this story. Maybe I'm not submitting it to the right markets. Will see what Pseudopod has to say.

2 comments:

Sharon Day said...

Yeah, I can relate. Finding the perfect fit is a tough one. I find that editors really have a certain mindset and that's what they want. If you find one who does publish you, you can keep presenting more to them. Writing and publishing is a lot like people hooking up romantically--there's chemistry or there isn't. In other words, "it's not you, it's me" syndrome.

Andrea Allison said...

Yeah I know, but i think its worse when you strongly feel a story has potential but yet no one is willing to take a chance on it.