{"id":4927,"date":"2013-12-15T20:49:04","date_gmt":"2013-12-15T20:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/?p=4927"},"modified":"2014-12-20T02:26:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T02:26:47","slug":"crossing-the-rubicon-replying-to-a-rejection-from-a-literary-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/crossing-the-rubicon-replying-to-a-rejection-from-a-literary-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossing the Rubicon: Replying to a Rejection from a Literary Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Caesar-crossing-the-rubicon\"<\/a>Today I did the unthink\u00adable.<\/p>\n

In the lit\u00ader\u00adary world, what I did is tan\u00adta\u00admount to cross\u00ading the Rubi\u00adcon<\/a>. It\u2019s some\u00adthing that, in 20 years of sub\u00admit\u00adting my work to lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnals, I have nev\u00ader done before:<\/p>\n

I replied to a rejec\u00adtion let\u00adter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actu\u00adal\u00adly, I replied to a rejec\u00adtion email<\/em> (times have changed), but the sub\u00adstance of the trans\u00adac\u00adtion was the same: instead of shrug\u00adging off the rejec\u00adtion as I\u2019ve done hun\u00addreds and hun\u00addreds of times before, this time I decid\u00aded, \u201cHell, they\u2019re reject\u00ading my work any\u00adway, so I might as well point out their dis\u00adre\u00adspect\u00adful behav\u00adior.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How is this cross\u00ading the Rubi\u00adcon, you ask? Well, every\u00adthing I\u2019ve read about the writer\u2013publication rela\u00adtion\u00adship has been explic\u00adit: Nev\u00ader send an angry or con\u00adtentious reply to edi\u00adtors, because it only makes you, the writer, look bad.<\/em> The oth\u00ader prob\u00adlem is, I don\u2019t know if the edi\u00adtors of these lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnals talk with each oth\u00ader, and whether I might be black\u00adlist\u00aded because of my action:<\/p>\n

\""Rejection":

\u201cRejec\u00adtion\u201d: A col\u00adlage by Chris Blanc.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOh, here\u2019s a sub\u00admis\u00adsion from that Chris Orcutt. I\u2019ve heard about him\u2014he\u2019s that trou\u00adble\u00admak\u00ader, that writer who sends nasty replies to rejec\u00adtions. We don\u2019t need to read this. Send him a form slip.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Let me give you some back\u00adsto\u00adry here. The rejec\u00adtion email went to an account that I set up sole\u00adly for sto\u00adry sub\u00admis\u00adsions, and I had\u00adn\u2019t checked the account in a while. And the rea\u00adson I had\u00adn\u2019t checked it is this: I had stopped sub\u00admit\u00adting stories\u2014probably a year ago\u2014because (I\u2019ll admit it, I\u2019m human) I got tired of being reject\u00aded.<\/p>\n

Over the past three years, I wrote 39 sto\u00adries and made over 250 sub\u00admis\u00adsions, all with\u00adout a sin\u00adgle accep\u00adtance. Any\u00adwhere<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, these are some of the same sto\u00adries that read\u00aders of The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/em><\/a> are now call\u00ading \u201cbril\u00adliant,\u201d \u201cdeli\u00adcious\u00adly cheeky and iron\u00adic,\u201d and \u201cbeau\u00adti\u00adful use of our lan\u00adguage.\u201d<\/p>\n

But back to my sub\u00admis\u00adsions over the past three years.<\/p>\n

Dur\u00ading that time, because of the qual\u00adi\u00adty of the sto\u00adries I was sub\u00admit\u00adting, I did man\u00adage to estab\u00adlish a cor\u00adre\u00adspon\u00addence with major mag\u00ada\u00adzine editors\u2014including the accom\u00adplished, ven\u00ader\u00ada\u00adble and gra\u00adcious C. Michael Cur\u00adtis<\/a> at The Atlantic<\/em>\u2014and all of them, even though they were reject\u00ading my work, always treat\u00aded me with respect.<\/p>\n

\"Perhaps<\/a>

Per\u00adhaps the most famous New York\u00ader cov\u00ader of all time.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Atlantic<\/em>, The New York\u00ader<\/em>, Harper\u2019s<\/em>, The Mis\u00adsouri Review, Mid-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Review\u2014<\/em>they\u2019re class acts, every one of them.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say the same of the lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnal I replied to this morn\u00ading. I won\u2019t men\u00adtion it by name, but I will say that it used to be con\u00adsid\u00adered a pres\u00adti\u00adgious fic\u00adtion jour\u00adnal, and it still pub\u00adlish\u00ades quite a few name authors.<\/p>\n

So why did I reply to this par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar rejec\u00adtion, when I\u2019ve nev\u00ader done it before? Read it for your\u00adself, and I think my rea\u00adsons will be obvi\u00adous:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Con\u00adtrib\u00adu\u00adtor:<\/p>\n

Thank you very much for sub\u00admit\u00adting your work. After care\u00adful con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion, the edi\u00adtors were not able to accept it for pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

We would like to offer per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adized let\u00adters or feed\u00adback but lim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions of time and staff have made that impos\u00adsi\u00adble at the present. We wish you the best of luck in find\u00ading a jour\u00adnal to pub\u00adlish your writ\u00ading. The edi\u00adto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal staff, includ\u00ading the edi\u00adtor-in-chief, ******* *******, wel\u00adcomes crit\u00adi\u00adcal response to past issues of the mag\u00ada\u00adzine if you wish to include any in future sub\u00admis\u00adsions or let\u00adters. If you iden\u00adti\u00adfy your\u00adself as a writer who sub\u00admit\u00adted to ********, you may order back issues at a fifty per\u00adcent dis\u00adcount.<\/p>\n

With best regards,<\/p>\n

The Edi\u00adtors<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit that their insult\u00ading\u00adly gener\u00adic salu\u00adta\u00adtion of \u201cDear Con\u00adtrib\u00adu\u00adtor\u201d irked me. Not to men\u00adtion their dubi\u00adous \u201ccare\u00adful con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion\u201d of my work. They gave me no<\/em> indi\u00adca\u00adtion that my sto\u00adry had been read at all. In fact, every indi\u00adca\u00adtion is that mine was one of dozens or hun\u00addreds of oth\u00aders sum\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly reject\u00aded because the Edi\u00adtors were buried in man\u00adu\u00adscripts.<\/p>\n

And then they had the temer\u00adi\u00adty to inti\u00admate that I might actu\u00adal\u00adly want to buy<\/em> some\u00adthing from them? Please.<\/p>\n

But what real\u00adly both\u00adered me\u2014the thing that made me have to<\/em> reply to them\u2014was the ridicu\u00adlous length of time that had passed between my send\u00ading them the sto\u00adry in ques\u00adtion and their reject\u00ading it. (NOTE: In the lit\u00ader\u00adary world, a few months is con\u00adsid\u00adered an accept\u00adable length of time to wait for a reply.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear \u201cThe Edi\u00adtors\u201d:<\/p>\n

Accord\u00ading to my records, the last sto\u00adry I sub\u00admit\u00adted to you was \u201cThe Last Great White Hunter,\u201d and that was on Octo\u00adber 1 of last year. Four\u00adteen months ago.<\/p>\n

After a YEAR and two months before you could respond to my sub\u00admis\u00adsion, not only did I com\u00adplete\u00adly for\u00adget that I sub\u00admit\u00adted any\u00adthing to you, but I stopped car\u00ading. I won\u2019t be sub\u00admit\u00adting any\u00adthing to you again.<\/p>\n

Anoth\u00ader point: In the future, if a writer takes the time to send you a well-writ\u00adten sto\u00adry, if that writer shows respect for you and your time by not send\u00ading you some\u00adthing that is clear\u00adly ama\u00adteur (e.g., mis\u00adtakes in gram\u00admar and punc\u00adtu\u00ada\u00adtion), if that writer is clear\u00adly a pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal, then that writer at least deserves a per\u00adson\u00adal response. This is some\u00adthing that the major mag\u00ada\u00adzines includ\u00ading The New York\u00ader<\/span>, The Atlantic<\/span>, and Harper\u2019s<\/span> have done for me and oth\u00ader good writ\u00aders, so why can\u2019t you? Reserve your \u201cDear Con\u00adtrib\u00adu\u00adtor\u201d salu\u00adta\u00adtion for the so-called writ\u00aders who treat this endeav\u00ador as anoth\u00ader lot\u00adtery.<\/p>\n

Please do not both\u00ader to reply to this email. I would\u00adn\u2019t want to wait anoth\u00ader YEAR and two months before some\u00adone respond\u00aded.<\/p>\n

On a per\u00adson\u00adal note, I do wish the Edi\u00adtors and all of the staff at ******** a hap\u00adpy hol\u00adi\u00adday sea\u00adson and a New Year of health and pros\u00adper\u00adi\u00adty.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your time.<\/p>\n

Sin\u00adcere\u00adly,<\/p>\n

Chris Orcutt<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once I had writ\u00adten my reply, I sat in my chair with my fin\u00adger poised over the mouse, and the cur\u00adsor over the Send but\u00adton. What I felt was a faint taste of what Cae\u00adsar prob\u00ada\u00adbly felt when he stood on the bank of the Rubi\u00adcon, debat\u00ading whether to defy the Roman Sen\u00adate by cross\u00ading that insignif\u00adi\u00adcant lit\u00adtle stream.<\/p>\n

Cae\u00adsar\u2019s cross\u00ading com\u00admit\u00adted him to a future course of action, and my press\u00ading the Send but\u00adton would not only elim\u00adi\u00adnate this<\/em> par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnal as an option for future pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion, but pos\u00adsi\u00adbly many oth\u00aders. Over 20 years of sub\u00admis\u00adsions, I had estab\u00adlished a rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion (albeit mod\u00adest) as a writer of pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal-qual\u00adi\u00adty work, a writer who had tak\u00aden rejec\u00adtion in stride, and here I was, about to poten\u00adtial\u00adly undo all of that with a sin\u00adgle email.<\/p>\n

I thought about this for sev\u00ader\u00adal min\u00adutes, and then I grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly real\u00adized some\u00adthing: I don\u2019t need<\/em> them any\u00admore. They aren\u2019t the only game in town now. Although pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion in them would be nice, I don\u2019t need<\/em> them to reach read\u00aders the way I used to. If  lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnals won\u2019t pub\u00adlish my sto\u00adries in the future, it does\u00adn\u2019t mat\u00adter; I can pub\u00adlish them myself in ebook for\u00admat, reach more read\u00aders, and make more mon\u00adey on them than I ever could by being pub\u00adlished in an obscure, inces\u00adtu\u00adal\u2020 lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnal that the gen\u00ader\u00adal read\u00ading pub\u00adlic does\u00adn\u2019t read any\u00adway.<\/p>\n

\u2020See my com\u00adment below regard\u00ading my use of the non-word \u201cinces\u00adtu\u00adal.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rottenecards_44747360_r669nrr654\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cae\u00adsar is said to have quot\u00aded a line from a play as he crossed the Rubi\u00adcon, say\u00ading, \u201cAlea iac\u00adta est!<\/em> Let the die be cast!\u201d Just before I hit the Send but\u00adton on my email, I said aloud one of my own favorite lines about commitment\u2014spoken by King Claudius in my favorite Shake\u00adspeare play, Ham\u00adlet<\/em>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDo it, Eng\u00adland.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with a click and an audi\u00adble whoosh, my mes\u00adsage went out.<\/p>\n

Do I regret doing it? No. The lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnal in ques\u00adtion is only one of many<\/em> that engage in this kind of dis\u00adre\u00adspect\u00adful behav\u00adior towards good writ\u00aders. They for\u00adget that they are utter\u00adly depen\u00addent on writ\u00aders for their con\u00adtent.<\/p>\n

No con\u00adtent, no jour\u00adnal. Peri\u00adod.<\/p>\n

I plan to con\u00adtin\u00adue to send sto\u00adries to the above-men\u00adtioned bet\u00adter mag\u00ada\u00adzines, and, pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion or no, I\u2019m hop\u00ading they\u2019ll con\u00adtin\u00adue to read and be respect\u00adful of my work.<\/p>\n

And speak\u00ading of work, it\u2019s time for me to get back to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Post\u00adscript: <\/em><\/strong>A few days after I made this post, my short sto\u00adry col\u00adlec\u00adtion <\/em>The Man, The Myth, The Leg\u00adend<\/a> was vot\u00aded one of the Best Indie Books of 2013<\/a>. What makes this par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly grat\u00adi\u00adfy\u00ading is that 9 of the 10 sto\u00adries in the col\u00adlec\u00adtion were among the 39 that lit\u00ader\u00adary jour\u00adnals had reject\u00aded over the past three years.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I did the unthink\u00adable. In the lit\u00ader\u00adary world, what I did is tan\u00adta\u00admount to cross\u00ading the Rubi\u00adcon. It\u2019s some\u00adthing that, in 20 years of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,19,62,7,8,63,39,69,43,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors","category-fiction","category-literary-journals","category-personal","category-publishingandthemarket","category-rejections","category-short-stories","category-submissions","category-the-man-the-myth-the-legend","category-writingexperiences"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4927"}],"version-history":[{"count":68,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6335,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4927\/revisions\/6335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orcutt.net\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}