11/01/2005
A Rude Rejection Letter
Kudos to the creator of this 'blog, as it is more timely than I can convey. What I have to say is on the subject of professional rudeness. As a writer, I experience a fair share of rudeness from editors to whom I submit my work, a thing to which I have (sadly) grown accustomed. This is not to say that I allow it to go unchallenged when I encounter it, and in the spirit of this blog, I wish to share my most recent reply to a group of indescribably rude individuals professing to be editors.A recent submission of my work to Flash Me Magazine was quite discourteously declined, and I have copied below the range of editorial comments that accompanied my rejection notification:
EDITOR 2: No. The only redeeming factor in this story is that it’s short.
EDITOR 3: No. I am sure there are markets that cater to people who desired to read this type of literature. The wall of a public washroom comes instantly to mind.
EDITOR 4: No. Wrong market.
EDITOR 5: No. Absolutely not.
EDITOR 6: No. There is another way to tell this story without using words like “fuck.” Other than that, the story is unappealing.
I realize that rejection, whether courteous or pointed, is a part of a writer's life, but I cannot abide unprovoked malice as I perceived it in their comments. And because I do not suffer fools gladly, it simply would not be Anthony to allow such undeserved rancor to go unanswered.
Thus I retrieved Flash Me's thrown down gauntlet as follows:
Dearest Editors,... [to read the response letter, please click on the comment link below]
EDITOR 2: No. The only redeeming factor in this story is that it’s short.
EDITOR 3: No. I am sure there are markets that cater to people who desired to read this type of literature. The wall of a public washroom comes instantly to mind.
EDITOR 4: No. Wrong market.
EDITOR 5: No. Absolutely not.
EDITOR 6: No. There is another way to tell this story without using words like “fuck.” Other than that, the story is unappealing.
I realize that rejection, whether courteous or pointed, is a part of a writer's life, but I cannot abide unprovoked malice as I perceived it in their comments. And because I do not suffer fools gladly, it simply would not be Anthony to allow such undeserved rancor to go unanswered.
Thus I retrieved Flash Me's thrown down gauntlet as follows:
Dearest Editors,... [to read the response letter, please click on the comment link below]
