Friday, June 9, 2017

A Rejection Letter for my Quince Flash Fiction Story


Well, I got a response. Unfortunately, the response was a rejection letter. 
Dear Thomas Kepler, 

Thank you for sending us your flash fiction story, "Perchance Beneath a Quince Tree". We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, it's not quite the right fit for Every Day Fiction. 

Please find attached some feedback from our editorial team. 

Thanks again, and best of luck placing this story elsewhere. 

Sincerely, 
all of us at Every Day Fiction 
Anyone who submits must be prepared for a rejection letter. That's what I've learned through the years. Also, there seem to be only two reasonable responses: 1) submit to another publication, or 2) shelve the work for a while (or forever).

I'm traveling for now, so my response will be the latter until I get back home.

Here are the notes regarding the rejection. (And, it is important to say that many publications don't bother with personal notes due to the volume of submissions or due to the possible adverse reaction from writers.
"This is unique and there are some lovely moments, but I found the story a bit hard to follow."
The main character of "Perchance Beneath a Quince Tree" also found her "story" a bit hard to follow, since her untrained magical talent slipped her from one alternative universe to another, and she's struggling to get back home to her husband and children. The whole purpose of the flash fiction story was to embody that wonder and elusive experience.

That being said, EDF has a responsibility to its readers--and if that if to provide stories a bit easier to follow, well, OK. One of the good points of shelving a story for a while is to read it later with the editor's criticism in mind. One possibility for a rewrite is to use the flash fiction story (with limited word count) as a basis for an expanded story that doesn't have to be so compressed.

Well, on to other writing. I even have an idea to use the main character of this story in another tale.

0 comments:

Post a Comment