Dear JR,
First off, I wanted to apologize for taking so long to get back to you and to thank you for giving us here at Murdaland the opportunity to read your stories.
There is much to admire about each. In both, the narrative voice is immediately engaging and flows well throughout. Your protagonists are compelling, as are the overall plots. Finally, the faint sense of menace that builds is quite affecting. The thought and craftsmanship that goes into your writing is obvious.
As enjoyable as they are to read, however, I’m afraid we’re going to have to pass on them at this time. The reality of the situation is that for each story we accept, we’re forced to reject over forty, and tough decisions must be made.
By the way, if you choose to submit again ( keep an eye on the Web site for our next reading period, which should be some time this summer!), I guarantee you a more timely response in the future.
Thanks again for thinking of Murdaland, and best of luck placing your stories elsewhere.
Yours,
Dennis Flynn
www.murdalandmagazine.com
16 comments:
Hey, if it helps any, but probably doesn't, I really do like your writing.
Jim, Interesting. It looks like you had that Murdaland picture somewhere before. Oh well, keep trying. Maybe the Murdaland review isn't your bag. --Bro, Ron
Don't give up...your stories are AWESOME!!!
Man! Build a guy up and then drop him on his ass! Hang in there JR.
MW
Well, you're a brave man. It would never occur to me to post my rejection letters. But that one was very encouraging.
The line I hate hearing most of all?
"Not suitable for our needs at this time."
That was a pretty awesome rejection letter. It could have been a form one. You should be really proud of your work and I'll look forward to your posting an acceptance letter.
Ah, but do they offer the Big Foot Award?
JR, you should have some of your "students" pay Mr. Dennis a visit next time. I'm sure they are very "persuasive" fellows.
You're brave to post the "rejection" letter. Damned with faint praise? I like Liz's idea of having some of your students visit Mr. Dennis - maybe with some socks with soap in them?
Who is that unfortunate little critter in the photograph?
Josie
that's their loss
Eamonroe's words I like!
Only a matter of time before acceptance...
Keep your pecker up JR. Rejection builds character and when victory is attained it is like drinking a fine vintage wine.
I look at rejection letters like this: Someone actually took the time to read my shit and then took the time to respond. (usually I just keep everything I write in a box next to my desk)
Come visit Dr. J if you need to get anything off your chest. Laughter is the best medicine!
Dr. J
Don't know if it's true with short stories--an almost marketless (obsolete?)craft in the first place--but I do know that in my journalism, I get rejected four times out of five...Then something takes and everybody wonders where you'd been.
It's a dartboard. Sometimes you can double-in, and sometimes you can't.
As for rejection building character, it'll breed character all right, but maybe a Machiavellian character, causing a resentful writer to sometimes craft a pointed little roman
a' clef and send it right up the .ss of a lazy publisher.
Ivan
Retribution is not an option here. I've read the first issue of "Murdaland" and I must say they got a good thing going. As for accepting 1 out of 40 stories, I'm willing to bet that it's much higher. Hell, Pebble Lake Review said they received around 1500 short stories a year and accepted less than 1%. I guess I got lucky that time. I'll keep at it, and thanks for all the suggestions.
I bet the 1 out of 40 is an underestimate too. I know even small magazines recieve reams of stories. Maybe they meant out of 40 decent stories they could only accept one. It would probably be one out of 100 if they counted the completely unusable ones.
The very best of it is that it was a personal rejection and, not just a form sent back.
So if nothing else congratulations on moving two steps up on the ladder of acceptance.
You and I have two completely different styles of writing, yours being more trained and mine being more primitive, but I was very proud the first time I received a personal note from an editor, even though it was a note of rejection it took them time to write instead of just dropping a form in your SASE.
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