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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Two Kinds of Rejections

In case you thought the rumors about tiered rejections were false.  Here is an example for you of the literary caste system:
Thanks for sending to West Branch. Though we have decided not to publish your work this time, we appreciate your interest in the magazine. Sincerely, The Editors of West Branch
Thank you for sending to West Branch. Though we have decided not to publish your work this time, we appreciate your interest in the magazine and hope that you will think of us in the future. Sincerely, The Editors of West Branch

7 comments:

rell said...

Don't over analyze it.

Our magazine has one form rejection slip that more or less says what the second WB rejection says. One day we ran out and the editor who printed the next batch thought it was better to omit the "please sumbit again" line. So the next batch of rejections were just a skosh less friendly than the previous batch.

The point is, comparing tiers of form rejections can't tell you anything about the editors' take on your work. There could be any number of reasons for the difference.

In any case, as long the rejection doesn't say "Never submit again." you are still free to submit again.

:)

Radek said...

I SEEN THEM SELL and i know that they are real a rejection it self!

Radek said...

I've recived a few nasty rejection in past but never from good journal LOL

Anonymous said...

What worries me is the fact that now a day ,places like new orelene,magazines which charge for submisions and that just curupting submisions and turn the poet into a gambler lol vagas!

Anonymous said...

Lol vagas, indeed.

Anonymous said...

I read for a journal before that used color-coded tiered rejections. Now that I no longer read for them, submit and get rejected, I regret not remembering that system!

lit J said...

Yeah, this is a horrible example of the two-tiered system.

A real second-tier rejection would say that they admired your work and ask you to please submit again.

These two rejections are both two versions of the same thing -- a standard rejection.