Hello everyone! Glad to be back. This week, I wanted to talk about what rejection feels like when you send a piece to a lit journal and why you might have been rejected. There are many reasons a journal might not accept your piece. It doesn’t mean your writing was “bad.” But you might want answers after receiving a rejection. Here are ten reasons why your writing received a rejection.
1. It wasn’t the right fit.
Sometimes, a story can be good, but it doesn’t fit what the journal is looking for. It might not be the right genre, or it doesn’t fit the exact rules that the journal laid out. For example, if a journal wants werewolf stories where the werewolves can time travel, then you better write that. If you don’t, then it doesn’t matter how good the story is. The journal won’t want to pursue it. So make sure you follow the guidelines as best you can.
2. It was more of a “rough draft.”
Stories might be rejected because, while it has a cool concept, it’s not quite ready for publication. If you think about it, the first iteration of your story idea is the worst: you need to enhance what you created and make it the most interesting it can be before you submit. Sometimes, authors send their work too soon, and the piece remains weaker than it might have been. Don’t edit too much, but make sure you think your work is the best it can be before you submit.
3. It contains little mistakes.
Sometimes, a journal will reject a piece if it includes a lot of small mistakes. I’m talking mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, or simple format. Also, if you don’t follow the formatting a journal wants, then that’s also grounds for a rejection. Tons of mistakes that would have been simple fixes if you had edited annoy readers and editors because it wastes their time. It shows that you haven’t put in effort before you submitted a piece, and they don’t want that.
4. Elements of the story didn’t make sense.
A story could be written well, but if there are plot holes or decisions you made that don’t make any sense, then a journal won’t want it. Readers will be just as confused, and journals don’t want to confuse their readers. Make sure your stories have a solid beginning, middle, and end that doesn’t leave readers frustrated or confused by the end.
5. The ending wasn’t satisfying.
A story might exhibit a strong start, but then the ending leaves editors unhappy or frustrated. Make sure the ending wraps everything up nicely and makes readers happy. Keep your audience in mind. Don’t throw something random out there if you want your readers to be happy.
6. The journal already has a similar piece.
If your story has similar concepts to another story that a journal already accepted, they’ll reject yours because they don’t want duplicates. This doesn’t mean a journal will accuse you of copying another writer (unless it’s clear you did). Rather, it’s a coincidence, especially if a journal looks for something specific, like werewolf time travel stories.
7. The journal simply has no room.
Top literary journals receive HUNDREDS of submissions throughout the year or during their reading periods. Even with a team of editors, they might not have the time to look through all of them before the issue they’re creating fills up with enough stories. They might not have time to get to yours, and that’s not your fault. It happens. It doesn’t mean they didn’t bother with your story either. Most likely you’ll have the chance to resubmit during their next cycle, and then you’ll be at the top of their radar.
8. The story is bogged down with exposition, telling, and more.
I send a rejection to a lot of stories like this. Stories like to include tons of exposition in the beginning, where they includes all the details you need to learn overtime instead of getting to the story. Other times, stories simply tell you what’s going on rather than showing. These don’t get to the heart of the story and grip the reader right away, so it experiences rejection. Make sure you don’t fall into these traps!
9. It got lost or the journal faced difficulties.
Like number seven, you may be rejected through no fault of your own. A journal may lose your submission, or they may face difficulties and have to go on hiatus. I volunteer for a journal currently coming out of a long hiatus, and we have had to reject dozens of submissions simply because we just had too much of a backlog. In this case, don’t get too frustrated with editors. It’s hard being one.
So next time you get rejected, remember it isn’t personal, remember these possible reasons, and try again. Edit yourself and work to get better. All you can do is try! Happy writing!
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