L. Lambert Lawson
Writer. Reader. Friend.Archive for Uncategorized
Rejection 61: #ClarionWest
Dear L. Lambert Lawson:
Thank you for applying to the Clarion West Writers Workshop for 2012. We are sorry to let you know that you were not selected for this year’s class. We had a record number of applicants, and because the workshop is limited to eighteen students we could only find room for a few of the many promising writers who applied.
We realize this is a disappointment, but hope you will apply to Clarion West in the future as our readers ranked your work highly.
We wish you the best with your writing, and hope you have a productive summer. Thank you again for your interest in Clarion West.
I knew this was coming, and I’m very okay with it. Disappointing, of course, but not heartbreaking. Only a few get in each year; I’m bound not to be one of them. As for the ‘readers ranked your writing highly’: meh. Clearly not. That’s alright, though. Everyone has different tastes. It doesn’t mean I think worse of myself as a writer. It’s just like any other rejection.
Oh well. Now I get to use my 4-Day Comic-Con tickets (with Preview Night).
Oh yeah…and write some more.
Onward!
Paying it Forward: Free Copy of City of Bohane by Kevin Barry (Plz Share)
Hi there. I just read an awesome book: City of Bohane, by Kevin Barry. [Clicking the link will give you a good description of it.] It’s one of the many quality books put out by Graywolf Press. You want to read it.
If you’d like a free copy of this book, from me, do the following:
Mention my twitter handle (@llambertlawson) in a tweet where you tell me why redheads are the scions of the gods.
That’s it: my twitter handle and your answer.
Most amusing answer (according to me) by Friday gets the book–and there’s only one available.
Rejection 60: Writers of the Future
.
The silent rejection. No rejection letter. No note. Perhaps they never received my story?
Rejection 59: Asimov’s
Dear L., Thank you very much for letting us see “Where the Lights Go.” We appreciate your taking the time to send it in for our consideration.
Although it does not suit the needs of the magazine at this time, we wish you luck with placing it elsewhere. Please excuse this form letter. The volume of work has unfortunately made it impossible for us to respond to each submission individually, much as we’d like to do so.
Sincerely,
Editor
Asimov’s Science Fiction
I love Asimov’s. I subscribe, and I think they publish first-rate fiction. This is the story I sent to Asimov’s I sent a few months ago. It’s my best story so far, and the story that forms the backbone of my Clarion West application (No…I didn’t apply to Clarion SD). [I'll tell you why if you ask.] I think it’s a good story, and I know it’ll find a home somewhere. I knew it probably wouldn’t find a home with Asimov’s, but it didn’t hurt to try.
Rejection 58: Parsec Ink
Dear L. Lambert Lawson,
Thank you for sending us “XXXXXXXXXXX”. We appreciate the chance to read it. We regret that we must decline it for the anthology, however.
Editor 1: “There’s a lot of good energy here, but the story is long (repetitive) for its premise and not totally clear. The character’s joke seems superficial to me. I would want more character development in order to make this ending generate the emotional power it craves. Streamline the world pacing and insert a stronger character thread to give the story depth beyond its interesting core concept.”
Editor 2: “I don’t think there’s any real story here. It’s a concept for a story rather than a story with real characters and emotion.”
Editor 3: “I don’t feel like I’m given enough reason to care about the characters. There’s too much focus on the concept (which I agree is not entirely clear) and not enough on an emotional arc.”
Editor 4: There isn’t a story here, just a short event. The POV is 29 years old but she seems like she’s 15. She doesn’t have much of a past and apparently no plan for the future. The tee should be symbolic, but it’s not. She keeps gushing about the new Earth, but that’s it. When the character doesn’t get a body, I don’t have any sympathy for him because I never met him. He’s a name on the page. There has to be a reason for her being able to “plant” her DNA and expect to get a body to grow. Overall, there’s not enough characterization or idea.”
Thanks again. Best of luck with this. We would be happy to read more of your work.
Sincerely,
http://www.parsecink.org
Ouch. I don’t mind tough critiques, but I think this one’s a bit…. Well, you can fill in the adjective. This one’s hard to post, but I promised I’d post them all.
Also, I doubt they’d be happy to read any more of my work.
Rejection 57: Lightspeed
Dear L.,
Thanks for submitting “XXXXXXXXXX,” but I’m going to pass on it. It didn’t quite work for me, I’m afraid. Best of luck to you placing this one elsewhere, and thanks again for sending it my way.
Sincerely,
John Joseph Adams
Publisher/Editor
Lightspeed Magazine
www.lightspeedmagazine.com
Form, of course, but when you’re Lightspeed, you can give forms. 
I knew they wouldn’t take this story, but I figured I’d start at the top and work my way down.
Passed on to 2nd Round at Penumbra: Almost Like an Acceptance
Dear L. Lambert,
Thank you for your submission. I enjoyed your story and have passed it on to the next round of evaluation where a senior editor will review it for consideration. If you wish to pull your story, please let me know.
Sincerely,
H.
Acquisitions Assistant
Penumbra
I’ve been getting quite a number of 2nd round letters as of late (this is my fourth, I believe). [Yes, four is a lot to me after so many form rejections.] I feel like I’m on the right track, whatever the outcome here.
ONWARD!
Why Do I Post My Rejections?
A few people have asked me: “Why do you post your rejections?” To start, I always have….just not here. This just seemed like a better place for it. I wanted a reason to blog more regularly here. There’s an answer. But there’s a better answer lurking…
I do it partly because I want others to know they’re not alone. We’re all wounded together; were all toughening up together, too. And, one day, we’ll all be published–somewhere. I don’t know where, and I don’t know when, but I know there’s a payoff for those of us slogging in the writing trenches.
I do it partly because I want to keep a record that I can look back on. Also, I want a record showing that I’m submitting. And, with submissions come rejections–for all writers from the very best (people like you) to the mediocre (people like me). It’s a sort of curriculum vitae, and it proves that I’m a writer (to me at the very least). Somedays, you really need that reminder. Oh yeah. I got seven rejections last week. I’m definitely a fucking writer. At least I know this is true.
I do it partly because I think some emerging writers sort of secret away their rejections. Perhaps, one day, they’ll see the light of day, but only after we’re established/famous/what-the-fuck-ever and those barbs won’t any longer have the power to wound. See! I am a good writer, we’ll call. But rejections don’t tell me that I’m a bad writer–that’s what my friends and crit-mates are for. No, rejections tell me that I didn’t have what someone was looking for. It’s really subjective. Really. But could I do better with my writing? Yes. All writers can do better, especially me. And I work everyday to get better. A rejection only tells me one thing, though: I didn’t have what that editor was looking for that day. Or those days/months/years. Who knows why? I certainly don’t know. All I know is what’s in the letter for that particular piece. Perhaps I’m looking at this all wrong, but I enjoy my perspective, and I think I’ll keep it.
Last, I think I do it partly because I want a place to look back at, a point on the horizon, that shows a clear line between where I entered the jungle we call a writer’s life and the place within the jungle where I eventually cleared a space for my home. And, yes, I will have a home in the SFF writing community.
That much I do know.
[P.S. I don't do it to put any editors on blast. I'm an editor myself, so that'd be sort of silly. Most of the rejections I get are quite kind, so I'd like to share them with the world.]
Rejection 56: Drabblecast (Another Awesome Letter)
Dear Mr. Lawson,
In this case, I was torn for a while. On the one hand, I appreciated
the relatively understated way the characterization of the final
decision was handled and the writing was generally suitable. However,
I felt like the “metaphor” was just a little too on the nose. That
is, for all the mention of teleporters and whatnot, the story is
basically writing “THIS IS ABOUT ABORTION DEBATES CIRCA 2010″ in
letters ten feet tall. Regardless of my or the other editors’
personal feelings on the matter, the Drabblecast doesn’t really get
into political satire much, as a general rule; without a little bit
more story and a bit further obfuscation of the core thematic barbs
here, that’s really more what this is. More “Primary Colors” than
“Manchurian Candidate,” if you follow.Have you tried this one with XXX XXXX XXXXXX? I’m not certain about
their policies on flash fiction, but they do claim an unabashedly
political slant to their magazine. They’ve rejected several of mine
for burying what they thought of as the lede too far. ;-)ttfn
Nathaniel Lee
If I ever have the good luck to meet Nathaniel Lee, I’m going to purchase him his beverage of choice. In fact, because I like this guy’s rejections so much, if I meet anyone named Nathaniel Lee, I’m going to buy them a drink too in an effort to pay forward this guy’s goodness.
And Nathaniel, if you ever read this (and some of the editors who’ve rejected me are reading this blog now), I mean it. Thanks for the thoughtful response; it means a lot to those of us slogging it out in the trenches.
I blocked out the magazine he mentioned, but they were actually next on my list after Drabblecast. Serendipity? Watch this space to find out.
Rejection 55: New Myths (A Well-Deserved Rejection)
Dear Mr. Lawson,
Thanks for letting us read your submission. I’m afraid we are going to pass this time. Unfortunately, we get too many submissions to offer personal feedback on each one. Best of luck placing it elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Nu Yang, assistant editor
New Myths
This story that I submitted was, as Damon Knight wrote when paraphrasing Frank L. Baum, picked too green. I’m not sure why I sent it out the door twice. Back to the woodshed with this story for a proper ass-kicking.
