The dissonance between their editorial readers and the automated letter is a thing to behold. I've redacted the names because I'm not angry with them; I'll likely submit again. Okay, some of the time I'm angry, but the rest of the time I'm snickering.
WTF? That's one for the record books, fer sure. Their loss, John.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I think the 2nd readers comment could describe their rejection letter!
ReplyDeleteRegards, David.
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ReplyDeleteI erased the other comment because my phone kept messing up, but maybe you got it in your email? Anyway, keep on keeping on.
ReplyDeletePs did you get a weird spam-ish like emial from WotF? I think I got a reject, but it was so full of other stuff I wasn't sure. If you haven't heard back, that's a very good sign. ;-)
Your comment looked fine to me, Jodi. Not sure why you deleted it.
ReplyDeleteI also got the spam-ish rejection from Writers of the Future. I e-mailed her back. She's sincere about wanting people to sign up for that stuff and seems to think it's useful. The e-mail bothered me initially because it's marked urgent, gets you excited, and then immediately says you didn't win.
We'll see if it's somebody else's gain, Cathy.
Thanks for sharing, John. While it is good that you got a personal note, that is the most bizarre rejection I've seen. smiling yet glaring face
ReplyDeleteLol, well at least your story was of high quality sven if it wasn't that good. :D
ReplyDeleteI find their feedback amusing. Actually not bad but not really very good. Their reject letter is pathetic however. I think you can find better places for your work...
ReplyDeleteAny place that pays well, Mr. Solender. Have a few markets you'd recommend?
ReplyDelete"Not bad, not all that good, but not bad". That's gotta be my favorite commment ever. How did they thing telling you that would be helpful, exactly? It's like if someone asks how you are: "I'm OK- my wife just died, my house is on fire, and my dog got run over by a car when he ran out of the flaming house- but i'm OK" No wait, that's actualy informative so forget that. We'll just stick with "OK" as the appropriate analog.
ReplyDeleteHe, he, he...you've got to like the upbeat "Better luck next time!"
ReplyDeleteWould you like a bit of hot sauce to make the next one more palatable?
WTF indeed. What an odd response. It almost has me wondering if there was a mix-match between the reviewers and editor (ie, the reviewers' comments were for another author); sadly, that happens. But thank you for sharing because we all learn from this crap.
ReplyDeleteBut in case you were worrying whether you're a hack or not, wander over to my blog. Peace...
Amusing, indeed. The "helpful" reader responses seem auto-selected pseudo-random sentences from articles... sort of how spammers work. Maybe they want their automated rejection letters to appear to have personal input.
ReplyDeleteUseful? In a stretch of the imagination, maybe. Good to keep your chin up and to find the humor in the experience.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, stop by Powder Burns to pick up the gift (award) I've given you. I don't do it often, but this one fits.