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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Rejection!

Just received a rejection from a market that has bought quite a few of my stories (maybe six?) over the years. First rejection from them, actually, partly because I have written specifically for them.
So I can't complain, and the notes from the editors were pretty spot on. Except this:
One of the editors compalined that she was put off by the jargon. She thought meth referred to methalated alcohol and she was unclear about crank, and thought that it might be slang for crack.
Now as the story was about a meth addict, you can see that that presented a problem. And I don't think that crank is a terribly obscure term, having lived through the last decade conspicuosly not living under my bed.
So good on her for not having to be exposed to the seamier side of life, but it seems to me to be a liability to be buying crime fiction when you appear to have led such a sheltered life.
So the lesson here is don't send this market harsher stuff anymore.

2 comments:

M. D. Jackson said...

Wait... she edits a magazine that publishes Crime Fiction and she doesn't know what Meth is? For crying out loud! What were her qualifications? "Read everything that Agatha Christie ever wrote."?

You know, Michael, Dark Worlds Magazine would love to publish another Michael Ehart story. Our editors have not lived under a rock since 1936.

Art said...

In fairness they publish other things as well, but 4 of my six sales to them have been pretty hard boiled.

Might have something for you in a couple of months. Dark Worlds has been pretty good to me :)