It's okay, I don't handle rejection well, either.
1. Jac Jemc. This girl is adorable.
2. "I learn something new everyday. On Monday, October 6th, I learned that even small press can be pricks.
Funny how the attitude of an editor can ruin your perception of an otherwise wonderful e-zine. I have no urge to read it again.
Have a great day."
(This guy sent a submission that was addressed to both TJ and Zygote in My Coffee at the same time. I told him I was going to reject it without reading out of principle, so the writer probably has a point.)
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18 comments:
You prick.
Dig the blog. Hadn't been here in a while.
Speaking of editors bigger than I am, how's it hanging on the Appalachian Trail, Rusty?
Ha! They sent a blanket submission and then call you a prick? Seriously.
I have a serious crush on Jac Jemc. I came across this web site when I was researching an old black porn star named Janet Jacme for a story I was trying to write. The site distracted me so I blame Jac Jemc for my Janet Jacme story never being finished.
She is fucking adorable, though.
Haha! I was definitely a part of this rejection process as it pissed me off beyond belief. I strongly feel that my time and the time of my co-editors (and other publishers) is worth something! Pasted below is my actual response to both the guilty party and MAtt Digangi:
You know what? FUCK THIS short story! The mere fact he (i left out the perps REAL NAME) simultaneously submitted it to two different publications and didn’t even take the time to HIDE his faux pas is MORE than enough to dismiss his submission altogether! I won’t even consider publishing it here at Zygote. You gotta be more talented and tactful than that, especially if your story is less than mediocre.
BLIP!
This story has been erased from my memory banks!
Signed,
~that zygote bastard (Brian Fugett)
today's poem made me sad.
It makes me sad too. I can't believe Thieves Jargon would publish a poem as shitty as that one.
Hey Matt and Brian,
You're both so hot the poor author is in love with you both. And it looks like that strategy worked about as well as it would have with two women.
Damn, boy, no matter how much you like other women you gotta tell each one they're yr one and only.
Of course, I'm resentful he didn't sub to me as well.
Cheers,
Rob
I'm the author that is the topic of this blog post. In my defense I have to say that a lot of work goes into writing my stories and why shouldn't I try to up the chances of getting it published by making blanket submissions? If you had both decided to accept it I would have given honors to the editor who first accepted it and kindly let the other editor know that my story already had a home. The competition should be between editors to snag the hottest writers and stories out there and not between editors and writers trying to determine who dissed who harder or who got served the worst. I mean in the end it's DiGangi and B. Fagget that served themselves.
No amount of talk can excuse a blanket submission, author that is the topic of this blog post. In fact, your defending it makes you seem worse.
"I would have given honors..." Ha, that's just plain creepy.
Where's ZIMC?
This is one of my favorite interactions of all time
#####,
I'm sorry to inform you that I'm going to pass Bobby Star. It was well written and interesting but I felt it didn't have enough "grab" for me ---making it a just miss. Please send something else for the next submission period.
regards
Timothy Gager
___________
Dear Tim,
I don't know what "grab" means, but I do know that Bobby Star is one of the most original stories you'll ever see anywhere. How many "plane crash" stories (beautifully written) have you ever read in your lifetime??
I have presented craft, originality and heart in this piece. I believe you had no intention of taking it from the get-go.
######
Yo I was the author that wrote that story you rejected and I straight up dissed you with my reply and you cried.
this is awesome. friday's story was good.
the answer to matt's question about how to get more people on the old message board seems to be answered.
let em be anonymous
yeah yo and stop dissin me and my stories digangi
if a story is dissed, it might've been necessary for that action to have been taken. it is for the better of all humanity. people who post anonymously have no balls. i'd tell you this in a bar even after we had drunken a few beers and were on edge. not that the internet matters eitherway.
Bad form, yeah, but if simultaneous submissions are allowed why is it such a big deal? Ego? Is it like robp said, and writers have to treat editors like women their running around on?
Also, I have to agree with the anon. author when he used the word "honor." When someone gives you their art for free, that is an honor. Likewise, I'm sure when a story is published by TJ it's an honor to be include. It has to be a two-way street.
A lot of work goes into running TJ and other top-notch lit sites, but everyone here knows that writing a tremendous effort, too.
For starters - Zygote ended Friday? What the hell, Brian, sorry to see you go, hope you've got something in the works. Something should be done with some of the writing in the archives.
Back to topic at hand - the hell with right or wrong, from a practical standpoint it makes no sense to submit a story to editors in a form they are opposed to. Thieves Jargon's subs page says they "frown on" simultaneous subs, yet this writer flaunts the simultaneity. Editors read tons of shit, they don't need to bother with things that essentially start "Fuck you, I'm doing it my way."
Of course, the writer may well not have seen what he was doing as anything along those lines. So each side thinks the other launched the first volley. The thing is, it's really better to alienate an editor with your writing, not before.
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