Withdrawal Symptoms
I’ve withdrawn two short story submissions today. And that is disappointing. Really, really disappointing.
The first was sent last September. I received no acknowledgement of its receipt and heard nothing when I emailed to see whether it had arrived.
The other was sent this year, in April. Again, there was no acknowledgement of its receipt and I received no response when I emailed to find out if it had reached them, and this despite the fact that the guidelines encourage writers to email in if they’re not sure their submission has been received.
As writers we know we’ll most likely have to wait a long while for a decision on our stories and poems. It’s not ideal, goodness it can be really frustrating, but we know that that’s how things are. That’s the way it’s done. That’s fine. But to hear nothing, to not even have the piece of mind that the submission is there, with the editors and/or readers – and be expected to wait months for a response – or to not even get a decision when it’s made, I think, is unreasonable and unfair.
And do you know the worst bit about it all, what’s the most disappointing? The two magazines were ones I loved to read, and I would have loved my work to be in them, even though neither pay.
Sad. But, we learn and move on. I don’t hold grudges, but I also very much doubt I’ll be sending anything their way again.
As I say, sad. And avoidable, I think. Both of those subs could have got lost in the mail and my emails might not have got through to the editors. Makes what Tania mentioned in another post’s comments the other day of having an automated response sound like a very good idea.
Sorry for the moan, it’s not something I like to do on here. I just thought I’d share because it’s all part of what it is to be a writer. Warts and all!