What a writer has to ponder I’m sure Green Mountains Review is a great journal, and I hold no grudges for them rejecting my work but seriously, what were they thinking? Who on earth thought that the way to deal with an International Reply Coupon was to sticky tape it to the front of the […]

Posted by on Jan 15, 2008 in editors, literary magazines, rejection | 3 Comments

What a magazine editor owes a writer A fascinating debate has begun over at Kelly J Spitzer’s blog. If you’re one of the many writers who doubles as an editor, even ‘trebles’ as editor and copy-editor, as I do, then you do get to see this problem from a wide range of perspectives. One of […]

Posted by on May 10, 2007 in rejection | 6 Comments

If you want to be a writer … Learn the rhythms of the literary world. Like now: May and June are the months all writers can expect an avalanche of rejections as editors of USA magazines clear their decks for the summer break, as agents clear theirs in preparation for their holidays, and as autumn-based […]

Contests It’s one of those months. I’m reading two lots of slush, one for a themed contest and one for a high literary publication that seems unable to hang onto slushpile readers – and I’m reading for Her Circle, as I do all year round, and finally I’m working through a batch of novel synopses […]

Posted by on Dec 14, 2006 in bling, editing, rejection | One Comment

Bling writing I’ve rejected a couple of examples of this recently, as an editor, and I think it’s both a growing trend and a sign of immaturity in the writer’s psyche. I’d define bling writing as the process of throwing brilliant effects at a story until it scintillates like a disco ball. Some writers are […]