Um, Wha?
So, politely declined editor.
Editor emails back and asks me to reconsider, saying the only thing she really wants changed is the one thing that completely changes the story. So, she wants a story like mine but isn't the one I sent. And she wants me to make this major change for $10.
So I email her back and again decline (still thanking her for her time), this time explaining that the change she wants me to make essentially takes my female MC from a young woman who is trying to escape (and ultimately fails) to a damsel in distress who is being rescued. I did not point out that she clearly 1) missed a number of things that clarify the things she wanted clarified, 2) that she has completely misunderstood the story, or 3) that the change she wanted in no way "strengthened" the SF element as she implied it would in her first letter. Just that this one main point that she sees as a plot hole changes the entire story and that I am not willing to make such a fundamental change.
She emails me back again and basically tells me I'm wrong. The clues I think are in there (and that crits have helped me make sure are in there) are not actually in there. That the story needs "clarification".
I am not responding to this last letter. It's pointless. And it makes it obvious, my work, which does not always spell everything out in a literal fashion (there were a few things that seriously made me raise an eyebrow at how she could not understand what was being written: 'his robes caressed the floor', for example), is obviously not right for this editor or her zine.
But, um, yea, still irritating, even though those I discussed the situation with agreed that it's just a bad fit and her perception of the story was...a little off.
I should probably make a list somewhere of editors and such not to submit to again. Not sure if sharing that list even under a restricted setting here on LJ would be all that useful. Very few editors get under my skin.
I just have a hard time believing that ANY editor would think $10 is enough of an incentive to rewrite a whole story into another story with a similar premise. Pay me a pro rate, and I'd seriously give a shot. For token? Don't think so.
Today pretty much ended up a loss. A lot of things interfered with writing time and made it impossible to get much done. I'm going to go read for a bit then crash. I'm done for the day.
~~~
most recent
whysper a giant leap :: journeys Off To The Betas :: booklog The Guns of Avalon :: the chef's wife Pork Tenderloin & Goat Cheese
Editor emails back and asks me to reconsider, saying the only thing she really wants changed is the one thing that completely changes the story. So, she wants a story like mine but isn't the one I sent. And she wants me to make this major change for $10.
So I email her back and again decline (still thanking her for her time), this time explaining that the change she wants me to make essentially takes my female MC from a young woman who is trying to escape (and ultimately fails) to a damsel in distress who is being rescued. I did not point out that she clearly 1) missed a number of things that clarify the things she wanted clarified, 2) that she has completely misunderstood the story, or 3) that the change she wanted in no way "strengthened" the SF element as she implied it would in her first letter. Just that this one main point that she sees as a plot hole changes the entire story and that I am not willing to make such a fundamental change.
She emails me back again and basically tells me I'm wrong. The clues I think are in there (and that crits have helped me make sure are in there) are not actually in there. That the story needs "clarification".
I am not responding to this last letter. It's pointless. And it makes it obvious, my work, which does not always spell everything out in a literal fashion (there were a few things that seriously made me raise an eyebrow at how she could not understand what was being written: 'his robes caressed the floor', for example), is obviously not right for this editor or her zine.
But, um, yea, still irritating, even though those I discussed the situation with agreed that it's just a bad fit and her perception of the story was...a little off.
I should probably make a list somewhere of editors and such not to submit to again. Not sure if sharing that list even under a restricted setting here on LJ would be all that useful. Very few editors get under my skin.
I just have a hard time believing that ANY editor would think $10 is enough of an incentive to rewrite a whole story into another story with a similar premise. Pay me a pro rate, and I'd seriously give a shot. For token? Don't think so.
Today pretty much ended up a loss. A lot of things interfered with writing time and made it impossible to get much done. I'm going to go read for a bit then crash. I'm done for the day.
~~~
most recent
whysper a giant leap :: journeys Off To The Betas :: booklog The Guns of Avalon :: the chef's wife Pork Tenderloin & Goat Cheese