Rejected!
I just got a great rejection letter:
Thank you for sending us "Cancer On Cat's Paws". I've reviewed the
story and decided not to purchase it. If it's any consolation, it was
an extremely near miss - your writing is very tight and evocative - no
wasted words and right to the point. Oddly (and this doesn't happen
very often) I decided on rejection because I thought the brevity of
the piece worked against it in the end. I would have liked a little
more about how the woman felt about doing this (regretful? joyful at
the extension? wondering how long it could last before the thing
moved on?) and how it had started (too much doesn't need to be
explained there, of course). Also, while the cancer metaphor works
well, you might consider adding in an aside somewhere near the end,
along the lines of "of course, she knew it wasn't cancer, not
really.." as it's just possible someone who has dealt with having
cancer or knowing someone with cancer might be a little put off by the
wholesale identification of that real world horror with such an unreal
take on it.
As another aside, if you'd like to see a similar idea that plays out
in a different way, search out E.F. Benson's short story
"Caterpillars" (I think it's from the 1920's). It's in a lo9t of
classic horror collections.
Thanks for submitting, and I hope my comments have been at least a
tiny bit helpful. Please consider us for future submissions!
I'm not too wild about the idea of saying "it isn't REALLY cancer" at the end, but the rest of his suggestions are good and I will certainly check out the short story. I don't know if I will rework the cancer story and send it back, but I do have another story that I will send along to them.
It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to be treated this way by an editor. I shall keep working, and will someday (soon, if this letter is any indication) meet with success!
Thank you for sending us "Cancer On Cat's Paws". I've reviewed the
story and decided not to purchase it. If it's any consolation, it was
an extremely near miss - your writing is very tight and evocative - no
wasted words and right to the point. Oddly (and this doesn't happen
very often) I decided on rejection because I thought the brevity of
the piece worked against it in the end. I would have liked a little
more about how the woman felt about doing this (regretful? joyful at
the extension? wondering how long it could last before the thing
moved on?) and how it had started (too much doesn't need to be
explained there, of course). Also, while the cancer metaphor works
well, you might consider adding in an aside somewhere near the end,
along the lines of "of course, she knew it wasn't cancer, not
really.." as it's just possible someone who has dealt with having
cancer or knowing someone with cancer might be a little put off by the
wholesale identification of that real world horror with such an unreal
take on it.
As another aside, if you'd like to see a similar idea that plays out
in a different way, search out E.F. Benson's short story
"Caterpillars" (I think it's from the 1920's). It's in a lo9t of
classic horror collections.
Thanks for submitting, and I hope my comments have been at least a
tiny bit helpful. Please consider us for future submissions!
I'm not too wild about the idea of saying "it isn't REALLY cancer" at the end, but the rest of his suggestions are good and I will certainly check out the short story. I don't know if I will rework the cancer story and send it back, but I do have another story that I will send along to them.
It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to be treated this way by an editor. I shall keep working, and will someday (soon, if this letter is any indication) meet with success!