Haven Spec Magazine, Rejectomancy

REJECTOMANCY

We think feedback is important, and while we get too many submissions to offer notes on most of what we see, we try to structure our rejection letters so you have some idea what we were thinking when we declined a story.

The first tier:

Dear [AUTHOR],

Thank you for the submission of your [TYPE] "[TITLE]" to Haven Spec Magazine. Unfortunately, we've decided to pass on this one, but we wish you the best of luck on your writing and publishing endeavors.

Sincerely,
[READER], [ROLE]
Haven Spec Magazine

Many submissions that are rejected in the first round get this reply, but that doesn't mean your story or poem is bad! This reply is sent to about 90% of submissions.

The second tier:

Dear [AUTHOR],

Sincerely,
[READER], [ROLE]
Haven Spec Magazine

Getting this rejection could mean that we read the entire submission or that we decided halfway through that it wasn't quite right for us, but generally, this reply means that something about the submission wasn't landing for us. That is no reflection on the story, however! It's based entirely on our own sensibilities, interests, and needs for the magazine. This reply is sent to about 10% of submissions.

The third tier:

Dear [AUTHOR],

[Then there's a final paragraph with specific feedback about elements of your submission that weren't working for us. This is usually formatted, I liked X and Y, but overall, Z didn't quite come together for me.]

Sincerely,
[READER], [ROLE]
Haven Spec Magazine

This reply generally means that we read the submission in its entirety and that we liked a lot of it, but what wasn't working for us still outweighed what was. We also often use this reply when we think a story is very good, but not quite suitable for any of our upcoming issues (or the magazine generally). We send this reply to roughly 1-3% of submissions.

The fourth tier:

Dear [AUTHOR],

Thank you for your submission of your [TYPE] "[TITLE]" to Haven Spec Magazine. We would like to consider it for publication, but there are a number of edits we'd like to see first.

[There is often a bullet-point list here with the major issues that we think need to be addressed before the story works for us completely, with the number of biggish issues generally ranging from 0 to 6.]

I've attached a copy of the manuscript with comments in the margins, plus a few changes made with track changes. These are all just suggestions, but feel free to look it over when you have the chance and, if you'd like, I'd be very happy to see another draft!

Thanks again for your submission, and if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to get in touch!

Sincerely,
[READER], [ROLE]
Haven Spec Magazine

This reply is a request for you to revise your submission. Generally, the more big changes that we suggest, the more rounds of revision there are, but we try to decide after the second round. If the changes come together in a way that works for us by then, these stories turn into acceptances. Otherwise, we offer a little more feedback with the rejection and a polite request that you submit more of your work (since we obviously like it!). This reply is sent to about 1% of submissions.

The percentages don't add up to 100, and mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. Really, though, the numbers are only meant to give you a ballpark idea of where your submission was in the process. They are nothing set in stone.

The fifth tier:

Occasionally, we get submissions that are good to go with the barest minimum of revision. These are accepted outright, with only the necessary copyediting applied. It is a joyous day when such submissions arrive in the queue.

Other tiers:

There are a variety of other tiers for racist diatribes, screeds of various kinds, and envelopes filled with smallpox pustules. Luckily these are rare.