World Class Poetry Blog

Rejection Notice In 24 Days
24 March 2008, the poet @ 8:04 pm

This has got to be a world record: I received a rejection notice in 24 days.

I sent a manuscript to 32 Poems on February 28. I got my rejection notice last night, March 23. That must be a world record.

I used Manuscript Hub to submit two poems to 32 Poems because I wanted to test the service. But I’d also pegged 32 Poems as a place I’d like to get published in. Manuscript Hub made the process real simple. No stamps, no drive to the mailbox (since I live in rural Adams County, Pa., the mailbox is a quarter mile drive or walk), no long waiting line for acceptance or rejection, and no hassles.

Since you can expect a manuscript to be in the mail for up to a week in each direction, 24 days from submission to rejection, or acceptance, is pretty good. The snail mail process usually takes at least 2-3 months, and that’s fast. Through Manuscript Hub, I got my answer in less than a month.

Initially, I thought the $2 fee for submission was a little bit overpriced, but if I can save myself two months in the submission process and free my poems up to submit somewhere else then it might be well worth it after all. While I might spend more on delivery fees overall, I also run less of a risk of pissing off editors and publishers by double submitting (and some editors will not accept submissions from you again if you jerk them around that way so it’s a big risk), and if the process can be sped along by a month or more on each submission then I may be able to move myself closer to a full book manuscript sooner due to the circulation of single poems in journals. I’m using the first person in writing this, but the point is these factors apply to anyone. Having a book of poems published six months sooner due to faster answers on submissions to journals could mean more books getting published and more financial rewards in the long run. That could very well make up for the difference in delivery fees.

And the rejection letter, this is the best part, was a personal letter from the publisher herself. That’s always nice. Most publishers, when they reject you for publication, will simply send an impersonal note, “Sorry, no dice!” Pardon my paraphrase. I can understand it considering that publishers are busy people. You can’t craft a personal note for every writer who sends a manuscript your way. But a personal note can go a long way to encourage a writer to keep submitting. And that’s the bonus. Encouragement. Thanks to 32 Poems and Manuscript Hub for making the submission process much easier and affordable. I hope more journals start taking online submissions.

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