Alan Beard's site

This isn't a blog really, just a record of all rejections I receive with editorial comment (when there is one) and my comment. Might not be a good idea but useful for my records and maybe of interest to others. I also put occasional entries on what I'm reading, my PLR statement etc..

Story: Background Noise

Mag: Blackbird

Editor's comments:

Dear Alan Beard,

Thank you for your interest in Blackbird, and our sincere apologies for the uncustomary delay in response. Unfortunately, "Background Noise" doesn’t meet our needs at this time. Due to the high volume of submissions, we can only publish a small amount of what we receive. We wish you the best of luck in your future writing endeavors.

The Blackbird Staff

My comments:

Sent this in Jan 09 - 18 months for a reply. Ah well, I had one accepted today as well - 'Staff Development' (previously called 'Separate Things'), so I'm happy.

Story: River walk

Mag: Agni

Editorial comment:

Dear Alan Beard:

Thank you for sending "River Walk." Your work received careful consideration here.

We've decided this manuscript isn't right for us, but we wish you luck placing it elsewhere.

Kind regards,

The Editors

P.S. Without submissions like yours, we'd lose the sense of discovery that keeps AGNI fresh. Please click here for a discounted subscription rate offered as a thank-you to our submitters: https://www.bu.edu/agni/subscribe-08sem08.html.

My comment:

might well take you up on that, although my mag subs are a bit heavy..

Story: Staff Development

Mag: Narrative Winter Contest

Editorial comment:

Dear Alan Beard,

Thank you for entering “Staff Development” in the Winter 2010 Story Contest. We received and read entries from writers from all around the world—stories, essays, memoirs, graphic stories, short films, and audio readings about nearly every possible subject and in almost every setting imaginable. Each entry received careful consideration from our editors.

At the end of weeks of discussion, the editors selected three winners and five finalists. We regret that your story was not a winner or finalist this time, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to consider your work, and we hope that you will keep Narrative in mind for your work in the future.

An announcement of the winning stories will soon go out to the magazine’s readership, and the winning stories will be published in the magazine in late May or early June.

Thank you, again, for letting us read your work, and please accept our best wishes.

Sincerely,

The Editors

My comment:

You have to try don't you..

Story: One for the Album

Mag: Narrative

Editorial comment:

Dear Alan Beard:

Thank you for sending your work to Narrative. We are always grateful for the opportunity to review new work, and we have given "One for the Album" close attention and careful consideration. We regret, however, that "One for the Album" does not meet our needs at this time. We hope that you will keep us in mind in the future.

Sincerely,

The Editors

My comment:

I will keep you in mind for the future, thank you very much.

Story: Little Chef

Mag: flashquake

Editorial comment:

Thank you for your interest in flashquake. Our decisions were difficult, but we have decided not to use your submission(s). We have included below our editors' comments on your work; we hope you find them useful. Please note that we are closed to submissions until December 1, when our Spring issue reading period opens.

Alan Beard

fiction

Little Chef

Editor 5 Vote: No

Ed. 5 Comments: I couldn't sympathize with any of the

characters and the final line seemed a little too pat for the story, as if the whole story had been written just to deliver that one line.

Editor 6 Vote: No

Ed. 6 Comments We've seen a thousand variations on this

theme, and while this one is well written, it's not far different.

My comment:

bollocks. I don't normally get depressed but this week the three rejections seem to have really hurt. I want to go and lie down somewhere and emerge a new shiny person, or better still for one or two stories to be accepted. That would cheer me up.

Story: River walk

Mag: Fish Short Story Competition 2009/10

Editorial comment:

My comment:

I was getting excited about this because it made the longlist, but the shortlist was published today and I'm not on it. Depressed.

Story: The Heebie Jeebies

Mag: The Sunday Times 2010 Short Story Award

Editorial Comment: nowt

My comment:

This is rejection by default: I'm not on the longlist of 20. My namesake Richard Beard is though, and he works here (at Birmingham City University) as Director of the National Writing Academy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him, although another writer I 'know' (in the virtual world) is also on list: Kay Sexton, so I'll keep my other fingers crossed  for her too.

Story: Separate Things - now called Staff Development

Mag: The Collagist

Editorial comment:

Dear Alan,

Thank you for your interest in The Collagist and for the opportunity to read your work. Unfortunately, we are unable to use the fiction you submitted. We wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere and hope you’ll consider us again in the future.

Sincerely,

Matt Bell

Editor

The Collagist

My comment: grrr-eat.

I had my Public Lending Right statement yesterday and I am now £1.45 richer. Nobody took 'Doreen' out, but a few took 'Going th Distance' out. My PLR gets less and less each year. To be expected I suppose.

Story: man in the pub

Mag: Flashshot

Editorial comment:

Alan,

Loved the imagery in this one but I needed something to happen. Sorry.

GW

Editor/Publisher: G. W. Thomas

RAGE m a c h i n e Magazine

http://www.gwthomas.org/ragemagindex.htm

My comment:

sometimes in stories nothing happens, or not much, and I don't mind. Especially 100 word or less stories (this was 97 words). I suppose I'm unusual.

Story: Separate Things

Mag: Glimmertrain Family Matters Competition

Editorial comment: zilch

My comment:

Rejection by default. Wasn't even on the shortlist. Give it another going over over Christmas and send it out again. (rolls up sleeves).

As before I have put all the books I've read this year, usually with star rating and reviews on Goodreads.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/698826-alan?shelf=read-in-2009

Many of the books this year were recommended by fellow goodreadians, and it's been a fantastic year of new discoveries.

My top ten - a diifficult choice with so many good books are as follows:

Number one easily is How I Came to Know Fish by Ota Pavel. Utterly fantastic collection of stories, subtle and full of character.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57342097

The runners-up:

George & Rue by George Elliot Clarke (novel): http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1193672.George_Rue

Going Native by Richard Wright (novel): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62313001

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan (stories): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53936937

Heartland by Anthony Cartwright (novel): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53325478

The Civilized Tribes: New & Selected Stories by Jerry Bumpus: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45939383

Country of the Grand by Gerard Donovan (stories): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45539298

Not a Chance by Jessica Treat (stories):  http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45118233

Night Train by Lise Erdrich (stories): http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40748810

The Witnesses are Gone by Joel Lane (novel); http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55666892

Story:  River Walk

Mag: grasslimb

Editorial comment:

Thank you for submitting your work to Grasslimb Journal.

Although your work came close in selection, we have decided not to use it in Grasslimb. As usual with such 'rejections', it's not intended as a message that your work is poorly written; on the contrary, this is well-written work, under challenging competition. I wish you the best of luck placing your work elsewhere. We hope you'll consider submitting work to Grasslimb again in the future.

Valerie Polichar

Editor, Grasslimb

editor@grasslimb.com

My comment:

forgot I sent it there - sent it in May.

Story:  Hook to Tinkerbell

Mag: Word Riot

Editorial comment:

Alan,

Thank you for sending your work to Word Riot. We've read it carefully. Unfortunately, we didn't feel it was quite right for us.

If you have something else you think is right for our magazine, please feel free to try us again in the future.

My best,

Jackie Corley

Publisher, Word Riot

http://www.wordriot.org

My comment:

One of the fastest replies ever - less than a day! Althought the story is under 300 words.