Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Comments on Rejection Comments

In the guidelines for Tales of the Talisman magazine, I write, "As a general rule, we will no longer comment on email rejections." I've had a few questions about this lately and thought it might be a good idea to provide a little background on this subject.

Back when the magazine was Hadrosaur Tales, I was happy to write fairly extensive comments on story rejections. It's always wonderful to see writers with promise improve their craft and, when possible, I like being part of that process. However, as the magazine has grown over the years and particularly after its change to Tales of the Talisman, the number of submissions has increased dramatically. It's to the point now that if I want to respond in a timely fashion there's no way I can read all of the submissions myself much less write very extensive comments.

Another factor that has contributed to the current lack of email rejection comments is that the very nature of email allows people to whip out quick responses to messages. Most responses to email rejections with comments tend to be polite thank you notes. Some are people wanting to discuss the comments, which I mostly like to do, but gets back to the issue of time. Finally, a very few are quite rude, knee-jerk responses and I really don't have the time or energy to put up with those.

As submissions started to increase, I also realized that I was writing many of the same kinds of rejections, and many of the comments fell into three categories: the story had not been proofread for spelling or grammar, the story structure had problems, or the story was just plain wrong for the magazine. Those first two items could, in many cases, have been fixed simply by letting someone proofread the story and give an honest critique. Honest friends who won't spare your feelings and writers groups typically have more time to give a thorough critique than I can as an editor. The final item could be fixed by reading the guidelines, or better yet, looking at a sample copy of the magazine before submitting.

Finally, over the years I've come to realize that not everyone wants comments on stories that they submit. Some people simply want a quick yes or no so they can move onto the next market.

So, where we stand now is that if you submit by email and I decide not to purchase a story, you will most likely get a short note informing you that we've decided not to purchase the submission. That said, if you submit by postal mail, my form letters have a field for comments and a set of check boxes. I usually try to put some kind of comment in postal rejections, though it still won't be fairly extensive unless I think the story has a lot of promise, then I'll sit down and compose a longer letter. If you especially don't like comments with rejections, it's better to submit to Tales of the Talisman by email. If you especially do like comments, it's better to submit by post. If you don't care one way or the other, submit the way that's best for you. Note, these comments only apply to Tales of the Talisman. Other editors have their own ways of doing things.

Good luck in all your writing endeavors!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-08-28 12:14:13

Friday, August 24, 2007
Another interview

Okay, this actually isn't an interview with me. Rather it's an interview with space pirate captain Ellison Firebrandt, the protagonist of my novel The Pirates of Sufiro. The interview forms part of Laura Givens' ongoing web comic, "On the Air With Nicodemus Dare" and may be found at: www.talesofthetalisman.com/comics.html

The comic was posted today, August 24 and will be available for two weeks. Hope you'll drop by to see what Firebrandt has to say for himself. I was even surprised (and a little scared) by what he said!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-08-24 12:41:59

Thursday, August 23, 2007
Interview up

An interview with me was just posted at: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/328042/a_few_minutes_with_writer_and_editor.html

The interview covers a wide range of topics including my new and upcoming projects and some thoughts on contemporary fantasy from my perspective as editor of Tales of the Talisman magazine and more. Hope you'll drop by!

Posted by David Summers 2007-08-23 15:15:58

Saturday, August 4, 2007
Review Contest

Podcast Pickle, one of the sites that lists my audiobook, The Pirates of Sufiro, is holding a review contest. Starting August 10, if you post a review at Podcast Pickle, you will be entered into a contest to win $100.The $100 will beawarded each week for 4 weeks. Details about the contest areat: http://podcastpickle.com/index/reviewContest

Ifyou're not already subscribed to The Pirates of Sufiro, you can find it listed at: http://podcastpickle.com/cast/25525. There's just about enough time to listen to the book before I start posting the sequel, Children of the Old Stars, in September.

Don't forget, the books are also available in print. Just drop by the Hadrosaur Online Bookstore or The Genre Mall to get copies of your very own. (And of course Amazon.com and others have them, too!)

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-08-04 11:12:22

Saturday, July 7, 2007
SFPA Poetry Contest Begins

The Science Fiction Poetry Association today announced the beginning of its second annual poetry contest. Rules and information may be found at: http://www.sfpoetry.com/2007poetrycontest.html

Tales of the Talisman Magazine is proud to be one of the sponsors of this year's contest. As the magazine's editor, I encourage you to submit to the contest. There are some great prizes this year!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-07-07 20:53:22