An Open Letter to Howard Junker
One of the journals to which I regularly submit my fiction is the West Coast oriented Zyzzyva, run by the dedicated and hard working Howard Junker. He has been considering my submissions (and rejecting them, I'll add) since October of 1998. Over just the past 10 months I have sent Zyzzyva seven of my most sweated upon short stories.Each of my submissions has received the exact same rejection letter, pseudo hand written "Onward!" and all (see images). Just a few moments ago, before sitting down to write this blog entry, I received another identical rejection. While I am ever grateful for the time it takes to consider my work—and the opportunity to submit it—frankly, Mr. Junker, I think it is about time you drafted a new rejection letter.
And while I'm at it, you can stop including the "subscribe to Zyzzyva" insert; save the penny, I'm already a subscriber!
Now I know it is nothing extraordinary to send work to an editor for eight years. Plenty of writers are equally patient. My point here is that the exact same rejection letter, word for word, has been photo-copied and sent to countless potential contributors since the late 20th century. As an editor myself I understand the mechanics of responding to hundreds or thousands of unsolicited submissions. But come on, Howard, throw us a bone.After all, some of us have been doing this for quite some time now.
R J Woerheide
Editor in Chief and Hardened Rejectee
Post Script: To be fair, I must thank Howard for his continued timely response to my submissions. I rarely have to wait more than a month to hear back from him. Credit must be given where credit is due.
posted by Robert Woerheide at 7:05 PM
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2 Comments:
Thanks very much for subscribing.
Although we are grateful to those few writers who do, it has no bearing on how their manuscripts are read by me.
And we don't check to see whether we should include a "buck slip," that is, a subscription form. After all, it does include the possibility of giving a gift sub.
As to my rejection letter: I feel I perfected it long ago. I really don't know what more to say. Or a better way to say it. It's just a formality anyway. There's no way to undo the "pain and damage" of the rejection itself.
As to persistence, I don't know. You may just be barking up the wrong tree. But I would never tell anyone to stop submitting, because the Muse is fickle. So am I.
Best regards.
Yours,
Howard Junker
Editor, ZYZZYVA
Thank you for the response, Howard. I was surprised and pleased to receive it.
You and other editors of prestigious literary journals remain sensitive to writers' emotional investments in the work they send. Yet the redundant formality of the rejection slip still remains the only contact many writers have with many editors. I guess I was weary of our lack of any real contact after so long. I guess I was empathizing with those other hardened rejectees who might feel the same.
This blog post, and especially your response, help.
Let's hope that this dog can still bark, and that you won't mind listening.
Warm Regards,
Robert Woerheide
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