WHY DID THEY REJECT ME?

I’m often asked,
”Why did they reject my  last piece?”                                                           
“Why did they take the last two stories essays I sent them but not this one?”
“ I think my stories are good and everyone says so, so why doesn’t  …..magazine publish them?”

There many possible reasons why articles /queries/ essays are rejected.

1. The magazine may  have recently published something similar.

2. It might be on a subject that just doesn’t interest their readers. Take it from me, the editors know better than you, what interests their readers.

3. It might be too long or too short for them – most publications have standard length for their articles and you need to read a few  copies to get an idea of their length and style.

4. If you’re writing for the religious Jewish market, the particular  subject that you’re writing about or the way that you have written it may not be handled by the publication, or be too questionable or with to many problematic ideas/ thoughts to pass their rabbinical editorial board.

5. It may not be written well.

Notice that reason #5  which is the reason most people think is THE  reason, comes last,so that you don’t always take rejections personally. If you have had several items published then the chances are that you are able to write well. However it is always  possible that you rushed this off too fast and didn’t take enough care with it. Read it through again and check for typos, incorrect grammar, sloppy word choice – just in case this is the reason
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Only essays, humor and short stories should be sent in already written to the publication.

All non-fiction article  ideas should be sent as queries before you start writing. them.It’s a waste of time to write the article and then send it in, unless the publication asks to see only completed articles.

These are a few possibilities for rejections, please feel free to add more in the comments section below