The Editor's Inbox - June 2012

It’s that time again. Every few weeks I round out up the latest emails from my inbox (or @tweets or Facebook comments) in an attempt to break down the wall between writers and Editor and to show that at Carve, we do things differently.

Ben Langston of Jefferson City, MO, wrote in after we sent him a rejection notice with comments on his fiction submission:

Thank you for the unexpected and well-detailed advice and critique on the story. Very cool of you to write that up. You have a badass magazine. 

Thanks, Ben! We also let him know about our new REJECT! feature coming soon.

Speaking of our new REJECT! feature, writer @loganmadams tweeted this about it shortly after we announced a call for rejects:

Though I don’t qualify, this is way cool.

Thanks for the encouragement, Logan. We don’t enjoy rejecting people’s work (that often has their blood, sweat and tears in it), but we do hope our new feature gives cause to celebrate, not wince, at the inevitable flood of rejections all writers receive.

Deborah Basket of Paso Robales, CA, also emailed us after we rejected her short fiction:

I appreciate your encouragement and suggestions for revision.  Nice to know the work went through several rounds of reading.  I’ll try you again with something fresh that might be a better fit for you.  And, of course, I’ll keep reading Carve!

And here’s one more email about feedback we gave a writer with a rejection notice, from Monica C. of Hollywood, CA:

I just wanted to say thank you so much for your notes on my story. This was one of the best rejections I have had because it gave constructive and honest feedback. I know how many submissions you must receive and the thoughtful and helpful critique means a lot to me.  Seriously, it gave me hope for the story. I will definitely send you a line if it gets picked up anywhere else.  In the meantime, you have a big fan in me.

We’re always happy to hear from our fans, and we can only do this feature if you reach out! So contact us, tweet us, or leave us a comment on Facebook today and we might just feature you (with permission or anonymously) in the Editor’s Inbox.