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Fourteen Hills, I’m sorry
The editors of Fourteen Hills have written a smart, generous, and, ultimately, positive response to my childish heckling of their having recently sent out a 700+ day form rejection.
They say:
Here’s the story: About a month ago, the current editors of Fourteen Hills were cleaning office and found a bag of sealed, self-addressed envelopes buried under a pile of back issues. This bag had been misplaced or lost in the shuffle by former editors of the magazine. But now it was two years
later, and our editors had two options:1) Throw out the bag and pretend it didn’t exist. Letters get lost in the mail all the time.
2) Add a few extra cents of postage to each letter and drop them in the mailbox.
The editors chose the latter. The number of letters was substantial, so writing a personal note to each writer while under the deadlines for our current issue and our single-author book didn’t seem feasible. Our managing editor explains: “We often get emails from writers wondering about the status of submissions. Even though we weren’t on staff when some of these people submitted, we still do our best to try to track the submissions down and respond. In this case, we think it was better to respond really late than never.”
To their credit, they’ve also extended a peace offering to those others who received a two year form rejection:
If you were one of the writers to receive a form rejection letter from us two years after the fact, please let us know and we’ll send you any back issue we have in stock. Your choice. And please accept our deepest apologies.
So, despite the missing mailbag and the long waits some authors endured, this entire situation really makes me happy because I think a little bit of goodness came out of it. There exist editors out there who do pay attention, who do hard work for little in return, who do sincerely care about their authors, their journal, their press, and how they can best share that with others.
Fourteen Hills, I owe you an aPology. I’m sorry for giving you shit. My post made a few Unfair assumptions aBout your operation, and so I thank you for the transparency, for Letting us have a glImpSe. I tHank you for taking the iMmature ribbing in stridE, and I thank you for writing back.
Friends?
Tags: Fourteen Hills
thats quite dope. and how did you get your foot there?
i cant even get my foot in front of the other one 9.2:10
I don’t know about you, Mr. Call. I just don’t know…
thats quite dope. and how did you get your foot there?
i cant even get my foot in front of the other one 9.2:10
I don’t know about you, Mr. Call. I just don’t know…
i hate to ever even touch my skin against the bottom of my shoes, thinking of all the pee and junk that gets walked in, and here it is in your mouth. i cried a little.
i hate to ever even touch my skin against the bottom of my shoes, thinking of all the pee and junk that gets walked in, and here it is in your mouth. i cried a little.
That’s easy. I can do that.
Mind you, I have to take my leg off first.
That’s easy. I can do that.
Mind you, I have to take my leg off first.
Hehehe. Cute code. ;)
Hehehe. Cute code. ;)
Now that this is over, you can blog about the 994-day rejection that was reported yesterday on Duotrope’s “What’s New?” from the Laurel Review, a journal that doesn’t allow simultaneous submissions…
Now that this is over, you can blog about the 994-day rejection that was reported yesterday on Duotrope’s “What’s New?” from the Laurel Review, a journal that doesn’t allow simultaneous submissions…
Publish yourself, fucko.
Publish yourself, fucko.
Fuck off, fuck head.
Fuck off, fuck head.
Wish I had a $7000 operating budget.
Wish I had a $7000 operating budget.
you walk in pee? i just step around it.
you walk in pee? i just step around it.
hey dude, i checked their sub page and they dont say anything about not allowing sim subs. are you sure?
hey dude, i checked their sub page and they dont say anything about not allowing sim subs. are you sure?
its okay dude, he’s harmless
its okay dude, he’s harmless
I was just going by their duotrope page…says “no” for sim subs (but that info isn’t always accurate)
I was just going by their duotrope page…says “no” for sim subs (but that info isn’t always accurate)
oh right on. yeah sometimes those arent always right.
eitherway, ~1000 days is really funny.
oh right on. yeah sometimes those arent always right.
eitherway, ~1000 days is really funny.
i think its good they responded and acknowledged it, but it still doesn’t excuse the behavior in my mind. you had every right to call them out, dont’ apologize for it. Is it acceptable behavior for academic journals to mishandle submissions/sases because they have so many editors going in and out every semester or something? sases should be treated with love and humility and sent, not something that gets lost under piles of things for numbers of years.
there should be a regular feature on htmlgiant that calls out journals on long response times.
i think its good they responded and acknowledged it, but it still doesn’t excuse the behavior in my mind. you had every right to call them out, dont’ apologize for it. Is it acceptable behavior for academic journals to mishandle submissions/sases because they have so many editors going in and out every semester or something? sases should be treated with love and humility and sent, not something that gets lost under piles of things for numbers of years.
there should be a regular feature on htmlgiant that calls out journals on long response times.
i think instead there will be a feature on how to go swimming and make cornbread.
i think instead there will be a feature on how to go swimming and make cornbread.
Seriously. When I read that I was like, um that’s a huge budget.
Seriously. When I read that I was like, um that’s a huge budget.
I just tried to put my foot in my mouth. How the fuck did you do that, Ryan? Do they even allow contortionists in Houston?
I just tried to put my foot in my mouth. How the fuck did you do that, Ryan? Do they even allow contortionists in Houston?
ha, you think you step around all of it
i’d like to pee in the mouth of the laurel review editors
ha, you think you step around all of it
i’d like to pee in the mouth of the laurel review editors
looking at this closely. maybe that’s not even ryan’s leg….
looking at this closely. maybe that’s not even ryan’s leg….
ok maybe i miss some of it. i cant always be sure. i avoid all puddles usually.
it most definitely is my leg, sir!
ok maybe i miss some of it. i cant always be sure. i avoid all puddles usually.
it most definitely is my leg, sir!
it just happened. i dont know how.
it just happened. i dont know how.
that denial was a bit too quick and fervent
that denial was a bit too quick and fervent
how many rejection letters could fourteen hills have written/mailed in the time it took to pen this tome?
how many rejection letters could fourteen hills have written/mailed in the time it took to pen this tome?
yeah, the mistreatment of submissions is lame. the whole process of getting published is brutally absurd. but no one in the lit world is a machine, especially unpaid editors at li’l magazines and indie presses, so… isn’t understanding, acceptance and forgiveness in order? did I just say that?
along those lines, I forgive you, too, ryan. just lose the talk-radio ‘tude, dood. if you don’t mind.
yeah, the mistreatment of submissions is lame. the whole process of getting published is brutally absurd. but no one in the lit world is a machine, especially unpaid editors at li’l magazines and indie presses, so… isn’t understanding, acceptance and forgiveness in order? did I just say that?
along those lines, I forgive you, too, ryan. just lose the talk-radio ‘tude, dood. if you don’t mind.
Have you heard my love song about cornbread crumbs? “I wanna lay down with youuuuu, darlin, on a bed of cornbread crumbs.” Not you, Blake Butler… you get the gist.
Have you heard my love song about cornbread crumbs? “I wanna lay down with youuuuu, darlin, on a bed of cornbread crumbs.” Not you, Blake Butler… you get the gist.