THOUGHTS ON ARROGANCE...

Hmph.

There's me congratulating a Workhouse inmate on a fast acceptance by a decent publication, and commiserating with her that she now needs to 'withdraw' the same piece from a magazine that has held it since January, without replying to repeated requests for information as to its status. She sim subbed after six months. Seemed reasonable to us.

Its a Welsh mag.

Now as a Welsh writer and as someone who's delighted to be going back to Wales to study with more Welsh writers later this year, I am sad that it's a Welsh place that does this.

But it isn't an isolated incident.

I've had a few. All from Welsh mags/presses.... asking for submissions according to websites, then ignoring requests for information. Preventing writers re-submitting the work elsewhere with an easy heart. I'm not in the naming and shaming business here. But I don't think this is treating writers with respect. After all, if it wasn't for submissions there wouldn't BE magazines!

Would they have this on their guidelines? - Send us your best work. We might respond if we like it, but cannot tell you when this will be. Or we might not. Again, there's no telling how long you might have to wait. But if you want to be published by us, you'll just have to put up with it, won't you? Oh... and don't sim sub. That is a big no no. Editors talk, you know...

And if it is only work from well known writers they want, then why not say so! Its simple and easy to say something like: It is unlikely that your work will be of interest to us unless you are well published in nationally known literary outlets already.

And wouldn't it be so easy in their submissions guidelines to say: "if you haven't heard back within six weeks/ten weeks/four months, your submission has not been successful. We apologise for this lack of feedback but have to cope with many many submissions, and cannot respond to them all."

Simple. Takes a few seconds to put it up there. Think about it, please??

Diolch yn fawr.