Editors Feedback vs. No Feedback at All
A writer’s dilemma after rejection by a publication — join in on the conversation
A few days ago, I published Rejection Is One of the Best Things That Can Ever Happen to a Writer. The response I got, made me aware of a common perception about editors of publications on Medium.
Apart from that, I’ve seen complaints on social media as well. Complaints by writers about receiving a rejection notice without feedback from the editor.
There are writers who expect feedback from editors along with a rejection notice. That way, the writer would know how to make their work better.
Yet, other writers are more interested in knowing the fate of their submission. They want a response so they know the next step to take. If they get a rejection, they either send it to another publication or self-publish.
For these writers, getting feedback from the editor is not a priority. Whether they get feedback, nothing changes for them — I fall into this category.
Let me know where you stand in this?
I’ve never received feedback along with rejection from a publication on Medium before. But I’ve had an acceptance with a few changes to my original submission.
Feedback is relevant for every rejection, but it is not practicable.
I’m not an editor, but I try to put myself in the shoes of others every once in a while.
I assume editors have a pile of work to do and they have deadlines to meet as well. They have commitments to the publication they represent and to themselves.
I don’t know how many hours they have to work in a day. Or how many submissions they have to review within those number of hours.
I don’t know the volume they have to publish each day and the interval. It’s possible some of them hold a full-time job while filling the position of an editor — who knows?
I assume the publication has a standard of what they want to be published. And the editor has to abide by it.
