As a reader for a well-known non-fiction lit mag, I read many trauma and travelogue stories. And now I understand why mine—a trauma story excerpted from my memoir, was rejected by this journal. One—my piece didn’t conclude anything, just laid out the pain in a day in the life of a homeless teen recently returned home to the same old, same old, which is why she soon leaves again, and 2) I didn’t edit it enough to work as a standalone.
There’s a kind of woe-is-me flavor to trauma stories that pushes the reader away with too much blunt emotionality. With travelogue stories, most of them come across as “aren’t I/we clever, smart, adventurous or lucky to have traveled here and met these people and seen these things,” with no deep reflection on the human condition.
Dig deeper to get at the gem hidden within
When I compare these thumbs-down submissions to what gets published in the mag, I see what is missing–an adroit, writerly and literary way with words, and/or just plain, clean writing. I’m not saying these authors are bad writers, but more that the pieces are underdeveloped, including mine. It’s as if the submissions I give thumbs down to are like a mystery that’s laid out clues but hasn’t solved anything. The author is just scratching the surface and goes no further. Dig deeper, that’s what I’m learning. Authors, me included, need to dig deeper into their work to get at the gem hidden within, to get to the deeper meaning.
Reading for lit mags is not a huge time commitment.
Reading for lit mags is not a huge time commitment, not that I’ve found, because I’m not expected to do a critique or make comments. Just read submissions, maybe five a week, and give them a thumbs up, down or neutral. I can make comments if I want to, but I’m not expected to.
If you’re an author and have your heart set on getting published by a particular lit mag, consider reading for it. You’ll get a better feel for the journal by consistent comparison of work that is rejected to work that gets published in the mag. It’s a valuable learning experience, one that is giving me a greater appreciation for the skills I must improve as a writer. I need to keep reading good stuff and continue writing deeper to uncover all that a piece can say.
Last week’s post:
https://pollyhansen.com/can-you-fail-to-communicate-clearly-with-your-soulmate/