John Woodington The official site for the author.

A Novella Rejection and Still No TVPosted by John Woodington on May 11th, 2010

I mentioned not long ago a new publication that specializes in novellas called Short Sharp Shock.  I submitted my novella “Goodwill” to them and they asked for more and more of it, but in the end rejected it.  I thought I’d share their rejection here, as it was very nice and also helpful and enlightening for me as a writer trying to get stuff published:

Hi John,

Sorry, but we’re going to pass.

You can write. I’m sure you know that. Goodwill is smooth and the voice is clean and engaging. It’s a character study and a well done one at that. I think it would be a better fit for S3, though, if you took that same interesting character and put him in a plot-driven book. I have no idea if you wrote this before or after the appearance of the show Dexter. I think the success of that show – I haven’t read the books – comes from interweaving the character’s development with an unfolding plot.

A smaller, detail point: I still think the beginning would be stronger if you didn’t spill the beans right at the start. Let Gabe’s obsession reveal itself a little more slowly.

One person’s opinions.

Feel free to submit another manuscript whenever.

Best,
Eric

I really like what Eric et al are doing at their publication, ‘nough said.

I didn’t think that editors would be comparing the submissions they receive to television shows they watch, but I suppose it’s inevitable.  I’ve not personally watched the show Dexter at all, but I have seen the DVDs for the first season on sale at Target, and I believe they have blood on the cover, which I take as a good sign.

It’s also worth noting that I will not be watching any episodes of Dexter in the future, since my wife and I are giving up watching TV.  We officially removed the TV from our main family room, and I will try to post a picture of the beautiful vacant space it has left.  We are currently looking for new bookshelves to fill in said space.

It’s been 8 days since I’ve watched a TV show, and in that time, I’ve read all of Fight Club (brief review to come) and begun reading a novella called The Lemur, which looks to be a crime/mystery story, which is a new genre for me.  This is significant because I am a slow reader, and have not read an entire book in a single week since college.  My hypothesis that TV sucks up the best parts of your life is now further strengthened.

A New (Canadian) Novella PublisherPosted by John Woodington on March 30th, 2010

A couple days ago my novella “Goodwill” was rejected by a publisher.  Boo hoo.  So, of course, I went to find another place that I might submit to.  A little searching showed me that many contests for novellas are out of date online, and that certain publishers aren’t taking the time to remove these frustrating pages from the interwebs.  A little more searching led me to Short Sharp Shock, a publisher out of Canada that only publishes novellas.  What a glorious find.  Finally, someone out there cares about the novella form other than Miami University Press.  I sent Short Sharp Shock a query for my novella, and am eagerly awaiting their clever, Canadian rejection letter.

It is still difficult finding publishers that take novella-length submissions, and actually read them with the intent of possibly publishing them.  Many places I know and read accept novella-length submissions, but only very rarely do they publish them (I’m looking at you, Missouri Review and your little “Bearskin”).  It’s very refreshing to find publishers like Short Sharp Shock that actually enjoy novellas and desire to publish them.

So goes my crusade to bring the novella to the forefront of the publishing industry.

A Novella Rejection and Sustaining a NarrativePosted by John Woodington on December 19th, 2009

Since we are often talking about novellas here, I thought I’d share my own endeavors in the novella.  Below is a rejection I recently received from a very kind editor for my novella “Goodwill.”

I find the premise of your story engaging, but for me it doesn’t sustain 60 pages of interest. Having watched the television series Dexter, I’m not sure it covered enough new ground for me in the “dark passenger” department, either. That said, you clearly have writing chops. I hope this rejection doesn’t rub you the wrong way, and that you’ll continue to send work to [This Publication].

First off, I have chops.  Yay.  Next, let’s take what this editor said to heart, because I think it is extremely useful.  He says the story is engaging, but doesn’t sustain for 60 pages.  This is one of the keys to getting published–sustaining the narrative throughout the length of the story.  Obviously this guy thinks I didn’t do that effectively enough, and that’s fine.  I can work on that.  But recognizing that that is what needs to be edited or changed is extremely valuable.  One thing I always ask my reviewers is if there is any point in the story where they feel bored.  Boring spots are deadly, and can almost guarantee rejection.  Yes, sometimes you’ve got to throw in a sentence or two to get from one thing to the next, and those two sentences may not be the most thrilling in the story.  But overall, narrative drive has to be in place.  The reader has to want to keep reading.

The second thing to take to heart from this editor is that you should not write any stories that resemble episodes of Dexter, and while I haven’t ever watched an episode of this particular show, I believe him.  Hell, he rejected my story (partially) because of this, so it can’t be all nonsense.

Also, don’t write stories that resemble reality shows.  No one wants to read Rock of Love Bus: The Short Story.  Naw meen?