Editors of magazines & e-zines losing your submissions!

[Wayne C. Rogers]

I was wondering if I'm the only one experiencing this rather usual phenomenon, or if other struggling writers out have the same thing happen to them on a regular basis. During the last several months, I've had about sixty percent of the short stories and novellas I've sent out to the editors (who are also sometimes the owner of the magazine or website) of magazine and e-zines and websites that publish horror fiction lose or misplace my stories, which is frustrating after having already waited two-to-three months, or even longer for a reply. One novella ended up being with a publisher for six months when their response time is usually in three. Of course, if you sell the story, it doesn't really make any difference. If it's a rejection, however, a tremendous amount of time has been wasted. If it was simply once in a while, it wouldn't bother me, but it seems like over half of my submissions are getting lost on a regular basis. Maybe I'm cursed! I know the editors and publishers get hundreds of submissions every month and that it's easy to lose or misplace something, especially when most of them are also working a full-time job. But, it is frustrating for a new writer getting started in a particular genre, knowing this wouldn't happen to Stephen King or Dan Simmons or Rick McCammon. Unknown writers don't seem to be as much of a concern to the editors as established writers. Am I wrong about this? How do the rest of you feel? Could you see an editor going crazy and pulling his hair out at having misplaced a new short story by Stephen King that was sent to his magazine?

[Bryan James]

I don't know about your work. I have not read it.

Does your Query look like your post?

~BJS