Cracking the Wall

Yes, rejection strikes again. Anti Muse has sent me a rejection notice for "The Golden Hollow." But wait--what's this? There's something interesting in the text of the rejection. Check it out:

"Interesting premise, but the dialogue comes off as stiff and forced. I'll have to pass on this one, but I'd love to see a rewritten version. Please consider us again in the future."

There's the notice, warts and all. I know that I've never been able to write banter (that's the style of most of the dialogue in Buffy or Angel). It doesn't surprise me that dialogue is my weakness with this story.

Still there are the points on the interesting premise and the fact that the editor is interested in a rewritten version. For those of you who aren't in the know about the nature of rejection letters/notices, this is actually really good news. It says that there is something of value in the story (here, the premise).

It also notes that the editor liked it enough to consider it, instead of saying flatly no. It wasn't high enough a caliber that it could be accepted, and thus, suggestions, as brief as they are, are given. The final message here is "It's good, but you need to fix this element before you do anything else."

Here's what I need from you. Any interested parties contact me (e-mail, in person, post a reply, etc.) and I'll send you a copy of the story. After reading it, tell me what works, what doesn't, and (our newest question) how the dialogue was. Then I'll be that much more likely to get published.

I'm also going to be editing my links in light of this. Enjoy and I'll keep you posted.