Encouraging rejection from TNY
 

So I finally gathered a few poems and decided that I ought to send them around, beginning with the most ambitious venues and working my way down the list, having little hope of actually getting published anywhere near the top of the list but figuring that this method will at least get me published at the best venue that will take me, if there are any. After seven months I got this rejection from the The New Yorker:

"Dear Magnus,

We are grateful for the opportunity to read and consider your new work. We very much regret not being able to carry it in the magazine. We do, however, look forward to reading more when the time comes.

Sincerely,


Paul Muldoon, Poetry Editor
Elisabeth Denison, Poetry Coordinator"

Now I have to say that getting a rejection worded like this from TNY feels like an accomplishment, even though it's obviously not personalized. It seems to be more than a standard reply from the slush-pile intern. What are your experiences with rejection from either TNY in particular or in general? How are they normally worded? How much should I make of this rejection?

Rumor has it that the New Yorker has "tiered rejections," which means that what you got was probably just a form rejection, but they probably have two forms, one of them more encouraging than the other. If that's true, I suspect you got the good sort of form rejection, since it asks to see more of your work. I have no idea what percentage of rejections are the "good" kind, but it's still better than the alternative form rejection though not as good as a truly personal rejection (i.e., not a form but a note referencing something specific in your poems).

By the way, I'm not sure about this, but there may be a rule here that you're not allowed to start threads until you have 15 crits under your belt. But maybe that only means starting threads seeking critique. I don't know. But don't be put off if a member or two stops by to chastise you. It happens, though most of us are quite friendly.

Thank you Slater. So hopefully I got through the slush pile and got read by an actual editor who didn't dislike my poetry. They are, after all, asking for more despite the amount of submissions they must suffer through. It would be enlightening with some statistics.

I think I am unable to post in the forums where I am not supposed to, but I am not sure.

My take on that TNY rejection is the same as Roger's, and I'd be encouraged, too.

But I'm really posting about a side issue: that rule about when new members can start threads. Here's the relevant language:

"As a new Member, you have to undergo a small apprenticeship before posting your own works for critique on the Metrical, Non-Metrical, and Fiction Forums: you must wait at least one week following your Membership approval and offer a minimum number of substantive critiques before starting a thread of your own."

So the restriction is only about posting your own poems. However, the system will let you post a poem after you have fifteen posts *of any kind,* so it's prudent to keep your own count of your substantive critiques, or to ask a mod about it.

At any rate, welcome, and kudos simply on having *submitted* to TNY.

Thank you Maryann. Then I will continue to be encouraged ;)

Ah, it has been too long since I read the rules. It was nice of you to clarify.