Personal Rejections

Just got a note back from an author thanking me for taking the time to make some personal comments on his submission. I admit I'm as guilty as the next editor of not including personal comments regarding a submission. The fact is, those comments are few and far between. You've probably heard the excuses before: there's simply not time to comment on individual submissions and, in any case, such comments can be met with defensiveness from authors that editors don't care to hear. Considering the number of submissions we get at Electric Spec, it would be hard, if not impossible, to comment on every one. However, the note I got back from the author reminded me of how important a few encouraging words can be in the lonely and sometime brutal world of fiction writing. So, while I can't promise to be every writer's Stewart Smalley, I will pass along comments on stories that catch my eye but don't make the cut for one reason or another.