Why I Won’t Submit to Publications That Don’t Respond
Tags: Self-awareness, Publishing, Pride, Reading

Photo by Ximena Ibañez on Unsplash

Recently I submitted an article to a fairly big and famous publication. I do not write much on their niche topics, hence I never submitted to them, and this was the first time. I sent an email to add me as a writer along with a few of my curated stories. After waiting for a few days, I went to their home page and saw this:

We’ll only be replying to your applications/submissions if we’re interested in adding you as a writer/publishing your story

And it is highlighted pretty well. Such courtesy.

That moment I decided never to submit to them again.

I do not have anything against any publications. The way they run is up to them. They may have the best writers, the loveliest of editors, but someone who does not value my time is not for me. I know they must be really busy, they must be getting a lot of requests, but that is not enough to justify not a single response. It is just a matter of saying:

Sorry, we cannot publish your story this time. OR We cannot add you as a writer this time

Imagine the plight of a writer who put in some effort and submitted an article to these pubs. Then, there is complete silence. The least they can expect is a NO. I see daily posts on social media asking how long to wait, how to know if my story is rejected etc. And I really feel sorry for these writers.

And I hold this opinion for my life as well. Anyone who does not respect my time, anyone who does not value me, is not my cup of tea. They may be a big personality, a colleague, or a close relative. But the least I expect from them is an acknowledgment of my time.

Recently I heard a TED talk about time management, and she mentioned a very valid point — the effort you put into a task depends on the priority you set for the task.

Suppose you are totally busy, and you are completely swamped in your work trying to meet the deadline. A friend asks if you are willing to spend 30 minutes to help her with a small issue. You say NO citing your busy and hectic schedule. Then one day, your neighbor calls informing you about a water leak in your house. You call a plumber, rush home to get it fixed. Nearly half the day is spent managing that. You finally get it fixed.

What was the difference between the help your friend asked, and the water leak? How come you could attend to one issue and not the other? Even though you spent half a day fixing one issue, you could not spend 30 minutes to help your friend?

The answer is simple — It is all about priority. It is about your character. It is about what you deemed as important and what is not.

Luckily, very few publications are like these. Most of them do take the time to say a gentle NO. So, a big thank you to those.

But for some publications, adding more stories, adding more writers is a priority, but responding to your request is not. These publications are not for me. I do want to write more and would want to be loved as a writer. I would love my article to be seen and adored by thousands. But that will not be at the cost of someone unwilling to acknowledge me. Unfortunately, my pride does not allow me that.