A Special Invitation
By far, the rarest response to an anthology submission is an invitation to revise and resubmit. We’re on our fourth anthology, and I can still count on one hand the number of submissions that have received this response.
I’m sure questions abound. “What is a revise and resubmit?” “Why are they so rare?” “What do I do if I get one?” Questions like these are what this post is here to answer, so let’s get down to it.
What is a “Revise and Resubmit” invitation?
Just what the name says. It’s when I send you an email telling you “I can’t take your story in the present form, but I’d love to see it again with these changes made."
Why do you send R&R Invitations?
I send a “R&R” when I feel like a story has the potential to contend for a spot in the anthology, but there’s a major issue that needs to be corrected first. The issue in question is more than we’d normally address in edits after acceptance, and significant enough that the author deserves the right to decide not to make the change.
At the same time, the problem should also be clear enough that it can be communicated to the author without having to write a novel of my own. My personal rule is I can only send an R&R if there’s one major issue, and I can describe the problem in two sentences or less.
Why are R&Rs so rare?
When it comes to reviewing submissions, things are usually black and white: I either think a submission has the potential to compete for a spot in the anthology or it doesn’t. R&Rs are a tiny gray area of stories that I love, but that also need a change to compete for a spot in the anthology. They’re a personal decision by me, the editor, to give the writer a chance to fix a problem holding their story back.
What do I do if I get an R&R?
Decide whether or not you’re willing to make the adjustments I’ve requested. If you are, revise your piece and resubmit before the deadline. If you aren’t, nothing else is required from you.
Do you really want me to R&R, or are you just being nice?
If I take the time to send you an R&R instead of outright rejecting your story, it’s because I want to see it again. As previously stated, the total number of R&Rs we’ve sent out is low, but the one that was resubmitted was eventually selected for the anthology.
Why didn’t my story get an R&R?
In a perfect world, I’d give every story feedback right up to the deadline to make every submission perfect and my job of selecting the stories to make the anthology impossible. Unfortunately, I have a limited amount of time and other responsibilities besides editing short stories. So in most cases, you get a long list notification, or you get a rejection.
R&Rs are the exception, not the rule, a combination of a story with potential and me being able to quickly communicate how the story can reach that potential. I wish I could give every story I reject an R&R, but it just isn’t feasible.