Fantastic Stories Rejection Question

[Athena]

Has anyone gotten a rejection from Fantastic Stories of the Imagination? I ask because, I got a form rejection, but I'm not sure if it's the higher tier rejection. They're not listed in rejection wiki, so I am unsure.

"Thank you for sharing your story with us at Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. While it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time, please keep us in mind for future submissions."

Are they asking for more? Or just being polite? Should I feel encouraged? Am I being neurotic? (It's okay to say yes to that last question.)

[bobsandiego]

Has anyone gotten a rejection from Fantastic Stories of the Imagination? I ask because, I got a form rejection, but I'm not sure if it's the higher tier rejection. They're not listed in rejection wiki, so I am unsure.

"Thank you for sharing your story with us at Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. While it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time, please keep us in mind for future submissions."

Are they asking for more? Or just being polite? Should I feel encouraged? Am I being neurotic? (It's okay to say yes to that last question.)

Not personally familiar with their tiers but having said that this is a form but not bottom tier.
'Keep us in mind ..."
Bottom tier usually will not suggest that you submit more material.

[MattDovey]

Well it's form--because I just got the exact same email :) as to whether it's a genuine sign of encouragement, well, we need some brave soul to cop to getting something worse before we know that, I suppose.

[s_c_baker]

Generally speaking at FSI, if you make it past the first reader you will get a notification that you're being passed up to the editor. But (out of 8 submissions) I have received one rejection straight from Warren that said I got past the first reader where I didn't get the bump e-mail. Not sure that's still the case, though, since all Warren-signed rejections I've received since May first netted me an e-mail to let me know it was being passed on to him.

My rejections from Warren go something like this:

Thanks for letting me see this. It's well written, but it didn't seem quite right for Fantastic Stories. Please do let me see your next.

Thanks for letting me see this. It's quite good, but not what I'm looking for. You did get past the first reader, though.

My non-Warren rejections are mostly the same as the one you posted, so it is a form. But! I've also received one rejection that just says:

Thank you for sharing your story with us. Unfortunately it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time.

So the "please keep us in mind for future submissions" is likely sincere.

For the rejectomantically-inclined, some more comments below

Warren does seem to have really particular taste. I've sent in almost exclusively flash fiction, and received bumps for:

A story told in the style of a recipe ("good but not what I'm looking for")
A "traditional narrative" style story about a woman enshrining her dead daughter in a robotic unicorn ("well written but ... not quite right for FSI")

I also have sold him one story, which was super-short (200 words), and told in the style of instructions on how to record a final broadcast home to Earth in the event of a catastrophic accident aboard an FTL starship. Which I'd formerly tried to sell both as a piece of flash fiction and as a prose poem, having been told in rejections for either form that it was probably better to try the other.

What Warren wants seems to be high-concept + unique premise + compelling prose.


(Also, it's now in Rejection Wiki. :) )

[Athena]

Ah, interesting. No, I know that it certainly is a form, it was the "keep us in mind" bit at the end that gave me pause.

Mine was signed by Robert, so it didn't get passed up to Warren. Still, I'm going to take them at their word and send them more.

[Athena]

(Also, it's now in Rejection Wiki. :) )

Ooh, nice! Thanks for the add.

I'm going to celebrate the small victories and take this rejection with a big smile. Baby steps!

[george nik.]

I've checked my huge collection of FSI rejections. Here goes:

First four, sent by Warren (not signed by Warren, just his name on the "From" tag):
Thank you for sharing your story with us at Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. Unfortunately it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time. Please keep us in mind for future submissions.

Next nine, sent by "Fantastic Stories of the Imagination":
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Unfortunately it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time. Please keep us in mind for future submissions.

Next one:
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Unfortunately it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time.

And the final one, signed by Robert Davis:
Thank you for sharing your story with us at Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. While it doesn't meet our editorial needs at this time, please keep us in mind for future submissions.

[Athena]

I honestly find all of this fascinating. Publications vary so widely in the way they correspond with people. Some even make you feel good about being rejected! Asimov's is my favorite for rejections. Their form letter is just so darn nice!

[Dustin Adams]

Then there's the rejections that come in the 2nd round.

You'll get an e-mail that says you've made the 2nd round, so you know someone likes it, even if just a slusher -- then you get a form.

Those are rough, I think.
Good news, but also bad news, and no news.

[s_c_baker]

Then there's the rejections that come in the 2nd round.

You'll get an e-mail that says you've made the 2nd round, so you know someone likes it, even if just a slusher -- then you get a form.

Those are rough, I think.
Good news, but also bad news, and no news.

Yeah, Warren seems to use exclusively forms (in my experience) with second round rejections. It stings!