They say with an honourable mention you can resubmit with edits. Does it have to be heavily changed? I’m wondering what’s the use in resubmitting. They didn’t like the story the first time, why would they like it the second?
Do you believe it needs changes? Not “I believe they want changes,” more “I see something I really don’t like.”
Change it if you like, but keep this in mind: There’s now a slush team, not just one reader. You might have a story that reader X would like, but reader Y read it and bounced it.
Without getting into specifics: I once rejected a story for flaws that I recognized due to my areas of specialty; another reader admitted they would’ve missed those flaws because it’s not their specialty.
Trying to read the slush readers’ minds is a challenge. Read your story instead. Ask yourself:
- is the dialogue good?
- Is the description vivid?
- Do the characters act in believable ways?
- Does the story have a logical beginning, middle, and ending?
If you have doubts, work on those. But don’t change just because you “should”. Change because you need to.
http://nineandsixtyways.com/
Tools, Not Rules.
Martin L. Shoemaker
3rd Place Q1 V31
"Today I Am Paul", WSFA Small Press Award 2015, Nebula nomination 2015
Today I Am Carey from Baen
The Last Dance (#1 science fiction eBook on Amazon, October 2019) and The Last Campaign from 47North
