Here’s the question of the day: Which is worse, having the fine literary journal you sent your best work to sit on it for months and months and months and then reject it? Or having that fine journal reject your work within six days of receipt?
On one hand, there’s a lot of time wasted with the months-and-months approach, though that does lend itself to a certain amount of hopeful daydreaming that can help while away the hours.
On the other hand, are we to assume that with the six-day rejection your story was truly read and considered? Or did some half-wit not like your first sentence? Or perhaps react badly to your font? Or just need to clear the stacks of crap off their desk RIGHT NOW?
I was clever enough to create an anonymous, one-second quiz so you can express your opinion on this urgent matter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t clever enough to figure out how to post the quiz right here, so you’ll have to go to this link:
http://www.polldaddy.com/p/1181355/
So, which do you prefer: the long lingering pain of the slow rejection or the too-fast, ripping off a Band-Aid approach? Inquiring minds want to know!