If you are submitting short fiction, there are a handful of things that can move a story from the submission pile to the rejection pile almost immediately.

Here are ten that will lose an editor’s interest:

1. Use of AI

If a publication says it does not accept AI-generated fiction, take that requirement seriously.

It is much easier for editors to spot this than you might think. They have years or experience understanding how a story sounds that comes from an actual human. And there are also tools out there that can help identity AI. It is unlikely they will every mention AI in the rejection but it is likely you will get secretly blacklisted.

I feel that there is an important distinction between using a tool to check grammar and spelling, and asking an AI system to write the story for you. But every publication draws that line differently, so read the rules.

2. Incorrect Word Count

If the submission guidelines say stories must be between 1,000 and 5,000 words, (like BITC) do not submit a 7,500-word story and hope the editor will love it enough to make an exception. Odds are it will be rejected immediately.

Going 50 words over may not seem like as big of a violation, but it tells us editor types a lot about the way you operate. You have either not read the word count requirement, or feel that it is a loose suggestion rather than a rule. We also wonder if you think it’s impossible to cut 50 words from the story, which tells us something too. For any story over 1000 words getting rid of 50 should be rather easy.

3. The Wrong Type of Story for the Market

This one should be obvious, but it happens a lot.

If a publication wants lighthearted fantasy, your relentlessly cold-blooded serial-killer story is probably not going to find a home there.

Before submitting, spend a little time looking at what the publication actually publishes. Read several stories that they have published (most publications recommend this). Read the submission guidelines.

4. Content That Crosses the Line

Every publication has different boundaries, but some material can quickly make an editor stop reading.

Racial slurs, gratuitous sexual content, misogyny, graphic violence involving minors, or cruelty included purely for shock value may be enough to end consideration. Once again, this can vary by publication.

Writers should also remember that editors are selecting material for an audience. Even if something can be justified as a crucial part of the story, it still may not fit the publication.

I should also mention that you can still cover a lot of disturbing or unpleasant scenes without describing them in detail. Often times implication of a situation can actually be the stronger way to go.

[warning disturbing content ahead]

Seeing a child character we have grown to love get into a car with a stranger allows the reader’s mind to fill in the blanks in horrible ways. We don’t need to necessarily see what actually happens.

Sorry about that example, but if you were disturbed by it, it proves the point.

5. No Ending

One of the most frustrating submissions is a promising story that seems to reach the point where the real story is finally beginning, and then it just stops.

These are the worst for me because there is so much hope. I like the story; there is a good chance if it ends well, I will get to send out an acceptance email* but instead it just drops off, or wraps up in a totally unacceptable way.

To me it often feels like the authors have not put in the time to really think through what kind of exciting ending they can put on their story. I like the David Mamet approach of having the ending being something that is unexpected and inevitable.  Another author (I can’t recall who at the moment) says your approach should be to come up with every possible ending, then pick the one that is the most unusual while still being plausible. This is often the best and most rewarding ending for the reader.

*Yes, despite what it seems, editors are probably more exited that you are when we get to accept a story.

6. Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

Editors understand that an occasional typo survives even careful proofreading.

But if the first page is filled with misspellings, missing punctuation, random capitalization, incorrect dialogue formatting, and sentences that have to be read three times to understand them, the story is already in trouble.

You want the editor to be thinking about your characters and what happens next instead of trying to decipher what you meant.

Proofread your work, then proofread it again, then put it aside for a month and proofread it. If you don’t want to wait that long, give it to a friend who is good at that kind of thing, then brace yourself for the embarrassment of everything you missed.

7. Using Someone Else’s Intellectual Property

Be careful when borrowing characters, fictional worlds, distinctive settings, or other creative material belonging to someone else.

Writing a story about your own characters stopping at McDonald’s is one thing but writing an adventure starring Harry Potter is entirely different.

Fan fiction has enormous communities built around it, but that does not mean a commercial publication can legally publish your unauthorized Spider-Man story or Star Wars sequel

References to popular culture are common in fiction, but taking someone else’s characters or world and making them the foundation of your story is a no-no.

Create your own world. Create your own characters. They are probably way more interesting anyway.

8. Derogatory Use of Brand Names

Real brands can absolutely appear in fiction. Our characters can drive a Ford, eat at McDonald’s, wash clothes with Tide, or put Goodyear tires on a truck. These kinds of references can actually help establish place, time, and character.

The problem comes when a writer uses a real company as the target of accusations. There is a substantial difference between:

“The Goodyear tire blew out.”

and:

“Goodyear secretly knew these tires were defective and sold them anyway.”

If your plot requires an evil corporation knowingly selling lethal products, you should invent a brand. No editor wants to take the risk of publishing something that has any defamation risk.

9. No Clear Conflict or Objective

You do not need an explosion on page one.

You do need a reason for me to keep reading.

A short story has very little room to wander around. You need to let the reader know who the protagonist is, what they want and why they currently can’t have it.

A beautiful description of a farmhouse can be beautifully written. But if I am three pages into the story and the farmhouse is still just sitting there while nobody wants anything, nobody fearing anything, and nobody needing anything, I am probably going to stop reading.

Always give the reader a reason to keep going.

10. Humor That Is Not Funny

I know that humor is the most subjective item on this list. What makes one reader laugh may leave another rolling their eyes.

There are certain types of humor that lose me very quickly and I suspect other editors share this view. Flatulence jokes high on that list for me. Yes, some people find them hilarious. I typically do not.

I also feel that comedy needs to do more than just be there because it is funny.

Good humor usually comes from character, timing, expectation, contradiction, embarrassment, misunderstanding, or an unexpected but perfectly logical reaction but it’s more important that the action around that comedic event is necessary for the story. If you are putting in humor, just for humor’s sake, that is often a mistake.

In short, if the entire joke is that somebody farted, you had better have one spectacularly original fart for me to get a kick out of it and it better be essential to the story.

The Common Thread

Most of these problems come back to:

Respect the publication guidelines and respect the reader’s time.

Read the submission guidelines, submit the kind of story the publication actually wants and proofread it a couple times.

Give your protagonist something to want, something standing in the way, and an ending that makes the journey worthwhile.

After all of that, there is a good chance the editor will still reject it.

I think we all know that is just part of the writing game.

But at least you have a better chance of them reading all the way through the story because you didn’t give them an easy reason for rejection.

Take care,

-James