Some time ago (over a year,now) I submitted an article to MRH about an easy, inexpensive way to model window glazing using cling wrap and hair spray. I am still waiting for the article to appear. Is it your policy to simply scrap a rejected article without informing the author? I would have been happy to make any changes that would have possibly made the article more acceptable.
Ed, I did some digging and your "submission" came to us as an email attachment.
If you read our submission guidelines, they say ...
Sending your article to us - PLEASE FOLLOW!
Once your article is ready, we prefer you submit it to us electronically. Please DO NOT send your article to us via email as attachments - follow the process we outline below. This organizes your article so it's easier for us to manage, and it records your submission in our article submission database.
REPEAT: DO NOT SEND YOUR ARTICLE AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT BECAUSE IT WILL MOST LIKELY JUST GET LOST. FOLLOW THIS PROCESS AND USE THE RECOMMENDED SUBMISSION FORM SO IT GETS ENTERED INTO OUR SUBMISSION DATABASE AND TRACKED.
I know it's not a guy-thing to read the directions, but we get hundreds of emails per day and no joke - a "submission" sent to us via email just gets lost. If you use our submission form, then it gets entered into our database and it becomes visible.
Now that you've highlighted your non-submission that came via email, I have taken the time and effort to essentially submit it myself through normal expected channels, so it's now back in the system again. In the meantime, you lost a year.
Don will probably be reviewing the entire submission queue again in May and scheduling things out into 2016. At the moment, we're scheduled through August, and if your article came up as being selected and scheduled, you should have an email from us.
YOU JUST NEED TO BE PATIENT
Otherwise, you submit an article to us and if you use our system and we don't tell you otherwise, then the article is automatically accepted and goes into the to-be-scheduled pile. Our process now is that once its scheduled for publication, you will hear from us. Otherwise, if it's in the queue and still waiting, then that's the story - you just need to wait.
If we reject something, THATS when you will hear from us, otherwise, if you followed the process outlined in our submission guidelines, then your article has been accepted.
If you're getting ancie and want an update, you can always ask. 99% of the time the answer will be: it's been accepted, it's in the backlog, just be patient. For the best balance per issue, we need a backlog of at least 24 months. That means it can sometimes be 2 years or more before your article will get published - and the main reason is because of trying to maintain issue balance.
Ironically, if authors had their way we'd have a 3 month backlog so they didn't have to wait so long - but then issue balance would suck.
Joe Fugate
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine
Comments
window how-to
Dear Joe:
Some time ago (over a year,now) I submitted an article to MRH about an easy, inexpensive way to model window glazing using cling wrap and hair spray. I am still waiting for the article to appear. Is it your policy to simply scrap a rejected article without informing the author? I would have been happy to make any changes that would have possibly made the article more acceptable.
Ed Werick
I can't peak for this particular
article, but I have had some in the queue without hearing anything. Joe has admitted they are working on a new system to solve some of this problem.
James Eager
City of Miami, Panama Limited, and Illinois Central - Mainline of Mid-America
Plant City MRR Club, Home to the Mineral Valley Railroad
NMRA, author, photographer, speaker, scouter (ask about Railroading Merit Badge)
Ed ... gotta follow our submission guidelines
Ed, I did some digging and your "submission" came to us as an email attachment.
If you read our submission guidelines, they say ...
I know it's not a guy-thing to read the directions, but we get hundreds of emails per day and no joke - a "submission" sent to us via email just gets lost. If you use our submission form, then it gets entered into our database and it becomes visible.
Now that you've highlighted your non-submission that came via email, I have taken the time and effort to essentially submit it myself through normal expected channels, so it's now back in the system again. In the meantime, you lost a year.
Don will probably be reviewing the entire submission queue again in May and scheduling things out into 2016. At the moment, we're scheduled through August, and if your article came up as being selected and scheduled, you should have an email from us.
YOU JUST NEED TO BE PATIENT
Otherwise, you submit an article to us and if you use our system and we don't tell you otherwise, then the article is automatically accepted and goes into the to-be-scheduled pile. Our process now is that once its scheduled for publication, you will hear from us. Otherwise, if it's in the queue and still waiting, then that's the story - you just need to wait.
If we reject something, THATS when you will hear from us, otherwise, if you followed the process outlined in our submission guidelines, then your article has been accepted.
If you're getting ancie and want an update, you can always ask. 99% of the time the answer will be: it's been accepted, it's in the backlog, just be patient. For the best balance per issue, we need a backlog of at least 24 months. That means it can sometimes be 2 years or more before your article will get published - and the main reason is because of trying to maintain issue balance.
Ironically, if authors had their way we'd have a 3 month backlog so they didn't have to wait so long - but then issue balance would suck.
Joe Fugate
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine
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