Mood and preference, Part 2

The other day I wrote a little bit about how preferences can impact an editor's decision whether or not to publish a story.

The second part of the equation is mood.

Let's face it, we're all human and our mood is impacted by so many things. And like it or not, mood has a lot to do with our decision-making process.

I don't remember exactly when, but about 12 years ago, an article I'd submitted, which exactly met the assignment criteria and I which I thought was pretty decent, was rejected out of hand. I was shocked. I'd published probably 25 articles with this magazine, most with this particular editor.

After about 3 weeks, I finally called the editor and asked why. He was shocked himself. "I can't imagine rejecting one of your stories," he said. I resent it and he bought it.

Turns out the week he happened to read my article, he was worried sick. His son had been fairly seriously injured in an accident. His son recovered, but he admitted to me that for about 2 weeks, nothing got a fair read at the magazine.

Unfortunately, this is a part of publishing we as writers cannot control. You don't know if the editor reading your short story just got their butt handed to them by their boss. You don't know if there was a big fight at home before work, or if they just hate Mondays.

The only solution really is to be very familiar with the publication, follow their guidelines carefully, and write the very best story you can -- the one that goes beyond bad moods.