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That moment I realized most short stories never get past page 3
I was digging through some stats from a writer's workshop I joined last spring and found out something that blew my mind. Apparently about 70 percent of short story submissions to lit mags get rejected before the reader even finishes the first page. I'm not kidding. I found this in a blog post from a slush pile reader who broke down their rejection numbers over 3 years. It totally changed how I look at my own openings. Now I go back and cut the first two paragraphs of almost everything I write because they were just me warming up. Has anyone else seen this stat or had luck trimming their starts?
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jaken2323d ago
I'd push back on that 70 percent number a little. I've been a first reader for two different lit mags and most rejections happen around page 3 or 4, not page 1. The first page usually gets a pass if the writing is clean and the voice isn't terrible. It's the second and third pages where people lose me with rambling or no plot movement.
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