if things lately were not going bad enough
harddrive failures and computer problems
having trouble detailing my argument
cars breaking down on me
This was not what I needed.
Dear Wilbur,
It took longer than we expected, but the L&L editorial team has now
reviewed your paper on “The Yachts”. Unfortunately, the consensus is
that your article cannot be published at this time.The most general comment was that the editors were not quite convinced
by your discussion of an ‘everyday reader’ stance versus ‘expert’
interpretation. The ideas you proposed there seemed too general and
speculative to be well received by the journal’s audience, at least in
their present form. Secondly, your use of the blending framework seemed
not convincing enough. The way you employed it did not support your
theoretical claims to the extent it should, and, in fact, did not seem
to add much clarity or originality to the interpretation of the poem
itself. Thirdly, in your application of the framework you did not
distinguish clearly between the language expressions as space builders,
and the structure of the spaces themselves. As a result, the diagrams
were not helpful to the reader, while the text itself was not quite
clear without them.The paper would require rather extensive re-writing, if it were to be
considered for publication again. Since our schedule for the special
issue is very tight, it is not possible to give you the time that kind
of re-writing would require. Still, I want to thank you for submitting
the paper to the special issue. The time constraints were tough from
the beginning and your cooperation throughout the first stages was much
appreciated. Also, a special thank you for your paper at the PALA
conference, which was very interesting and promising. I hope that you
will continue working on blending in the future.Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the
details of the reviewing process.With very best wishes,
I dont want to think about this right now, back to the computer problems.
wilbur
i know how disappointing that must be, especially with your paper having been solicited. plus, if they had reviewed your paper in a timely fashion, instead of waiting until long after the deadline they apparently arbitrarily set for you, then you might’ve had time to fix it. and yet… i’m not sure how it is in your field, but in mine, personalized rejection letters are the next best thing to acceptance. and your letter even includes explicit instructions on how to fix your article, which will help you in the long run, although i’m sure that’s not what you’re thinking of their criticism at this moment. (i would imagine your thoughts of their criticism at this moment might tend toward the obscene…) nevertheless, despite what they perceive to be its flaws, they thought enough of your paper to write you a lengthy justification of why they could not publish it, which is, in itself, a justification of the merit of your work. if that makes any sense… anyway, you have my sympathies. there is a file in my cabinet labeled REJECTIONS which is absolutely bursting forth with the remnants of dead trees.
I’m very sorry to hear this, my friend. I was looking forward to seeing your article published probably as much as you were. I recall you saying that the worst that could happen is that they turn it down and you were prepared for that, so I hope you take this in stride. And of course I also hope you don’t get discouraged. Mary gave much better advice than what I have to offer, but I want to say just keep working at it. Ron.
Man i wish i were down there right now… I know you probably want to get a drink… and i wish i were there to help you get it… heh… but hey… they did give you some information to chew on… and apparently your paper can be publish-worthy… and who knows they might have had other reasons for not accepting it that they didn’t necessarily state on paper… the reasons they give in the letter seem to be strange to me… because they claim it would be “unclear” etc and i’m struck with the notion that the ideas were clear enough in the presentation as to get them excited… i don’t know… i know i’m not helping… the good news: With their critique you might be able to make this into the best paper you have ever written. Whatever happens you can’t lose hope in your abilities here, because you have made too many strides in this field to get pulled down here. ….. i love you man… just so you know… i really want to talk to you..
man. like everyone else, i was really hoping to see that paper published. and i ditto mary’s comments. i think that, in time, you should work on revising the paper and attempt to send it somewhere else (or maybe back to them again… depending on how you feel about that). when it rains, it pours. keep your head up.
I’m sorry, Wilbur. 🙁
I disagree. If you keep your head up in the rain, you drown. Now is the time for wallowing in self pity and self deprecation. The time for following in the footsteps of great writers by going on a drinking binge and having a lost weekend. Obviously I kidd. But I have nothing to say that will make anything better. Your friend have offered you much better advice than I could. The only thing I can say in sincerity is that I am so proud of you for having the balls to submit for publication in the first place.