Something I wonder...

Last week I had a couple new rejections on a couple of stories I have circulating, looking for a home. In both cases the editors had the same positive note: we loved the story. One editor went so far as to include line edits along with his note, and said that the story pulled him in from the very first moment and kept his attention all the way until the end, which he felt was a little too "weird" for their publication. Fair enough. Not a weak ending, just a "different" ending that he wasn't comfortable with.

The second editor gave me similar praise and editing tips, and also mentioned that he loved the fleshing out of the world around the character, the action of the story, and the pace, but he felt as though the ending was too contrived because the main character really didn't have any serious challenges to overcome. I can absolutely agree with him, because I even said to Evy that I didn't think the ending on this particular story was very good, but I was going to send it along anyway and see if I couldn't get some positive or negative feedback from an editor on it.

So, with that being said, I'm wondering. With the first case, the editor felt that the overall story was great, but the ending wasn't what their publication wanted, as it was too "weird". He didn't suggest "bad", just "weird". I've had three rejections on that particular story and his was the first that gave me specific feedback. Personally I feel comfortable that the story will sell somewhere, just that the ending won't work for some publications.

The second story, on the other hand, definitely needs a revision. Which I plan on getting to sometime this month. The question I have is...after I re-work the ending, is it worth sending back in to the same publication with an editor who loved the story, but simply disliked the ending?

I'm going to e-mail the editor back this morning and ask. I have to admit, this is one of the few times I've come across a situation where I wasn't exactly sure with how to proceed. I'm still learning how the fiction process works, and I'm unfamiliar with protocol, but I'm just going to do what I normally do in the non-fiction world, which is talk with the editor and see what they say.

Just some ponderings for hump day.