Dear Author:

Thank you very much for letting us see the enclosed
submission. Unfortunately, it does not suit the needs of the
publication at this time. Your submission has been read by an editor
and the publication's editorial staff, and we have reached the
following conclusions about the work:

_____ IDEA OR THEME. The story lacks a new idea or theme. A great many
of the ideas that may seem innovative to an SF newcomer are, in fact,
overfamiliar to readers more experienced in the field.

_____ SCIENCE/SPECULATION. The story lacks a strong scientific or
speculative base. If the SF element can be lifted out of the plot
without affecting the overall story, then all the author's done is
take an existing storyline and add SF elements. Science and/or
speculation must be an essential part of the story, or it's simply not
science fiction.

_____ CHARACTERS. The story lacks believable, interesting and/or
well-developed characters.

_____ PLOT. The story lacks a plot, and/or is merely a discourse
between characters on some new scientific theory.

_____ SETTING. The story lacks a credible setting, and/or the author
violates the conventions of his or her setting.

_____ DIALOGUE. The dialogue in the story is stilted, overly filled
with technobabble, or relies too heavily on scientific explanations to
move the plot forward.

_____ NARRATION. The story lacks a strong narrative, and/or the author
has violated the conventions of narrative writing without clear
reason.

_____ COMPOSITIONAL SKILLS. The story lacks basic compositional skills
on the part of the author. By this, we mean that the writer has
misspelled or misused everyday words, and/or mispunctuated same, or
provided work that is not grammatically sound. The story has been
rejected on this basis because a writer must be familiar with the
tools of his or her trade, just as an electrician or carpenter must.

_____ UNIQUENESS. The story was rejected, not because it lacked a new
idea, interesting characters or setting, or a strong
scientific/speculative basis, or because the writing was not
"professional" enough, but simply because it failed to rise far enough
above the other stories submitted.

_____ OTHER. (Please Specify):

Sincerely,

The Editorial Staff