The follow-up to gracefully rescinding a literary agent’s offer of representation.
2 min readJul 2, 2024
Rescinding a magazine’s offer.
Moving from last week’s publishing tip (How to rescind an offer: The Book Edition) we are on to The Magazine Edition.
Fortunately for those who read last week’s, The Mag. Ed. is remarkably similar in concept and execution. As previously, you send an email:
- the subject line: OFFER FOR PUBLICATION for [Name of your piece and date you submitted]; and
- a couple sentences saying you’ve had an offer but would prefer to publish with them.
- Finish: Would it work for you to have an answer to me by the end of the week/next Tuesday/so-and-so date — whatever makes sense for your needs.
They will hop to read your piece. I’ve only ever received congrats on my acceptances, and in some cases, invitations to re-submit.
In one fabulous instance, the famed Dele Peck (yes, that Dale Peck) sent me an email saying he hoped I had something else in the same vein.
After he published That in the Same Vein, Dale asked if I’d ever considered a novel. As I had one all written, he referred me to several agents.
