The Losing Game: Writing Rejections 31-35/100
November's upon us, many of you writers are embarking on nanowrimo (where participants set a goal to write a 50,000 word manuscript this month.) I've never done nanowrimo and I'm not starting now. My November looks like this: I'm working on getting all of my homework done and keeping up with work and trying not to eat nothing but takeout all month while the decreasing light plays games with my brain. Excitement befitting of me, basically. I've been really enjoying sharing my rejections in batches, because I like communicating mainly in gifs (funny for a writer) but also I've found that hearing back from journals happens in waves. I don't hear anything for weeks and then in one week I get four rejections. People who work behind the scenes in lit journals might be able to shed some light on this, but I sure as hell don't know why. Although, interestingly, I did get to take a peek at the back end of submittable for the first time last week, and it was interesting to see the different way that journals handle submissions. Very cool. I hope to be able to do more work on the back end of submittable one day. Now, let's start November off on the down note it deserves: rejection style. [WRITING REJECTION 31/100] *contest results were emailed around, I was not included*
[WRITING REJECTION 32/100] Dear Erin, Thank you for sending us 'Three Poems' for consideration for our upcoming (internet) poetry edition. We received many excellent and innovative submissions for the edition, which made our guest editor’s job very hard. We are sorry to say that your poem wasn’t successful this time around. You are of course welcome to resubmit the poem for consideration by Toby Fitch for the Overland print magazine, too. Thanks again for your participation, Editor, Overland magazine
[WRITING REJECTION 33/100] Dear Erin: Thanks for entering the 32nd "On The Premises" short story contest. We received 377 entries. Of those, 10 were selected for the final round of judging. We're sorry to have to inform you that But Maybe I'm Projecting was not among them. Our next contest, a mini-contest, will begin the same day Issue #32 is published (in mid-October). Look for it, and keep on writing! Sincerely, The "On The Premises" editorial staff
[WRITING REJECTION 34/100] Hello feathered friend, Thank you for submitting your piece, "An Exit Strategy," to Pigeon Pages' Flash Contest We appreciate the trust you had in us to share your work with us. Unfortunately, your piece didn't meet the needs of our flock this time around, but we're confident it'll find the right home. We hope you will submit to our nest again in the future. (We are always open for general submissions!) If you are located near the NYC area, we hope to see you at our next Pigeon Pages reading on September 23rd. Fly by for upcoming details about the reading and more on our website (www.pigeonpagesnyc.com) and on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @pigeonpagesnyc. Happy writing! Pigeon Pages Editorial Board
[WRITING REJECTION 35/100] Thank you for submitting "The Valise" to our Summer Flash Fiction Contest. We were blown away by the number of quality submissions we received! Unfortunately, your piece was not selected as a finalist. But we encourage you to submit more of your work in the future. We will announce the winner shortly on our website. Thanks again. Best of luck with this piece. Sincerely, The Editors Gris-Gris
In good news, 35 rejections! Not bad! And you know I've got even more to come. Happy November, friends. Enjoy the permanently wet sock feeling. - E. B. Kirsh