I Got Five MORE Rejections! (16-20)

The holidays are here and the editor’s are all trying to clean out their submission boxes, so the rejections are rolling in! This is an especially fun batch, as I have a personalized rejection, an embarrassing goof on my part, and even one rejection that made me think I might die unpublished. If I sound a little sardonic today it’s because I am.

#16

Dear Christine,

Thank you for giving me a chance to read [story]. I thought there was an interesting premise here, but overall the story didn’t quite win me over — I thought the narrative needed to be tighter and the POV needed to feel more non-human, especially early on — and I’m going to pass on it for [venue]. I wish you the best of luck finding the right market for it and hope that you’ll keep us in mind in the future.

Best regards,
[editor]

I’ve got to say, I have had the best luck getting personalized rejections from this particular venue. This feedback was specific enough to encourage me to do some significant revisions on the story before sending it out again.

#17

Dear Christine Tyler,

Thank you for considering [venue] for your story, [title].

Unfortunately, we have decided not to accept it. We wish you the best of luck finding a home for your story elsewhere.

Sincerely,
[editor]

This one (#17) was pretty funny, because I actually got it while I was getting ready to go to the hospital. I’d experienced a stabbing pain in my chest that morning that radiated out to my armpits, and when I called a nurse hotline, they told me to call 911 and go to the hospital because it might be a heart attack. It turned out to be an esophageal spasm, but I’ll always remember that this rejection came in the midst of me worrying I might die that day. Woo!

#18

Dear Christine,

Thank you very much for letting us see [story]. We appreciate your taking the time to send it in for our consideration. Although it does not suit the needs of the magazine at this time, we wish you luck with placing it elsewhere.

By the way, we do not consider ourselves a flash-fiction market. We very rarely publish stories under 1000 words.

Sincerely,
[editor]

I’ll admit, the second paragraph in #18 stung a little bit, because I should have known better. The story I sent was about 700 words long, and I did see in their submission guidelines that they “rarely” published anything under 1000 words, but I took that “rarely” quite literally, and figured I might be the rare exception. I wasn’t. hahaha.

#19

Dear Christine,

Many thanks for sending [story], but I’m sorry to say that it isn’t quite right for [venue]. I hope you’ll send me something new soon.

Best wishes,
[editor]
[venue]

So, funny story, this was the fastest rejection I ever received. I think it came about nine hours after I submitted my story. This rejection was for the “Satellite” story I’ve mentioned a couple times. It’s so niche I’m running out of venues for it, and I’m pretty sure this editor took one look at it and was like, “what the heck is this?” I decided to take a new approach after this rejection and am considering making a YouTube video short out of the story. I’ll let you know if/when that project comes to fruition.

#20

Dear Christine,

Thank you very much for letting us see [story]. We appreciate your taking the time to send it in for our consideration. Although it does not suit the needs of the magazine at this time, we wish you luck with placing it elsewhere.

Sincerely,
[editor]
[venue]

If #20 sounds a lot like #18, it’s because it’s from the same venue. I sent them another story a week or so later, and got another swift reply.

At this point, I think I’ve learned to not submit my work between Thanksgiving break and Christmas. I’m holding off on any new submissions until January. Hopefully that’ll make a difference, but we’ll see!

I should be posting another “What I’m Working On” update soon, so keep your eyes peeled so you can learn all about my newest projects, and what my goals are for the new year!

Thanks for coming on this journey with me! Happy Holidays!
~Christine

Image © Natassia Bas