Literary Rejections on Display

The Rejection that Dare Not Utter its Purpose

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:56:00 +0000

The person receiving this cryptic rejection from the Santa Monica Review writes: This one really bugs me.. because, as you'll notice, they never actually get around to rejecting me.

Dear Writer: We don't know of anyone who hasn't had work returned at one time or another, but that certainly doesn't make it easier. We hope you will find consolation in the individuality of editorial tastes and in the assurance that with persistence, good work will be recognized as such. Thank you for trying us. The Editors

Sorry to Report

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Dear Author: Thank you for submitting to Chicago Review. We're sorry to report that we are not going to publish your story. Good luck placing it elsewhere. The Editors

Santa Monica and Hitler

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:45:00 +0000

An LROD loyalist sent in this note from on a returned/rejected story submitted to the Santa Monica Review. I guess the editor likes egomaniacal genocidal historical figures? The author of the story is taking the comment to mean, "Send more work." I think that's a good enough interpretation.

Our Token Respect

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Never pay retail, darling.

Dear Writer's Name,
Thank you for sending "Title of Story" to Fourteen Hills: The San Francisco State Review. We have considered your submission and, unfortunately, it isn't a match for our current issue. Many authors of original and well-crafted pieces will receive this letter. Please don't let this deter you from submitting in the future, and, in the meantime, subscribing to Fourteen Hills.
As a token of our respect for your work, we would like to offer you a reduced subscription rate of 15% off. We know this is a small condolence, but we hope you take us up on our offer.You can request the subscription at this link. Thanks again. Best of luck with your work. Sincerely, Stephanie Doeing, Fourteen Hills

Palooka Digs Your Style

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:57:00 +0000

Dear [Writer's Name],

Thank you for sending us "Title of Story." We enjoyed reading your work but are sorry to say we're unable to use it at this time. However, we dig your writing style and would like to see more submissions from you in the future. We realize how much time, effort, passion, and energy goes into each piece of writing and appreciate your interest in Palooka.

NOTE: I didn't feel there was enough to this story, too short, but I think you have a real strength in your voice. --

Best,
Palooka Journal Editor
http://palookajournal.submishmash.com/Submit

Competitive and Thorough

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Lest you think they at New Plains are blowing their noses on your 2,500-word story. It makes you want to be a part of the process, doesn't it? Do they pick the story they want to publish and then arm wrestle to see what goes in the review? Well, anyhoodle, at least you have been thoroughly vetted and tossed aside. GFY.

Dear Writer: Thank you for sending your fiction for our consideration. After a competitive and thorough review process, we have decided not to use your material in our upcoming issue. We wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors. Sincerely, Kellea Ingram, Editor in Chief, New Plains Review

Hill of Salt, Pile of Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:18:00 +0000

This writer had recently gotten her story accepted elsewhere, and had written politely to withdraw said story from Salt Hill, where it was still under simultaneous consideration. Apparently, however, Salt Hill prefers not to miss an opportunity to reject, so they sent a rejection out anyway a few weeks later.

Thank you very much for your recent submission to Salt Hill. Regrettably, we are unable to publish it at this time. Please know that we take very seriously the job of reading all submissions that come our way, and we’re grateful that you would consider our journal when sending your writing out for publication. We remain thankful for your support and wish you the best of luck placing this work elsewhere. All the best, The Editors

Translation: Back at you, baby; we didn't want it anyway.

P.S. Note To Self

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:53:00 +0000

“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mom says "There were many untruths"

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:45:00 +0000

So, shall we discuss family reactions to published writings? Talk about rejection! I just got back from a visit to my family's homestead. Boy, did I ever get an earful. The funny thing is that their big complaint is not even about anything very important or primary to the piece. It's my view on guns that pisses them off. They want to quibble about details, like did my father ever really give me a gun, and if so, why did they never see a rifle wrapped up under the Christmas tree with my name on it. (In fact, he'd taken me out shooting and tried to give me the rifle then, but I refused to take it...can I help it that my mother wasn't there as a witness. No one was there. But does that mean it didn't happen or that I am a liar?) Also, they say that anyone walking into our house would not have known there were guns in the house, that my father locked his office where the rifle display cabinets were, keeping it closed, and that the guns in the closets and under the beds were upstairs where no one went. But does this mean that they were not still there? My point was that those of us who lived there (hello?) knew there were guns in the house. My father used to shoot out the window at squirrels....and we lived in the thickly settled suburbs. (The neighbors used to complain because they had little kids and my friggin' Dad was shooting out the bedroom windows.) I think it's my brother's NRA-point that's influencing the complaint. In his opinion, we lived in a gun-responsible house; guns were not lying around! My point is, holy crap, there are guns everywhere in this joint! Anyway, the thing about families is that they will focus on the little things so they can say your writing is a lie, in order to ignore the big things. Like, how about: "Wow it really sucks what happened to you." Or "I never realized how painful this whole disinheritance thing must have been for you. I'm sorry, dude."
What I learned this weekend is that it's hard for them to understand that everyone in that house was a separate person with a separate opinion and a separate experience and a separate perspective. That's practically a revolutionary idea to them. Write up one of those perspectives and put it in a prominent publication, and you are practically the one holding the gun all of a sudden. I guess that's what they don't like. As Alice Walker says, "I am a girl, so I do not get a gun." (Also the epigraph in my first published book.)
In other news, some interest in the book proposal with a phone call being scheduled this week and some additional sample chapters being sent around. I will keep you posted.

Before the Rejection Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:40:00 +0000

Enterprising to get this out of the way, while the writer is still hopeful. I like cake and trains.

Dear [Writer's Name]:
Caketrain has received your submission for Issue 10 (slated for publication in 2012) and will respond in the months to come; today, we write to let you know how grateful and heartened we are to be chosen as a potential home for your work. The greatest privilege of assuming our modest role in the publishing world has always been the opportunity to read the unpublished works of talents from around the world, and with that in mind, we want you to know that we are honored by your interest in our publication.
We are also writing to tell you that the just-released Caketrain Issue 09 is now available for order at http://www.caketrain.org/09. Below, we've provided a few quick reasons why we hope you'll purchase this title.
1. Your patronage helps to support and secure the longevity of Caketrain.
We at Caketrain do not solicit donations, nor is our operation financed by grants or endowments, nor are we the affiliate of any educational institution or larger arts initiative. This means that the only way we can keep the project going is to sell as many books as we can to readers and writers like you. And $9—with free shipping in the U.S.—is a steal for what we offer. Which leads us to the other point—
2. You'll get a great book in the mail.
Featuring 274 pages of fine work from over thirty contributors and bound with gorgeous cover art by illustrator Michael Paukner, Issue 09 is full of the challenging, exciting work you've come to expect from Caketrain. Contributors for this outing include Daniel Grandbois, Joe Hall, Chad Hardy, Kate Rutledge Jaffe, Michael Kimball, Alec Niedenthal, Kathryn Rantala, Joanna Ruocco and many more.
To find out more—and to read over 40 pages of samples from Issue 09—please visit http://www.caketrain.org/09, and when you're ready to place an order, you'll find a number of different options available. We like to think that this is a proposition that will benefit both of us: you'll get great new literature in the mail at a reasonable price, and you'll help Caketrain to continue, so that we can retain the privilege of reading and considering the work of writers like you
With ceaseless gratitude, we remain
Yours sincerely,
Amanda and Joseph

Someone's Having a Good New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:25:00 +0000

This anony-mouse has been diligently sending out submissions and receiving rejections and sending them kindly to me all year. Check out the date of this acceptance. Way to have a good New Year! Such fun to post an acceptance once in a while! Let's congratulate the hard work and stick-to-it-ness of this fine writing friend of ours:

From: Raleigh Review Fiction
Date: December 30, 2011
To: mouse.mouse@anonymouse.com
Subject: Your submission to the raleigh review

Dear [Name Redacted]: Thank you for submitting to TRR. We read and really enjoyed "Title" and would like to feature it in our magazine. If the work is still available for publication please sign the contract attached to this mail and return it to us. Also, kindly send us an electronic version of the story attached to this email address. We look forward to hearing from you. Best, Smriti

Today is the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

I've been keeping my head down because Secret Agent Man and I have been working like dogs to get my non-fiction book proposal ready. Today it goes out into the world to 12 lucky, lucky editors. It's weird too because, peeps, I'll tell you, you work on a novel for over a decade and that's what you start to believe is going to be the thing that strikes out there in your name, on your behalf, as your work. But, alas, the novel is resting right now. Maybe all this flurry from the nonfiction project will pave the way for it. Or maybe not. The more I'm in this business the more I realize that I am not in control of this ride....or of anything. I just hope for inspiration and the wherewithal to get the words on the page, and whatever happens after that is a big effing mystery. Sometimes a very depressing mystery, sometimes the kind that blows your skirt up and knocks you out. There seems to be no telling. I'll keep you posted on the progress of the book proposal.
I can tell you this, though, non-fiction feels very different from fiction. First of all, people seem to want nonfiction. Still, it's not as intimate or, I don't know, as heart-wrenching/-warming as fiction is--at least for this writer. Also nonfiction feels more business-y; kind of like my consulting work. But maybe that's good; I seemed to have figure out a formula for writing what sells and makes people happy in that realm. Maybe I can think of all the potential readers of this nonfiction book as my clients. There's an idea. Anyway, who the hell knows? I hope it all works out the way it's supposed to...or whatever.
Are you mice all having a very happy New Year so far? Keep sending in your rejections and acceptances, and I will post as they come in. It's cool to know what's happening for you.

What is the Sea God Telling You?

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

This article by Matt Love over at Powell's Book Blog should cheer us up for the New Year of rejection. At the very least, it means you are alive as a writer. That's saying something, people.

Someone Made a New Year's Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:45:00 +0000

An LROD reader wrote in and sent this rejection, which was received on January 4th, 2012. When was the story submitted? January 2nd, 2012. New Year's Resolution at ThreePenny or a new ambitious intern who is going to burn through the slush pile? You decide:

We have considered your submission carefully, and unfortunately we are not able to use it in The Threepenny Review. Please do not take this as a comment on the quality of your writing; we receive so many submissions that we are able to accept only a small fraction of them.Thank you for sending your work to us, and please accept our apologies for the automated message system. We wish we had time to reply to everyone individually. The Editors

2012 Rejections to Start the Year Off

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:06:00 +0000

A warm New Year's rejection for you, little anony-mouselettes:

Thank you for your submission. Having read it carefully, we don't feel it's the right fit for SUBTROPICS. Although we will not be publishing this piece, we appreciate the opportunity to read your work. Sincerely, The Editors

From an iMouse's iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:05:00 +0000

This one really lets you know who is rejecting you, in hierarchical order.

Yale Spells Your Name Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Here's a rejection from an anonymice:

Dear Ms. [Last Name Spelled Wrong]: Although in the end we could not find a place for your story, we want you to know that we gave it a careful reading. Thank you for your interest in the Review. Sincerely, The editors

All Story All The Time

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:46:00 +0000

Zoetrope remains an enigma to me. Does your story have to seem like it would make a good movie? Not sure. Anyway, here's a rejection sent in by a very industrious mouse who submits stories all the time.

Merry Christmas, Rosemary Ahern

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:04:00 +0000

...And all you mice, too. Hope you all are having a great holiday week.

Nothing Much to Say About This One

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:45:00 +0000

basalt [dark-colored, fine-grained]

Dear Writer: Thank you for your submission to basalt. We regret that it does not meet our current needs. We appreciate your interest in basalt and wish you the very best luck publishing your work elsewhere. Sincerely, The Editors

Eastern Oregon University One University Blvd, La Grande, Oregon 97850

Missouri Review Gets Off On It...?

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:44:00 +0000

An LROD reader sent this funny note to me (using my real first name). Look at me, living in the light!:

You might want to blog about this. The Missouri Review Editor's Prize just ended, and they managed to say the last line (quoted below) with a straight face...Strange, considering we had that intern in the comments section a little while ago saying that Speer particularly looks for first-time authors. (I've quoted that comment after the Missouri Review comment below). Cheers and love the blog!

From the Missouri Review:

"We received over 2500 manuscripts this year, and the overall quality was extraordinarily good, making our decision a difficult one. This is of course a good thing: selecting winners of a contest should never be easy, and it certainly wasn’t for us. We’re very thankful to all the writers who entered this year. TMR is only as good as the work we publish, and we are grateful that so many writers sent us their very best work. We were particularly thrilled to find out, after we accepted her work, that “Unintended” will be Yuko Sakata’s first published story!"

From an intern about this matter:

"I've interned at the Missouri Review and I can say this: 3) as much as you probably won't believe this, TMR is sort of embarrassingly proud when they get a writer's first publication. so they aren't only trying to publish writers who know them. they are actively hunting out new writers because they get off on it."

Terribleminds

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Here's an article called "25 Things Writers Should Know About Rejection." Self described as "booze-soaked, profanity-laden shotgun blast of dubious writing advice." Note how Chuck Wendig sells his own books. Enterprising.

Eat That, Mcsweeney's

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:01:00 +0000

From an LROD reader:

Do you still want rejections from anonymice? Do you care anymore?*Last Friday I got an email from the folks at Epiphany saying they were accepting a story and that it was going to press Monday. Okay. Great. Wham, bam. I scrambled around to the various places I'd simultaneously submitted, trying to figure out the best way to withdraw the story. Turns out online submissions, which make submitting so gloriously easy, are not all so easily withdrawn. In any case, I sent an email to some virtual soul at McSweeney's telling them to please withdraw my story, and I was sorry, and all that...and not twelve hours later I got their standard rejection. How do you like them apples?!

* Of course I do. I care very deeply.

Who's Calling Whom?

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Here's a rejection from Cornell University. Hope no one "gorged out."

EPOCH
Cornell University
251 Goldwin Smith
Ithaca, NY 14853
We regret that we are not able to place your work in our magazine. We're sorry to disappoint you, and we thank you for submitting to EPOCH.
EPOCH is published three times a year. Unsolicited submissions are reviewed from 15 September to 15 April of each year. Sample issues are available from the above address at $5.00 per copy, postage paid.

In other news, since Sunday's publication, 7 agents have contacted me. How's that for a turn of the tables? A few of them are former rejecters of mine. But I'm all set in the agent category with Secret Agent Man. So, "no thanks!" (That's good-sport code for "bite me," which I know is not very nice. You'll pardon me, I'm sure.)

Who Among You Figured it Out?

noreply@blogger.com (Writer, Rejected) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Have you been listening carefully, little mousicles? If so, you know Today Is The Day! Blast off!