Rejection…

Well, this one hurt.  I think because I felt this literary magazine was the right fit and it was from Michigan, where I’m from.  I’ve been writing with a lot of their writers.  So – it took a few days of heavy disappointment after the rejection came.  A form letter – which I have no problem with. 

This piece was so personal — First Encounter — about my siblings and me discovering fire-flies for the first time. Analytically, the poem was perhaps too whimsical for their style.  So that gave me comfort.  Never knowing what the rejection was really about is of course fodder for too much conjecture.  That’s probably the biggest torture point for any writer in this process.  I was genuinely excited to get my first rejection on a children’s story I submitted to an agent. I was ready for the rejection and when it came, I celebrated that I was on my way, in the trenches with the rest of the aspiring authors.

     Heading home this weekend to help Beth format and send out her wonderful collection of non-fiction short stories.  That will actually hold more investment for me than the little poem I sent in. 

     Another stopping point for writers is the arduous task of finding the right literary magazine or journal.  Setting time aside for that is a task I’m just learning about.  As long as it stays a game, I’ll be able to continue with it.  Hats off to all those writers who depend on this craft for an income. 

     So, I wasn’t ready for that rejection – that was the thing that felt like a gut punch.  But I should be.  I know better – both from researching this business extensively and from a life in the theatre.  It’s usually the ones you really wanted that hit the hardest.  And it’s a result of caring.  I won’t say “too much”.  We should care, we should be passionate, but also, understand the odds.  I forgot the odds.  And though I read the journal to get a feel for the type of poetry they published, I didn’t take into consideration the usual tone of the pieces.  Now I’m searching for journals looking for “whimsy” with some heartfelt connection. 

     Good to know.  Ouch – but onward.