Last night, I cried.  I cried like a two year old whose favorite toy had been eaten by the family dog.  My Braves lost.  And I’m not speaking figuratively, either.  I literally cried.  That story about there being no crying in baseball is a lie.  True fans cry.  I do at least.  People think I’m crazy, but I don’t care.  It’s one of the few things in life I really enjoy.  Baseball makes me happy, except for when it makes me sad.

So, when I woke up this morning, my eyes still puffy, I was especially sad to see that I had another rejection letter waiting for me.

And then I saw that it was raining outside and that it was cold.  Then end of baseball really does mean winter is upon us.

I read the letter several times.  It was more or less a standard form rejection letter, but since I asked for some comments, they were kind enough to give me some.  I’m still deciding on how to take them and make my story better.  I debated about sharing them here, but I figured I’ve already posted my other failures in such great detail, that it would just seem silly if I removed them.   I like full disclosure.

Rejection Letter #27 – Carve Magazine

Gabrielle,

Thank you for sending us “Jenny Kissed Me” to Carve magazine. We regret to inform you it was not chosen for publication in an upcoming issue. Editorial decisions are often subjective, so we hope you’ll continue writing and submitting. When your story finds a home, we’d like to know so we can send you congratulations.

We’d like you to know that overall, your story was well-received by our reading committee, and they have some comments and notes on your story. We hope you find them helpful as you continue to revise or resubmit your piece elsewhere.

–COMMENTS–
**some strong moments, but prose isn’t entirely assured.
**author handled male POV well.
**not compelling. Story feels underdeveloped/missing depth.

Warm regards,

Editor and Staff

I submitted to slew of others in the last week, and I need to print out “Jenny of Lebanon” so I can send her to two other places that don’t accept manuscripts electronically.

Here’s to hoping that one day I’ll get to title a post Acceptance Letter # 1.  Until then, I’ll keep trying.  Gotta write more, too, but I’ve got so much on my plate right now.  Life.  There is never a dull moment.  Those who tell you differently are lying.