This one came all the way back in November 2017. I was just too depressed to login in and post about it.

Rejection Letter #65 – Texas Review Press

Dear author:

After careful consideration of your recent submission to THE TEXAS REVIEW, we regret that we cannot offer an acceptance at this time.

Thanks for submitting to us.

The Editors

Found another place to get rejected by, figured I’d try. Tried. Rejected.

Phil finally got the pen needed to draw my cover. Just as soon as he does that, which should be sometime after he finishes building Ash’s playground, I’ll be one step closer to at least providing the words of my story to the world. Who knows if the world will read them, but they’ll be there.

Rejection Letter #64 – The Georgia Review

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

We are sorry to report that your manuscript has not been selected for publication. We thank you for letting us consider your writing, however, and we wish you the best in placing it elsewhere.

The editors of The Georgia Review

I wish I wr0te more or had more places to send my works because I really want to eat 100 cupcakes of rejection.

I’ve been way absent lately, but I’m still here, hanging around like a bad case of smog.

In the writing department, things remain the same. I haven’t produced anything new, save a few words here and there. I did find two other places to submit the same stories I’ve been trying to get published for what now seems like half of my life. I should know the outcome of those in about three months(or sooner if they are quick about it). In the meantime, Phil is working on my cover for “Jenny of Lebanon” because let’s face it, I will undoubtedly get a rejection letter – again – and in order to put her out in the world on my own, I need a pretty cover to help sell her. Phil’s a good artist. I have faith he’ll do a good job. But he really can’t work on it until his fancy pen comes in and right now it’s out of stock until something like May. Curses! The writing gods really don’t want me to share my words with the world. Outside of formatting and a cover, JoL is ready to be read. And that’s another thing I have to add to my to-do list. I need to narrate her, too. That’s the one thing I know I can do.

I’ve gotten back into to Postcrossing this year. So if you’ve clicked on my link in my profile and showed up here, “Hi!” Maybe I’ll start flooding my blog with pictures of all the postcards I’ve received. That would be better than pages of depressing rejection letters.

OH! The best news of all is that I got a new car on the 11th! My poor old Saturn, Rosalind, died, or rather her AC did, and we were not about to pay $1300.o0 to fix a 14-year-old car. So, we strolled on over to the local Toyota dealership and bought the car I’ve wanted for years – a Prius. She’s so fancy! It’s going to take me forever to learn all the buttons and their functions. It’s like I got thrown from the dark ages into the future – that’s how different she is from my Saturn. And I think I’ve decided on a name – Starla.

Okay, well I’m going to be a good smog cloud and go hover over the city for a while longer until I figure out what to do next. Take care, strangers!

I stood at my mailbox, sweating my ass off after getting back from a walk when I saw it. I know my handwriting anywhere. It had come. My last rejection letter; one I’d waited 9 long months for. I sighed and ripped it open. What I noticed first was the size of the paper inside. It was a full piece, not a half or a fourth, but one regular-sized 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, folded into thirds. For the briefest moment, I thought it could mean good news, that my journey for this story had finally reached the end, and the end I’ve been dreaming about for years – literally – but then I read the first line. My heart sank. I wanted to cry. I thought about it for a second. My son wouldn’t know why I was and he wouldn’t care. He cries all the time for less. But there can be no crying over rejection letters, so I sucked it up and kept reading. And what I read next really did make me want to cry and I would be lying if some liquid didn’t bubble in my eye duct.

I’m not sure how close I actually was to being chosen, but I was close enough that it mattered – enough so that they took the time to personally respond to me – to let me know that they liked what they saw, what ultimately held them back and to wish me well. And that means a lot to me. Because so often I only get the “Thanks but no thanks, good luck with your life.” letters.

To self-publish or to keep trying? That is the question and one I’m not sure how to answer.

Rejection Letter #63 – The Massachusetts Review

This one came back in February. There’s only one left, guys, and it’s been over 6 months since I sent it out. I’ll probably be posting rejection letter #63 any day now.  Then it will be time to decide what I want to do next.

Rejection Letter #62 –  Five Points

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

Thank you for sending us “Jenny Kissed Me“. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not for us.

Thanks again. Best of luck with this.
Sincerely,
Five Points

Down to two, folks.

Rejection Letter #61 – American Short Fiction

Dear Gabrielle Olexa, 

Thank you for submitting “Jenny of Lebanon” to American Short Fiction. 

We read your submission carefully and regret that we are unable to use it at this time. While the volume of submissions prevents us from responding specifically to your work, we wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere. 

Sincerely, 

The Editors, American Short Fiction

The only way I’m going to reach 100 rejections and have my cupcake  party is by writing and submitting more. I’ve more or less exhausted my search for a home for my Jenny stories. At present, there are three remaining places considering them, and let’s be honest, after all the rejections I’ve received thus far, I have absolutely zero hope I’ll get a different response. But maybe the universe will surprise me. That’ would be nice. ARE YOU LISTENING UNIVERSE?!

The only reason why I know I got this rejection is because I signed into Submittable and noticed I had one less story in review. Typically, when a story is rejected there, I get an email, but I guess it got eaten because it never came.

Rejection Letter #60 – Virginia Quarterly Review

Dear Gabrielle Olexa, 

Thank you for sending us ‘Jenny Kissed Me.’ We appreciate the chance to consider this submission. Unfortunately, it does not fit our needs at this time. 

Sincerely, 
The Editors 
Virginia Quarterly Review 

A new year, a new rejection! Woo hoo! The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? I had actually thought they’d forgotten about me, and knowing who they were, I wasn’t about to query and ask what was taking them so long. After looking at the names of the people they’ve published, I knew what the answer would be, but since I’m a masochist, (not really) I had to at least try. I mean, the worst they could say was no. And that they did.

Rejection Letter #59 – The Yale Review

This wonderful rejection letter came last year, but I hadn’t gotten around to blogging about it until just now. I mean, what’s the rush for a rejection?

Rejection Letter #58 – Boulevard Magazine

Dear Gabrielle Olexa, 

Thank you very much for sending “Jenny Kissed Me” to Boulevard. Although it doesn’t fill our editorial needs at the moment, we’re glad you thought of us. Good luck placing this with another magazine. 

Sincerely, 

The Editors 

Boulevard 
PMB 325, 6614 Clayton Rd. 
Richmond Heights, MO 63117 
www.boulevardmagazine.org 

And this one came today. Only 6 more to wait on. Not looking good folks, not at all.

Rejection Letter #57 – Southern Humanities Review

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

We have considered your submission carefully and regret that we are unable to use it in Southern Humanities Review. Thank you for thinking of SHR.

Best of luck to you and your work!

Sincerely,

The Editors
Southern Humanities Review