So, I get home from running some errands and just a few minutes after I walk in the door, my phone goes “ding, you’ve got mail”.  Not really, but you know what I mean.  Like always, I clicked on my inbox and held my breath, but there was nothing breath holding worthy.  Just rejection letters.  One for “Jenny Kissed Me” and one for “Jenny of Lebanon”.  Both were very standard and offered me no hope.  There’s always tomorrow, right?

For anyone keeping count, that is  number seventeen for “Jenny Kissed Me” and number four for “Jenny of Lebanon”.

Just as soon as we are moved and settled in our new home, I’m printing out all my rejections and plastering them on the wall.  Not sure what good that will do, but it’s my plan.

Rejection #20 – Boston Review

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to review “Jenny Kissed Me.” However, we find that it is not right for Boston Review at this time. Please know that while our small staff carefully reads every submission, the high volume of submissions means, regrettably, that we cannot provide a thorough, individualized response to each submitter.

We wish you success in placing your work elsewhere. Thank you for thinking of Boston Review.

Sincerely,

Boston Review editors

Rejection #21 – AGNI

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

Thank you for sending “Jenny of Lebanon.” Your work received careful consideration here.

We’ve decided this manuscript isn’t right for us, but we wish you luck placing it elsewhere.

Kind regards,

The Editors

I don’t think I actually believed that The Missouri Review would  publish “Jenny of Lebanon”, but I had hoped, in some crevice of my damaged heart, that they would have written something more meaningful to me when they rejected me.  But alas, they didn’t.  Hope, it really is an awful thing.  And standard rejections forms are equally as horrible.  I have two other places considering her still, but I won’t be hearing back from them anytime soon.  And my hopes aren’t very high for them either.  They are prestigious literary magazines, and I’m just a random nobody who can string words together.  Outside of them, I’m not sure where “JoL”  will end up.  Like I’ve said before, her length is keeping me from sending her to other places.  I’m not sure if I should sit on her until I can find a place, or just self-publish and be done with it.  If you happen to know of a magazine that accepts 14,500 word manuscript, please leave the info in the comment section.  Thanks.

Rejection #19 – The Missouri Review

Thank you for giving us the chance to consider “Jenny of Lebanon” for publication in The Missouri Review.  Though it does not fit our current needs, we appreciate your interest in our magazine and your commitment to quality writing.

Rejections suck.  Rejections on Fridays suck worse.  Rejections on Fridays after finding out you don’t have enough debt to get a loan is the worst.  Yep, you read that right.  We don’t have enough debt to qualify for a home loan.  Excellent credit, excellent history, but not enough debt.  I don’t know how that is even possible.  The American Dream is exactly that, a dream.  Maybe getting published one day is a dream, too.  Sorry for the depressing post.  I’m depressed.  And now my Braves are losing and my dog is sick.  I’m just going to go put my head in the sand.  I’ll come back when I feel better.

Rejection # 18 – from Black Warrior Review

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

Thank you for giving us at Black Warrior Review the opportunity to consider your work. The editors have read your submission and regret that it does not meet our present needs.

We wish you the best of luck placing your manuscript elsewhere.

Sincerely,

The Editors of Black Warrior Review

Okay, that’s being somewhat negative.  It could be that all of the magazines that are due some sort of response for my stories are having a hard time finding the right words to accept them.  Hey, anything is possible, right?  Ah, dreaming is such a wonderful thing.

By my count, there are five, almost six magazines that I should be hearing from soon.  Either I’ve entered the time frame that they usually respond by or close to the date they hope to respond by.  Although, those numbers are just guidelines, not promises.

I started another short story the other day.  I decided to try to knock out one before I dove head first into “Terminus”, my potential novel.  3,500 words seems more attainable than 100,000.

As always, I’ll keep you updated as I learn stuff.   I’m hoping for some positive news.  I could use some.

I’m about to head out to my first ever writer’s group.  It’s something I should have done a long time ago, but I’m a big, fat, lazy toad, so I’m only now getting around to it.  I’m hoping I’ll meet some cool people, make some friends (which I am desperate for), and find inspiration for any and all of the ideas I have running around in my head.  Although, if I do write and finish any other stories, and I start submitting them to the world, that will just mean more rejection letters that I’ll have to deal with.  That’s something I am not looking forward to.  Rejections SUCK.  But rejections pave the road to success, or so I hear.  Here’s to hoping I tap into some creative genius tonight!

9 days, 7 rejections.  The good news is that there are more days left in April than remaining possible rejections.  Someone, somewhere is bound to accept one of my stories, eventually, right?  RIGHT?!  I hope so.

Tomorrow I am going to a writer’s group.  Maybe I’ll make some friends and gain some motivation in the process.  Some local friends would be really great about now.  And some motivation wouldn’t hurt either.

Rejection #17 – Qwerty Magazine

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

Thank you for submitting “Jenny Kissed Me.” Unfortunately, we have decided not to include your work in our upcoming issue. We receive many more submissions than we can possibly publish, but we wish you the best of luck with your work. We hope you will consider submitting to us again.

Sincerely,
Qwerty Magazine

I’m really beginning to hate April.  It’s been brutal so far.  Rejections for 6 out of the 7 days(the 8th day is not over yet) I’ve lived this month.

Rejection #14 – Tin House (it came on the 4th)

Dear Gabrielle,

Thank you for sending us ‘Jenny Kissed Me.’ Thank you, also, for your patience in waiting to hear back from us. Unfortunately, we must pass at this time.

Best of luck placing your work elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Tin House Editors

Rejection #15 – The Canary Press (came a long time ago, but I only realized it on the 5th)

Dear Gabrielle,

Thank you for sending us ‘Jenny Kissed Me’,
We really appreciated the opportunity to read your work, but unfortunately this story didn’t make our final cut.

We only publish a very small percentage (less than 1%) of the submissions we receive.

Thanks again for sending us your story and for supporting independent presses. Our first issue is coming out soon…ish. We hope you’ll enjoy it and try us again some time.

Best of luck with your writing, Gabrielle.

Warm regards,
Robert and Andy
– The Canary Press

Rejection #16 – Indiana Review (came just before I went to bed on the 7th)

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

We have carefully considered your submission, “Jenny Kissed Me,” and regret that we do not have a place for it in Indiana Review at this time. We appreciate your support and hope you try us again in the future.

The Editors

It had been so long since I’d received a rejection letter that I’d nearly forgotten what one felt or looked like.  So, April, being the meanest month ever, decided to give me three, one for each day so far to make sure I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.  Thanks, April, thanks so much.

Rejection #11 – Slice Magazine

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

Thanks so much for giving us the opportunity to consider your work for Slice. Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, we regret that we aren’t able to respond to each submission personally. We’ve been thoroughly impressed by the quality of the work that we’ve received. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to include your piece in our next issue of Slice. We’d love to consider more of your work in the future, though, so please do continue submitting to us.

Best wish

The Editors

Rejection #12 – carte blanche

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

Thank you for sending us ‘Jenny Kissed Me’. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not right for us at this moment.

Thanks again and best of luck with your writing.

Sincerely,
The Editors
carte blanche

And lucky Rejection #13 – Pinball

Dear Gabrielle,

We appreciated the opportunity to get to know ‘Jenny Kissed Me,’ but we decided that it’s not for us. The best way to get a feel for what we’re looking for is to get to know Pinball at http://www.thisispinball.com. If you haven’t already, please read what’s available on our site or purchase the ebook of an issue.

Thanks again for sending us your work and best of luck placing it elsewhere.

Sincerely,

The Editors
Pinball

Here’s to hoping April showers bring me May flowers.  Some flowers would be nice.

Boo hiss.  More rejections.

I’ve gotten three since my last update.  One the night before my vacation started, one during, and one shortly after I got back.  Each of them were form letters.  So, that makes a total of ten rejections.  Two more for “Jenny Kissed Me” and one more for “Jenny of Lebanon”.

Rejection #8 – from West Branch

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

Thank you for submitting to West Branch. We read every story, poem, and essay submitted to us carefully, and we delight in publishing both established and emerging writers. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept your work for publication at this time.

We appreciate your interest in the journal, and we wish you the best in your writing.

Sincerely,

The Editors of West Branch

Rejection # 9 – from New England Review (I was most bummed about this one.)

Dear Gabrielle Olexa,

Thank you for giving us the chance to read ” Jenny of Lebanon.” While we have found that it’s not a good fit for the New England Review, we wish you the best in placing it elsewhere and appreciate your interest in our magazine.

Sincerely,
The Editors
New England Review

Rejection #10 – from The Literarian

Dear Gabrielle,

Dawn Raffel

Rejection letter lucky number seven comes courtesy of One Story, a publication I actually subscribe to because I like how they only feature a single writer only one time, ever, and that the publication itself has, well, one story.  I wish they would do something similar for slightly longer stories.

Only 93 more rejection letters before I officially change my name to Rejection Letter Queen Olexa.  Kinda has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

At least they said they enjoyed it.  I wish they had enjoyed just a wee bit more.  Oh, well.  There is always next time . . .

Rejection Letter #7 – One Story

Dear Gabrielle Olexa:

Thank you for sending us “Jenny Kissed Me”. We really enjoyed this piece, but we didn’t feel it was right for One Story.

We hope that you will continue to send us your work.

Sincerely,

The Editors of One Story