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

This one strolled into my email on the 14th. Not sure how I feel about the “we hope that you will consider submitting your work to us in the future” part. Did they actually mean it or do they just want me to pay the two or three dollars for submitting online? I kinda feel like I’m paying for my rejection when I have to pay anything.

Rejection Letter #56 – Crazyhorse

Dear Gabrielle Olexa, 

Thank you for sending us “Jenny Kissed Me.” While we weren’t able to accept your work for publication at this time, we hope that you will consider submitting your work to us in the future. 

Wishing you the best of luck with your writing, 

The Eds. 
Crazyhorse

It’s been raining rejection letters lately. Getting close to the end of my pile of possibilities. Got this one on the 7th, around a 3.5 month wait.

Rejection Letter #55 – The Journal

Dear Gabrielle Olexa, 

Thank you for submitting “Jenny Kissed Me” to The Journal. We read every submission with care, and while we can only publish a small fraction of what we receive, the most exciting part of our job is reading such a wide variety of work. Though your manuscript does not suit our current needs, we wish you the best of luck placing it elsewhere. 

Thanks again, 
The Editors

Ugg. That’s how I feel.  I specifically stated I was not going to be accepting any rejections via email or mailbox on my birthday, but you know what? The publishing world doesn’t care about rejecting me on my birthday. I’ll have to look back through my posts, but I think I was rejected on my birthday last year!

Time to eat a massive amount of cupcakes.  That’ll make me feel better – at least until my next rejection.

Rejection Letter #54 – Ploughshares Solos

The Ploughshares Editors

Thank you for submitting to Ploughshares. Although we will not be publishing
your work at this time and are sorry to disappoint you, please be assured
that your manuscript was read carefully by editors and trained screeners. Our
reasons for not accepting particular submissions are varied and often have
more to do with the shape of our recent acquisitions and upcoming issues than
with the quality of writing we receive. Thank you again for the opportunity
to consider your work, and we regret any delay in our response to you. We
hope you’ll continue to read and submit to Ploughshares.

 

Sincerely,

The Ploughshares Editors