In my year-end review I mentioned a piece that I marked on Duotrope as an “assumed rejection.” Being the person I am, I don’t like loose ends, such as stories I don’t hear back on. Before this group I am about to talk about, I had only two long-time stories, and they were LONG – [...] Read more »

Last month I wrote about the “Slow Magazine,” and my letter to inquire whether or not my submission was still up for consideration. As their current Duotrope’s stats are 9 responses vs. 16 assumed rejections/withdrawals, I wasn’t really expecting a reply, I was simply wanting to give them a chance to reply if they still [...] Read more »

Ok, so not really. But this rejection I got, while short and to the point, was a big help.
Dear Val:Thank you for submitting your story. We regret that we are unable to use “Your Story.”This isn’t quite ready for The Kenyon Review. Watch out for overuse of the introductory participle. Sorry to [...] Read more »

One of the stories I submitted last year went to an online magazine, and let me tell you that was an up and down ride.
The first email I got was this:
We’re delighted to let you know that your story, “Short Story,” has just been accepted for its second step in our selection process. Each of [...] Read more »

This one I found interesting, partially because it reminds me of “American Idol.” Maybe they could call it, “American Author.”

“Thank you for your submission to Our Magazine. We’ve decided it doesn’t work for us, however. Following are some of the editorial comments for your consideration. I hope you will consider us again in the future.
EDITOR [...] Read more »

“Dear Val:
Many thanks for sending “Your Story” my way. I found your story to be well-written with good description and believable dialog. You did a nice job slowly revealing what was going on, and building sympathy for our killer.
The only qualm I had with the writing was the use of “began” in the [...] Read more »

But I love them. Well, maybe not love, but close. I feel like every rejection letter I get is a letter closer to an acceptance. I have a stack of them, I don’t throw them away, perhaps because I feel like having them is a physical symbol that I “am a Writer” as it were. [...] Read more »