Ouch! “We regret …”

How I hate those words. Don’t we all? But since I shared my excitement and success with you, thought it only fair to share my disappointment and failure. Rejections keep me humble, reminding me, I’m not all that, and sometimes I’m just plain dumb.

I’d little time to bask in the warm glow of publication when up popped the damned devil, Rejection.

All comfy in my pjs and slippers, I sat down to relax in front of the fire, sip eggnog and catch up on emails.

After all, the holidays are a time to kick back and relax. A time to chill and enjoy the fact Fiction Southeast had published my essay. Can you tell I was feeling a bit proud?

Well, everyone knows with pride comes the fall.

My eggnog grew warm as the cold wind of reality swept though my computer and I read the following line in an email.

Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately….

I sulked, ranted and raved over my good story, which they’d declined. Why the hell, was it rejected? Apparently, the judges didn’t know good writing from a hole in the ground.

Then the free critique offered by the magazine arrived. Gulp.

Time to eat crow. Dumb, dumb, and dumber, I’m such a dummy. I repeated as I banged my head on the desk.

The judges liked my story.

“This story is well written, with a good character dynamic.”  However, I’d failed to comply with one of the rules.  Me I disqualified myself! Non-negotiable. No exceptions.

Messing up or missing a rule equals rejection.

Guess the judges did recognize good writing and they also recognized a dumb one too. A writer that can’t follow instructions.

Stupid, stupid… I took another minute and banged head on keyboard.

One step forward and two back… that’s me.

Now that I need Ibuprofen for my headache I’ll take a deep breath and try again.

Back to the keyboard, writing, reading and studying. To improve my chances for publication I’m reading and rereading a few websites. However not sure anything can help me remember to follow the rules.

Banging head again, need a minute.

7 How to websites for writing, winning and publishing.

1. The secret to writing a good short story.
2. Avoid reject from literary magazine.
3. Top Three Reasons Why Your Stories are Not Getting Published
4. How to get your stories published in lit magazines
5. How to win a short story competition
6. Increasing your chances of winning
7. How to get published in a magazine

 

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