Rejections 10-13

Rejection 10 arrived in my email on a sunny day. My friend was driving, our children were in the backseat, and we'd spent a lovely mid-day with a mutual friend. I checked my email and found this:

Could the day get any better?!?!

When I'd submitted the essay online, the publication provided a check box to request feedback. It wasn't guaranteed, but it was a possibility. I absolutely checked the box. Abbey, the editor, gave me a gift. She called my piece "interesting" and wished me luck in "placing this piece elsewhere." I am so glad I took the risk to put this piece out in the world. I would much rather it be rejected and learn that it was deemed interesting than to choose not to submit it and always wonder how it rated.

This isn't the last time I'm going to submit this work. I've got a few more rejections in me before I hang up this particular piece's towel.

I wrote recently about going through old piles of writing from as far back as fourth or fifth grade. In that stack, I was reminded that long before I created the 300 rejections blog, I'd slowly been writing and submitting work. I also applied for a creative arts grant for artists who are raising children. As I put together my application, I remembered other work I had submitted that was not published.

Since I'm the Chief Executive Officer of 300 rejections, I get to make up the rules as I go, so I am retroactively counting these other rejections:

Rejection 11 “Over the Shoulder,” Spoonfuls of Stories with Cheerios, children's story contest 2009

Rejection 12 Real Simple Essay Contest “What was the most important day of your life?” 2010

 

Rejection 13 “Birthing the Mother Writer,” Literary Mama 2014

So there we have it. I have been submitting work longer than even I remembered. I am so grateful for the exercise of preparing materials for the grant. I'm already a winner with the confidence I gained in the process.

Rejections to go: 285

What in the world will be written in the next 285 submissions? It's so exciting to think about. Thanks so much for going on this journey with me.