Proudly Rejected by Pedestal Magazine



I borrowed the picture to the left from this website.






ISTANBUL

The lid on my green-grass world flew off and Doubt clawed in.

Some Pandora managed to cram her pestilence back into my box.

Loneliness batted against my tight-closed eyes,

Ignorance screeched into my ears,

and the worst part was, Hope escaped.


One of the good things about writing this blog is that it has changed the way I take rejection from publishers. Sure, it upsets me when I get rejected, but then I think, "Ooh...something to blog about." It takes a negative thing and makes it positive. As I have said before, when I say I've been "proudly" rejected...I'm speaking honestly.

I am proud that I tried, and I plan to try again. If I spend my whole life trying to get published and still never really succeed, I can at least be proud that I made the attempt. And anyways, sooner or later, if I just keep at it, I will succeed. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Although I really want to see my name on the cover of a book someday, I feel that writing is worthwhile just for writing's sake.

My Duotrope Submissions Tracker is getting longer and longer, mostly with rejections, but with a few acceptances. I would like to thank the wonderful folks over at Midnight Screaming for not only selecting my poem for their April edition, but also for telling me about Duotrope.com.

Anyway, I got rejected by Pedestal Magazine yesterday. They said that they really "enjoyed" reading my writing but that they "cannot use it at this time."

Do you think they are being honest when they say they enjoyed my submission, or are they just trying to soften the blow?

I really don't know.

In any case, I like their magazine, and in six months after I have licked my wounds and written some new and hopefully better poems, I will resubmit.

The poem at the top is one of my favorite poems that they rejected. It might make sense only to me, and to those who know me.

Comments

  1. mamasitaMarch 28, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    Dearest Daughter
    As Edgar Allen Poem wrote in his book of lost poems. It's not easy to keep trying but it's one good way to grow. It's not easy to keep learning , but I know that this is so; When you've tried and learned you're bigger than you were a day ago. It's not easy to keep trying but it's one good way to grow. You've got to do it. Every little bit , you've got to do it ... and when you're through you can know who did it. For you did it, you did it, you did it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elizabeth MahlouMarch 28, 2010 at 10:19 PM

    Sometimes the comments are serious, sometimes not. It depends on the publisher. Publishers can get so inundated with unsolicited manuscripts that they use standard replies just to stay afloat.

    It might help if you can think of every rejection as one step closer to an acceptance and so start receiving some satisfaction from the rejections. A super salesman taught me that a long time ago, and it is an effective way to remain hopeful and maintain sanity.

    Good luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sandra Rose HughesMarch 29, 2010 at 6:14 AM

    Wow, Elizabeth- that's really insightful. I like the mindset you describe.

    Mamasita- Thank you!That poem reminds me of Mr. Rogers. You could be like Mrs. Rogers, spreading joy and happiness everywhere.

    ReplyDelete

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