Rejection. Nine little letters no writer wants to see. I received that dreaded rejection email yesterday for a story I’d submitted back on December 15. I wrote the story specifically to match the criteria for the anthology. It was lighthearted with no hard-core violence. I had a fun location – a cruise ship. And it featured one of my favorite characters, Private Detective Nick Alexander.
Now, this wasn’t my first rejection. I’ve only been submitting short stories to magazines and anthologies for less than a year. I haven’t had that many rejections, although there have been far more rejections than acceptances. I knew that would be the case, and I accepted it as part of being a submitting author. I didn’t get emotional about any of them. Sure, I would have liked those stories to be published, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
But this one stung for several reasons. One is that I’d made it to the third round. Only one more round to go and I’d win the gold! I couldn’t wait to announce to all my friends that I’d finally broken through. I’d soon be published in an open-call anthology that garnered submissions from Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, India, Austria and New Zealand as well as the USA!
Another reason the hurt was bitter was that It featured Nick Alexander, a character that I must admit I’m a little bit in love with. He has that effect on women – at least on the women who’ve read this story – assorted friends and my critique group. Writing one of his stories always makes me smile. I wanted more people to get acquainted with Nick and love him like I do. But that’s not going to happen just yet.
So, I indulged in a lot of chocolate and wine and allowed myself to mope for the rest of the day.
Today, I’m back at it. Applying the suggestions the editor was kind enough to offer on how to improve my chances for publication. She asked me to let her know when and where I found a home for my story. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to let her know soon!