Putting Rejections Into Perspective

 This puts all the rejections (and God willing, acceptances) into perspective: The Language of War by Oleksandr Mykhed review – ‘Eat, kill, grief, repeat’ reflections from Ukraine

I doubt I will ever crack Ploughshares. I am getting a better idea of my talents and they are limited. Anyway, this is for the current short story going around. I cannot recall if it is the one I rewrote the conclusion, or not.

Thank you for submitting to Ploughshares. Although we will not be publishing "No Ordinary Word" at this time and are sorry to disappoint you, please be assured that your manuscript was read carefully by editors and trained screeners.

Our reasons for not accepting particular submissions are varied and often have more to do with the shape of our recent acquisitions and upcoming issues than with the quality of writing we receive. Thank you again for the opportunity to consider your work, and we regret any delay in our response to you.

We hope you'll continue to read and submit to Ploughshares.

Sincerely,

Ploughshares Editors

I should look and see when I submitted "Their Bright Future.", but it came as a surprise. It is one I should look at revising. One of the rejections did make some comments.

 Thank you for sending us "Their Bright Future." Unfortunately, it doesn't fit our needs at this time. We wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere.

Sincerely,

The Editors

Virginia Quarterly Review

My collection of short stories, "Only The Dead and The Dying" got another rejection:

Thank you for sending us Only The Dead and The Dying. We appreciate the chance to read it. 

Unfortunately, we are writing to let you know that your manuscript has not made the semifinalist list for this year's Bakwin Award. We appreciate your interest in publishing with Blair and encourage you to continue writing and submitting.  

Sincerely, 

The editors of Blair

The last rejection is for "Getting What You Asked For" which is a very short play about the future if Trump wins. Although, I do not mention Trump's name. More to the point, it is what supporters of an authoritarian government might not understand about what they are getting themselves into.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider your submission. Although it was not selected for publication, we want you to know that we enjoyed reading your work. We appreciate the time you took to send it to us, and wish you luck in placing it elsewhere. 

With best wishes,

The Editors

The Westchester Review

There will be more submissions and more rejections. That is just how it is and how it will be. As the first item should make clear to me and to everyone else, there are far worse things in this life.

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