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Title | Submitted To | Response | Notes/Feedback |
A Good Poem That Will Totally Blow You Away And Prove I Am The Greatest Writer On Earth. | New Yorker Magazine. | They haven’t actually gotten back to me yet but since it’s been six months I’m guessing it’s a no. | Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Wow, those New Yorker people sure are haughty. |
Another Good Poem That Will Astound You And You Cannot Afford To Reject It. | Local Newspaper. | Rejected. Within three business days as stated. | Despite their shrinking newsrooms and dwindling content, they still had the audacity to reject my beautiful poem. “We are sorry to inform you we do not publish creative work of any kind.” |
Moody Poem About The Hurt Of Being Rejected. | One Of Those Literary Journals With “Review” In Their Name. | Rejected. After sending at least four follow-up emails to each of their editors’ inboxes. | At least they were… nice about it? “As writers ourselves, we completely relate to the experiences you illustrate in your piece. However, we regretfully convey the news that we have rejected your poem on being rejected. (Falsely cheerful tone.) Feel free to submit again!” |
Sonnet On Jealousy Of A Fellow Writer’s Success Because Of My Deep Passion For Writing. | Another Of Those Literary Journals With “Review” In Their Name. | Rejected. Exactly on the last day of their response timeframe, hours before their new issue came out. | “This is an extremely well-done piece on your love affair with the craft… However, please note that as a journal specializing in love poetry, we seek poems that delve into romantic relationships between human beings and focus on the positive aspects of courtship. Please refer to the submission guidelines and previous issues if you are planning to submit again. (We hope you won’t.) Ciao!” |
Flash Fiction Piece On Superhero Cats Who Fly And Save The World. | Small Neighbourhood Competition That Allows Free Submissions But Only Awards Winners With Popular Vouchers. | … Actually, I don’t even know what I should classify this as. | “Congratulations! We are happy to inform you your entry was awarded second place in the competition!” Yelp in delight. Visit the website to see the full winner list. Realize first place is younger than you. Realize the person is your sister. |
Short Story On A Norse God Arrested By A Cosmic Organisation Regarding Time (Plot I Stole From Some TV Series I Hope The Judges Don’t Watch). | Super Prestigious Competition That Gives Thousands Of Bucks And Eternal Fame To The Winner But Somehow Requires A $20 Submission Fee I Could Have Saved To Not Go Broke. | I received only one email and at first, I thought it was an acceptance but it was just a super cruel rejection. Cruel. Cruel. Cruel. | “Thank you for submitting to our competition! We were overwhelmed by the amazing talent found in the over 12,000 entries we received. Click here to view the winners and finalists!” Click on the link, crossing your fingers, desperately, desperately hoping that you will be the chosen one. “Winners: (Your name is nowhere to be found.) Finalists: (Your name is nowhere to be found.) Commended Entries: (Your name is nowhere to be found.)” |
Hopelessness: there’s no point in staying in this cycle of constant submitting and rejection, submitting and rejection, I don’t deserve to call myself a writer. | Cool Website Called “The Cleverly Creatives”. | I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! IT’S ACCEPTED!!! | “Thank you for submitting this fabulous piece to us. We’re honored to say we will be publishing it on our website!” Maybe everything isn’t hopeless. Maybe I can call myself a writer after all. |
The poem belongs to the author and the author only. All credit belongs to them. Please don't copy it!! It's their original piece!
Cover page by Yifei Wang
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