…even rejection can be good

Writing update from yesterday:

I must be on a roll with this essay stuff. Tonight I came home to an email about the essay I submitted for an anthology of stories about single motherhood. (Yeah, I’m working the life situations here. What can I say? Write what you know.) The essay was rejected, but here’s the thing: the editor was nice enough to tell me that, although it won’t be one of the 49 stories published, it was one of the 200 semifinalists. I realize 200 is a big number…but not as big as the 2,000 submissions she received. That ain’t so bad in the land of rejection, if you ask a novice like me.

To tell you the truth, no less than 20 seconds after I clicked Send that night at 11:46 p.m. (14 minutes before the official submission deadline) I found at least 3 things I would’ve changed in that essay. The good news, though, is that I did rework it and sent it off to another publication.

What can I say? I’m working with what I’ve got and I’m working it.

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