My poem “If They Weren’t Old Bones” has now been rejected by twelve journals. I think it is time to revisit and revise.
These are all form rejections –
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for sending us “If They Weren‘t Old Bones.” We appreciated the chance to read your work. We will not be including your submission in the upcoming issue, but we wish you well with your writing and hope that your work will be a perfect fit for another publication.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Barbara Westwood Diehl
The Baltimore Review
Thank you for giving us a chance to read your work. While we have found that it’s not a good fit for Barnstorm, we wish you the best in placing it elsewhere and appreciate your interest in our journal.
Sincerely,
The Editors
Barnstorm
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for sending “If They Weren’t Old Bones,” and we appreciate the opportunity to have read your work. We have given your submission careful consideration, and we regret that we are unable to publish it.
As you have seen in past issues, our journal is themed and organized into four titled interior sections. Building the issue—much like building a week on the Chautauqua grounds—is a complex process. In seeking balance, we sometimes must return work we admire.
We wish you the best of luck placing your work elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Marissa Flanagan
Managing Editor
Chautauqua
Dear Trace,
Thank you for considering Bayou Magazine. Unfortunately, we have decided that your work is not a match for us at this time. Because we receive thousands of submissions each year, we must reject many fine stories and poems. We thank you for the opportunity to read your writing, and we wish you the best in placing it elsewhere.
Sincerely,
The Editors
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you so much for submitting your work to Duende. We are grateful that you thought of our journal and gave us the opportunity to review your work.
Unfortunately, we have chosen not to publish If They Weren‘t Old Bones in Duende.
With many thanks,
The Editors
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for sending us “If They Weren‘t Old Bones“. We understand that much time and effort goes into the literary realization of a creative thought, and we sincerely appreciate the chance to read your work. Although your piece was not selected for publication this time, we encourage you to submit more work to AZURE in the future.
We are grateful for your participation in Lazuli Literary Group’s writing community!
Regards,
Diana McClure & Sakina B. Fakhri
Hello Trace,Thank you for thinking of Spilled Milk for your work. We really enjoyed reading “If They Weren‘t Old Bones.”We have been absolutely blown away by both the quantity and quality of submissions we have been receiving for our eighth issue. That being said, competition has been quite intense, and we’ve spent many hours combing through the submissions. Regrettably, we were unable to find a place for your work in this issue. Despite this, we genuinely hope you will consider submitting your work for consideration in the future, as we found ourselves very drawn to the quality of your writing.Again, thank you so much for sharing your work with us. We hope we’ll get the chance to read more again soon!Best,Leah Newsom
Dear Trace Ramsey,Thank you for considering Under a Warm Green Linden as a possible home for your work. While we have decided not to include “If They Weren‘t Old Bones” in the upcoming issue, I want to personally say that we found your poem evocative, and we hope that you will send more poems in the future.Sincerely,Christopher Nelson, editor
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for submitting your work to Poetry Northwest, and for giving us a chance to consider it for publication. We have read your work carefully, but regret to say we will not be able to use it.
Please know that we receive thousands of submissions every year and can only use a small percentage of what we receive, regardless of merit.
We appreciate your interest in Poetry Northwest, and wish you continued success.
Sincerely,
The Editors
http://www.poetrynw.org
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for sending us “If They Weren‘t Old Bones“. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not for us.
Thanks again. Best of luck with this.
Sincerely,Hawaii Pacific Review
Dear Trace,
Thank you for sharing this work with The Adroit Journal. After a review of your submission, the staff has decided that it unfortunately is not quite right for the journal at this time.
If you haven’t already, you might consider giving our October 2017 issue (featuring poetry, prose, interviews, and art) a read: http://www.theadroitjournal.org/issue-twentythree.
Either way, best of luck placing this work elsewhere, and we hope to hear from you again soon!
Sincerely,
Peter LaBerge
The Adroit Journal
Dear Trace Ramsey,
Thank you for the opportunity to review “If They Weren‘t Old Bones.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t right for us at this time, but we’re grateful to have had the chance to read it and we wish you all the best of luck placing it elsewhere.
We regret that, due to the quantity of submissions we receive, we’re no longer able to offer editorial feedback, but we appreciate your interest in The Penn Review and hope that you’ll keep us in mind in the future.
Best wishes,
The Penn Review Editorial Board