Reject-ed :(

Tomagotchye

So there was a poetry mag in my area. I foolishly applied a poem I had on the topic they'd placed. I'm not particularly good at poetry but I do try to make a point. I failed to make the grade and I feel a bit hurt by it...it's super local so how much competition could they have had?

Not really the issue, how do ye all deal with rejection? It's not hit me too hard but I do wonder how far the gap between me and success was...which they gave honest answers AKA "Your poem was ****e....sorry!"

Fuzzytrooper

Unless you plan on resubmitting, why not throw it up here. I've always found the feedback here really helpful. Don't be too down on yourself. We all have to start somewhere

Livvie

Tomagotchye wrote: »

So there was a poetry mag in my area. I foolishly applied a poem I had on the topic they'd placed. I'm not particularly good at poetry but I do try to make a point. I failed to make the grade and I feel a bit hurt by it...it's super local so how much competition could they have had?

Not really the issue, how do ye all deal with rejection? It's not hit me too hard but I do wonder how far the gap between me and success was...which they gave honest answers AKA "Your poem was ****e....sorry!"

Rejection isn't easy, but by your own admission you're not good at poetry, I wouldn't worry about it. Writing has to come from the heart, so yours probably wasn't in it. Don't let it deter you from writing something that you do believe in.

eternal

It's all part of being a writer. Subjectively people may not like your work and you just have to live with it.

Lyaiera

I'm quite taken by Bukowski's occasional bouts of "I'M A ****ING GENIUS AND NO-ONE KNOWS IT BUT ME!"

Jimmy Bottlehead

I can empathise OP.

As I posted recently, I kept my poems to myself for the last 10 years because I thought they were rubbish. My girlfriend persuaded me recently that they're not and to submit them.

I got my first rejection from the Irish Times today. It's ok though.
Just remember, you had the balls to put your writing out there to be considered and judged. That's more than most people ever do. So well done.

dandyelevan

I could wallpaper my house with rejection slips!

'Not for us, sorry.'

Eventually you get one of these...'Not for us, sorry, but keep trying.'

Jimmy Bottlehead is correct in the above post.

Well done.
You will get there, eventually.

Tomagotchye

Livvie wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about it. Writing has to come from the heart, so yours probably wasn't in it.

I wouldn't say my heart wasn't in it. I'm not good but I do try. I like having themes and I like to think what I write has something it tries to say. I spend hours thinking about what that will be too but I'm not sure if that means much when it comes to the actual words.

I'll take it on the chin and I do appreciate everyone's support. I am glad I gave it a go I suppose. I'll post it here later when I get home and ye can have a look. I won't be submitting it again.

Tomagotchye

Th theme was "poppies"


‘That’s a sloppy poppy son…’
Words fly over the boy.
‘Said that’s a sloppy poppy’
He cried, ‘not a bloody toy!’

Petals plucked, stem strung,
Red and black still shine there.
Hands mucked, lads ****ed,
No government to care.

Chesty cough, fallen face,
Boy slips a nod: ‘right – thanks.’
Loose lipped, our giant gent
Avenged his boys in France.

Thought dissolves to fields green,
Soldiers in their trenches.
Mud and frost, sweep the glade
Poppied heroes wretched.

Troubled thought. Sorrowed sir
Decides to take a chance.
Bothered boy, sign snatched
Shrugs off the man’s advance.

Coloured coat, fallen free
Dusts the place in powder.
Duller drugs, estranged eyes
Panics all the louder.
‘That’s a sloppy poppy son,
I’ll fix it – not a chore.
Patriotic duty!
Remember boys at war…’

‘The **** away old man!’
Weak and sick, death he falls.
Gasps ‘It wasn’t my war…’
No - his war still stands tall.

zeffabelli

When you move from a private writer into one who submits publicly it takes a certain amount of masochism. There is no way around this unfortunately.

You also have to accept that not everyone is going to love you or what you produce.

No way around it, you just have to roll with the punches and keep trying.

Das Kitty

Most things I submit get rejected. The few that stick are all the sweeter for it.

Writing is a process, both on a single poem/story level and overall. Nothing you write will ever be perfect. Nothing you write will ever be finished, you'll just abandon it.

OP, I'd suggest finding a local group of poets who workshop together and get some feedback and suggestions and to meet some people with the same aims as yourself. It's great to feel like you're not alone.

And if you do ever feel like submitting this poem elsewhere, just send me a PM and I'll remove it from here.

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I can empathise OP.

As I posted recently, I kept my poems to myself for the last 10 years because I thought they were rubbish. My girlfriend persuaded me recently that they're not and to submit them.

I got my first rejection from the Irish Times today. It's ok though.
Just remember, you had the balls to put your writing out there to be considered and judged. That's more than most people ever do. So well done.

Sorry about the rejection. Glad to see IT actually do give rejections these days and not the dreaded no reply! I suppose it's the New Irish Writing editor.

I wouldn't worry overly about them rejecting you. They'd be quite high on my list of places I want to get things published, but I know I haven't written anything yet that I would be happy to send to it. Soon maybe.

There are heaps of places that might take them. Do you mind me asking what sort of themes they are, or if they're in any way experimental?

I can suggest a few magazines based on that.

Livvie

Tomagotchye wrote: »

I wouldn't say my heart wasn't in it. I'm not good but I do try. I like having themes and I like to think what I write has something it tries to say. I spend hours thinking about what that will be too but I'm not sure if that means much when it comes to the actual words.

I'll take it on the chin and I do appreciate everyone's support. I am glad I gave it a go I suppose. I'll post it here later when I get home and ye can have a look. I won't be submitting it again.

Sorry - I misunderstood (bib). I read it that you weren't keen on poetry.

I write but have never been any good at poetry, so maybe I'm not qualified to judge, but your poem looks better than anything I could come up with - so stick at it.

Idjit

Tomagotchye wrote: »

Th theme was "poppies"



Petals plucked, stem strung,
Red and black still shine there.
Hands mucked, lads ****ed,
No government to care.

‘The **** away old man!’
Weak and sick, death he falls.
Gasps ‘It wasn’t my war…’
No - his war still stands tall.

Since it's a local mag, is it at all possible that it was rejected due to their being curse words involved? Even if it was censored, they might have wanted to publish the winning poem and were aware of their audience being mixed age or something?

Or, for the same reason, was the subject material possibly too dark for what they had in mind as the topic of poppies? I'd suggest checking the mag for the winning entry when it's released. If it's some light-hearted banter about how pretty flowers look when the sun hits them, then you'll know.

Brian Lighthouse

So there was a poetry mag in my area - Have you read it and do you know what they publish normally? Are the same names cropping up all the time as contributors? It could be a mutual adoration society or they could be **** hot poets - but if you know the publication you'll know yourself.

I foolishly applied a poem I had on the topic they'd placed. - Why do you say that?

I'm not particularly good at poetry - Okay, who is good at poetry?
but I do try to make a point - I couldn't find it in your poem.
I failed to make the grade and I feel a bit hurt by it - Never take these things personally. If they have space to publish 10, they will publish the best 10 that is in line with their publication and will be geared towards the readership. Perhaps they have spent many years building up this publication and it has a great reputation for outstanding quality and craftsmanship, ah but then again it could simply be a mutual adoration society.
it's super local so how much competition could they have had? - You don't know your local scene, You should be able to answer that better than anyone. Using a hypothetical example: What about Peggy who has been housebound for 17 years and never fails to submit a poem and it always lifts the heart of the reader because Peggy's observation of her back garden is written with amazing detail and the imagery leaps from the page. Many people buy this "Super-Local" anthology on the basis that one of Peggy's poepms will be in there.

Not really the issue, how do ye all deal with rejection? - Accept it. Don't take it personally. It's your craft that needs to be developed. You're not going to have much success at the beginning. It's a long hard struggle and not for the fair-weathered poet.

It's not hit me too hard but I do wonder how far the gap between me and success was... - Well then read back your poem, read other poems. Poetry is about imagery. Make it so the reader can watch the visuals you describe as if they were watching a cartoon with their voice narrating.

which they gave honest answers AKA "Your poem was ****e....sorry!" Well they didn't beat around the bush, and you should be happy that that. Now you know. Besides you didn't want to enter a poem, because if you did you would have been proud of it and not have described the action of it as "foolish".

Keep at it, after a few months, you'll look back on that poem and you will shudder with grief that you actually thought that poem should have left the house dressed like that. Keep the theme of the poem going and come back to it and dress it a little differently, most especially if you're going to put it on display.
Best of luck.