Acceptance and Rejection - The Coin

The two-sided coin buys you into the game of publishing, but really it's more like a 17-sided coin, with only one reverse: 17 turn-downs for every acceptance.

With that as my best average, I'm pleased to have had my poem "The Pearl" accepted recently by Indiana University Northwest's Spirits magazine, for their Spring 2011 issue.

And for that lovely news, I paid with the usual 17 rejection notes, some of them very pleasing for a rejection letter. Some were "please try again" letters, some let me know which poem they liked best. I always appreciate a little feedback on a rejection, as it makes me feel they really considered the work, and it made it to an editor with some decision-making power, not just the first round of (student) readers.