Such A Simple Thing ~ By Walt Page, The Tennessee Poet

Poetry is such a simple thing, unless you are concerned
with form, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, etc.
My poems are simple. Just my thoughts expressed with
words, words that I use in everyday conversation.
I try to avoid words I never use.

I’ve been submitting more of my poetry lately. So
far, with the exception of Vita Brevis, all have been
rejected. Editors have offered no advice or critique, “We
do not feel they are ready for publication”, or simply “I
must decline.” I wish they would offer a short critique or
maybe explain their decision. It would be such a simple
thing for them to do.

I did have one helpful rejection email from one journal
which read:

Thank you for your submission to @@@@. We know that you put
a lot of time and effort into your submission, so we appreciate you
thinking of us. Right or wrong, we have decided against using your work
in our next issue.

You indicated you wanted to receive feedback on your submission.
Since you put the effort into submitting to us, we feel you deserve
an explanation for our decision. There’s nothing worse than submitting to
a publication and learning nothing from the process.
Here is the raw feedback from our editors: 

These just didn’t have much of an impact.

Having said that, we’re just one publication with one opinion.
In the end we can’t help but publish what we like. We could be wrong
about your piece and it wouldn’t be the first time. We thank you for
giving us the opportunity to look at this piece – we appreciate it –
and wish you best of luck in finding a suitable publisher for your work.
(In fact, check this out for a list of other publishers that may be
interested in your work!). We hope you’ll continue to consider
@@@@ in the future.

Artistically yours,
The @@@@ Editorial Team

This rejection was not only appreciated, it took the sting
out of the disappointment of being rejected.

What are your experiences with rejection?Any advice
for us?

~The Tennessee Poet~
©Walt Page 2019 All Rights Reserved

30 thoughts on “Such A Simple Thing ~ By Walt Page, The Tennessee Poet”

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  1. I’ve found that those who did reject me would be picked up by others. It really feels like their opinion is based on what they like more than on what I write. Some publish with certain styles in mind. Keep submitting and let your artistry continue to shine, Walt!

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  3. Great post, Walt! Thanks for sharing this with us!! Take heart, My Friend!!! Just remember how many times the Beatles and J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter Novel was rejected – Take hope!! The secret is not to give up! You never fail until you give up and stop trying!! Blessings to You, My Friend!!!

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  4. I don’t have any advice (never been brave enough to try to submit anything) except keep doing what you are doing. You ARE a good writer you just have to find the right place for it.

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  6. Hey Walt, l sometimes wonder what they mean by no imapct, perhaps you need to include that in your next submission as in ‘Define ‘lack of impact please?’ It seems to me that whilst yes it is nice to receive something back for an application or a submission [l feel that employers could learn a lot by responding to the applicants that take the time to write to them for a job, only to receive nothing back is just laziness] But l still feel that this ‘lacked impact’ is quite generic in its use, it doesn’t actually say anything really does it?

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      1. Me too, your writing is honest and from the heart and from the years you have lived on the earth 🙂 What better imapct – than that 🙂

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  7. An interesting reason for rejection, Walt. I think your poems have lots of impact but it depends on what the publication is looking for. Magazines and publications are often looking for pieces that make a big political or social statement. I did submit some of my poetry to publications in the past but, in South Africa, there is more support for work produced by previously disadvantaged people. I am fine with that and now I have my books published in the UK by a British publisher. Maybe look at the type of poems the particular magazine publishes and write a piece for it specifically.

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