Just when I thought I was getting used to this whole rejection cycle, this response came in, finally. I submitted this story January 28, 2026. This was the second story submission for the year, and the magazine got an insane number of submissions.
In March, they updated their site to inform authors that they’re getting through the submissions as fast as they can and to expect 100 days for a response. Well 100 days came and went with no update. The magazine had said that if they were holding a piece for additional review that they’d inform the author, but I didn’t receive anything.
So, when July 14, 2026 brought this form rejection, 167 days later, yeah it stung. I didn’t have any reason to get my hopes up. I knew I’d submitted toward the tail end of the submission window, and I’d heard nothing about holding it for additional review.
Yet I got my hopes up. Sure did. Got that form rejection and my heart sank. Ooof.
This story is back out on submission again, so here’s hoping. I really like this story, and I’m not revising it anymore.
Note on letter images: I have here and will always black out the name of the market and the name of the person who sent the letter. These posts are not meant to speak about the publications at all. These are about my reactions to the letters and what I can learn from them.
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