Today I added a new worksheet that totals the number of times I've submitted a particular poem since 2009 (when I began submitting) and how many times it's been rejected. I currently have a poem called "How to Handle Bossy People" that I've submitted to 28 markets, four of which are current. The other 24 are rejections. This poem has the most rejections by a lot, the next being a persona poem called "Dies Irae" that's been rejected 14 times. After that, I have five more poems that have been rejected more than 10 times.
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| My spreadsheet, or evidence that I have far too much time on my hands. |
I'm sure not everyone is as obsessed with tracking and numbers as I am. However, I can't help but wonder, how many times do I let a poem get rejected before I decide to stop submitting? Sometimes I just naturally stop submitting a poem because I grow tired of it, but I've also noticed that I've been too hard on some poems. A few have only gotten one or two rejections before I stopped submitting them. But I clearly believe in my "Bossy" poem, since I didn't notice until now. I think it deserves a home. But 24 noes seems like a lot.
Let's say I decide to stop sending this poem out for a while. Should I revise it? Or should I give up completely? What do you do when you notice a pattern of rejection for a particular poem? How many rejections equals giving up? If you revise, how do you approach it? What are your favorite drastic revision techniques?
2 comments:
Hi Laura,
I just got an acceptance on a poem that had garnered the most rejections. I really loved that poem, and it took me awhile to figure out, after many tries, that it would fit only a particular kind of magazine. I did revise it, but the revision sucked and I knew it. So I kept trying with journals--very feminist journals unafraid of woman's sexuality and longing.
I think you really have to trust your gut and your love of this poem. I have heard many poets say the poems they love the best are the hardest to place. But they can get placed.
Best of luck!
Hi Laura,
I just got an acceptance on a poem that had garnered the most rejections. I really loved that poem, and it took me awhile to figure out, after many tries, that it would fit only a particular kind of magazine. I did revise it, but the revision sucked and I knew it. So I kept trying with journals--very feminist journals unafraid of woman's sexuality and longing.
I think you really have to trust your gut and your love of this poem. I have heard many poets say the poems they love the best are the hardest to place. But they can get placed.
Best of luck!
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