Skip to content

And lo … the teeny window of acceptances doth open

Waiting to hear the results of submissions can be like waiting for the interest rate to change – something could happen today, next month or not for a year or so. You know how I like to moan a bit about it (ahem!)…but come on,  I do seem to have had a fair amount of bad luck  (several lost submissions, poems getting rejected and accepted at the same time, notifications going astray, competition admins not changing the status on Submittable so you’ve no idea if your work has been read, etc etc).

Every acceptance feels like an impossibly stiff window opening an inch further. Rather like my frozen shoulder which six months ago laid me stupidly low, convinced I was surely entering Old Age, and now, little by little, it’s almost back to normal (no handstands as yet, though. No idea why I say that, because I haven’t done a handstand in at least 15 years.) Anyway, what I’m leading up to is that yesterday I had a note from Fiona at The Rialto to say they’d like one of poems for the next issue, which is always wonderful news. It also means the three poems they rejected are now free for me to send elsewhere. That’s a win-win I believe!

I went in for two or three competitions this year and the results of those are all due in the next few weeks, which again means even if I haven’t had any luck there at least I’ll have back a few poems that have been tied up for months. Look on the bright side no matter what!

Published inAngstMags & BlogsPublishingSubmissions

Be First to Comment

  1. Congrats on Rialto. I’m also waiting on comp results. First news came the other day and I wasn’t on the shortlist 🙁 Normally I’m okay about it but for some reason it really got to me. Your description of the stiff window is right. Onwards and hopefully upwards!

    • Thanks Heather, yes, the only way is up and all that 🙂 Good luck for any remaining comps you’ve entered.

  2. Congrats on the acceptance! That’s wonderful.

    And, yeah, I feel like being able to send the rejected poems on is like a win, too!

  3. Hi Andrea, thanks for commenting, yes, I’ve just done a wee ‘stock take’ and reckon I can get a few more out before the weekend is up!

  4. Congrats and add a kiss of luck from me when you send the next lot off. Persistence is a great trait and you certainly have it!

Leave a Reply to Robin Houghton Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Robin Houghton 2021