Semi-finalist placing, and another rejection

Good news and bad news–what shall I begin?

Okay, the bad news: The  Great American Poetry Show doesn’t want the poems I submitted for their anthology, though they did request that I send more work. And (this is a big plus) their rejection letter was friendly. Heck, they even sent me a free issue of their magazine. So, thumbs up for TGAPS. You might not like my work but you’ve got a big heart.

Now, the good news: My chapbook manuscript Lies, and Saturdays was awarded a semi-finalist status in the Rose Metal Press Chapbook Competition. The winner was Superman on the Roof by Lex Williford of El Paso, Texas. Here’s from the official listing:

This year’s contest finalists include:

Runner-up: Mistransformation by Tori Bond of Perkasie, Pennsylvania
Untitled by Anonymous by Andrew Farkas of Billings, Montana
Tuck the Story Away by Lisa Romeo of Cedar Grove, New Jersey
What to Say to Aliens by Marc Sheehan of Grand Haven, Michigan

The semi-finalists include:
Properties of Life by Jody Brooks of Decatur, Georgia
The Names Change Every Time I Tell the Story by Aubrie Cox of Knoxville, Tennessee
Revelations by Jasminne Mendez of Houston, Texas
Insomnia Veritas by Jennifer Met of Troy, Idaho
The Long Bridge by Anji Reyner of Missoula, Montana
Lies, and Saturdays by Cinthia Ritchie of Anchorage, Alaska
Lost John and Other Stories by Joseph Young of Baltimore, Maryland

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The big excitement over at our house is that we’re shopping for a new sofa (like I said, exciting). Plus we’re also training for a marathon, so there will be runs, and much pigging out afterwards and maybe, to spice it all up, a few arguments over which kind/color/style of sofa is the best, though of course my ideas are always the best, hee, hee.

One of the sucky things about living in Alaska is that there is no IKEA, and they don’t ship up here, either. So you can imagine the depths of our sofa-searching frustrations.

Another exciting thing? I’m rereading Feed. I’m totally hooked on YA novels right now. Feel free to leave suggestions if you know of any good YA titles.

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15 thoughts on “Semi-finalist placing, and another rejection”

    1. Thanks Luanne! I’m bound and determined to publish a chapbook, even though poetry is probably my weakest genre. Still, I love chapbooks. I love how they feel in my hands. I so (So!) want to see my name on one. Cheers and happy writing.

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    1. Thanks, Kevin! And I know, isn’t it sad? We pay money to enter contests and are thrilled when we place as finalist or semi-finalist, even though there is no money and, except for a few writing buddies, no one really cares. Sometimes I wonder if I’m a bit mad to keep on writing, you know? Cheers and have a great week.

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  3. Congrats! That’s so exciting!

    So far, Pretty Girls is good. My all-time favorite YA series is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants if you haven’t read those books yet.

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  4. Thanks, Karen! I’m totally adding Pretty Girls to my list. I haven’t read the Traveling Pants series yet but have heard good things about it. (So many books to read! So little time!) Cheers and happy running/reading/baking, etc. P.S. Now I’m thinking of the cinnamon rolls you sometimes post on your blog, lol.

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    1. Well, I retract my previous statement about Pretty Girls. After a plot twist about 160 pages in, I could tell where it was going and had to stop reading. It’s about a guy who stalks (his?) rape victims, I didn’t stick around for the gory details, but I was reading it with a friend and she kept going and REALLY wished she hadn’t. I haven’t made cinnamon rolls in forever, I should!!!

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  5. Congrats!! Is your chapbook poetry,,,, ok, never mind. I went to their website and answered my own question. A collection of short short stories???

    The reason I ask is that I have a 30,000 word novella — the first part of what could be a three part series of novellas — that I want to do something with. It can be a stand-alone, or part of the whole if I can figure out how to finish the second part and then move on to the third part. So, I’m always interested in other publishing options.

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    1. I’ll let you know if I come across submission calls for novellas. I’ve seen them in the past, not frequently but every so often they do appear. Cheers, congrats on finishing, and good luck.

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  7. Congrats on the chapbook listing and the friendly rejection! I know, it’s still a rejection, but they must have thought it was good for them to give you more than the form letter. Good luck on the training and sofa hunt. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Lynn! We’re still thick in the sofa hunt though I think we’ve finally narrowed it down (i.e., I’ve convinced him that my choice is better, more practical and it’s actually the less expensive–what else is there to want in a sofa, eh?). Cheers and take care.

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  8. Congratulations on both the chapbook (what an honor) and the running! I’m happy if I can get in a twenty minute walk. I know what you mean about getting a nice rejection. If you haven’t yet, check out my blog post called “Redemptive Rejections” at writingcustoms.com. I got a couple of nice ones last week that had personal notes attached saying “submit again in the future.”

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  9. Hi, Carla! Thanks so much for visiting and also for sharing your rejection post. Personalized rejections are the best. Well, acceptance is the best by PRs (personal rejections, lol) are the next best thing. And wow, a handwritten note from Missouri Review is a HUGE deal. Good for you! Such news would thrill me for weeks. I probably wouldn’t shut up about it for weeks, either. P.S. The main character in my novel is named Carla so that means that we are destined to become writing friends. Cheers and have a great, writing-filled week.

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