I wrote a poem, fell in love with it, thought it would make a great picture book. So I submitted it to a small press in Ohio. Four-and-a-half years ago. Forgot all about it, until I got the rejection letter...last week!
I won't name the press (maybe I'll submit again, when I have some time on my hands) because hey, we're all busy. Or maybe they were thinking about my poem. Really hard...
Anyway, after I stopped laughing - rejection really loses its sting after a few years - I thought, hey, it's like a GIFT! I'd forgotten entirely about the poem, having lost it between computer upgrades, a hard drive failure, and an unfortunate anti-virus cleanup utility.
But before I started revising that little gem, I just had to share my story with my critique group. I was surprised at how many stuck up for the publisher! "They're really busy," said my fellow scribes. Well, geez. Me too. But FOUR YEARS? It's not War and Peace, it's a 200-word poem!
Anyway, those folks do have a sense of humor. At our local SCBWI publication brunch, they honored me with an award for the 'Oldest Rejection on Record.' And I got a great pen, too! (Thanks, guys!)
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