Let’s talk about something I never really thought I’d need to do: Turn down an offer for publication.

When it comes to working on getting published, it takes a lot of work. Lots of effort, plenty of rejection, and often times, what feels like little success. Because of this, I feel like most of us jump at every chance that we get. Even small presses and online journals feel like major victories after months of rejection. That’s why, this week, I had the unfortunate position of turning down a publication.

I know that this can happen for any number of reasons, and pretty much all of them are valid! Maybe you got a response from a publication you don’t feel aligned with anymore. Maybe you’re at a time in your life where adding one more thing to your to-do list is too much. Or maybe you’re like me, and you forgot to withdraw submissions, and got two acceptance letters in one week.

Yup. Two acceptances, same short story. Only one could go through.

In case you aren’t familiar with the reality of submissions (in which case, I envy you), it involves a lot of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. I like to cast a wide net, because I figure that I’ll get a lot of rejections, with the occasional thing that sticks. When something does get an acceptance, it’s common courtesy to pull any simultaneous submissions. This usually just means a quick email saying “Hey this was accepted elsewhere, thanks for your time”. It’s pretty easy to do, and can even feel nice to tell a publication (nicely) that they missed their chance.

This year, I had two publications finalize, which was awesome. I’ve been in a lull for a while now, which is fine, but just recently got some exciting news that I was waiting to share, but I’ll discuss briefly now.

In early July, I got a piece accepted that is slated to come out later this year. I’m really excited to share it with you all, and hope you’ll stay tuned for the official announcement. I was really happy to have at least one more thing come out in 2026, making this my most successful year ever as far as writing and publishing goes. As far as I was concerned, the rest of my year could go by with just rejections and I’d be fine.

Here’s where I went wrong. I forgot to pull submissions. In my mind, there was no way I would happen to find a second place who wanted this project. After so many rejections, my chances of three acceptances back to back would be insane. I had a little bit of time before I needed to pull submissions. But just last week, I got a third acceptance letter. For the piece I had just said yes to.

I was crushed! I would have been more than happy to work with either publication, but the fact that I couldn’t work with both, even when they wanted both me, was so disappointing. I had to sadly turn down the second publication, but told them I’d love to submit again when they open their inbox next later this fall. It was one of the saddest emails I’ve ever had to write.

I feel a little silly for being bummed out over being wanted. But imagine getting asked to prom by two people. Even if you get to go, you still need to tell someone no, and promise them you’ll do Homecoming with them next year.

Sigh.

So what’s the lesson to learn here? I think there are a few.

You are usually your worst critic. After going months without acceptance letters, I was really reluctant to keep submitting. I was doing a poor job of throwing spaghetti, as I said. A piece I wasn’t sure would be liked anywhere got accepted to two places! That’s quite the feat, if I can brag a bit.

Pull your submissions. I’m usually pretty good at doing this, but I need to be better organized about it. Maybe it’s spreadsheet time. When I was just using Submittable for submissions, it was easy to keep track of everything. Now, I use a few sites, and even send many submissions just via email, so my tracking system has become flawed. Knowing when, where, and what I submit is important to ensuring I (hopefully) never need to send a rejection letter again.

Good things happen to those who wait (and keep trying). I know Ava is really suffering through this currently. It sucks needing to wait; to throw so much damn spaghetti at the wall, but it takes months to see if it sticks. I have it bad enough submitting just short stories. But she has novels burning holes in her pockets. Don’t worry, Ava (and anyone else in a similar sinking ship). The time will come.

And yeah! I think that’s the gist of it. I learned some good small lessons from this experience. I’m lucky to not have any real heartbreak over this instance. And, come October, I have a place I’m eager to submit to again. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing, and I hope that you all stay tuned for the two pieces I have coming out later this year.

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