Like sand through an hourglass...

Dear Ms. .......:
Thank you for submitting your work to Room magazine.

While it has not been accepted, the Editorial Collective thanks you for your submission. When a manuscript comes into Room, it is initially read for quality and then passed on to individual editors. Each editor then decides if the manuscript is a match for their issue.

We receive more than 1,000 manuscripts each year, and have to make some very tough choices. We look forward to reading your submissions again in the future.
Again, thanks for sending your work to us and best wishes in your literary pursuits.

Room magazine Editorial Collective

Ahhh, my first rejection letter. Is it weird that it makes me feel more like a writer? I will begin a collection of them. I had hopes...maybe not high hopes, but hopes, that this journal would publish my story. I will try again at another journal. There is a part of me that won't let me call myself a writer until one of my stories has been published. Because until that happens, it all just seems a little bit...unattainable. When someone actually does publish one of my stories, it will be encouraging in the sense that someone is actually saying, "okay, you can do this. You are maybe even good at it". It will give hope and acknowledgement to the little writer me so that I can keep on keeping on.