This essay started as a joke between friends and became an experimental essay that was rejected by editors. Why? You decide.
Rejected Essays
Why do some pieces not get accepted by publications? Here I share the essays that got rejected and some of the comments I received on them.
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Rejected Essays: She Called It Managing ‘Like a Man.’ I Call It Assertive
This looks at a personal essay entitled "She Called It Managing 'Like a Man.' I Call It Assertive" written by a writer but not sold to a publication.
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Rejected Essays: Hell Week
Three years ago, this essay poured out of me during a morning writing exercise. It was sudden and certain. But it didn't sell.
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Rejected Essays: Why I Am Not Making Dinner Tonight
In the interest of better understanding which of my essays get picked up by editors for publication, I started sharing the ones that didn’t sell. After all, there must be a reason they didn’t resonate, right? This essay, Why I Am Not Making Dinner Tonight, is one of those essays…
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Rejected Essays: Am I Really Done Having Kids?
Are you done having kids? That’s a question you aren’t supposed to ask others (but oops … how many times did I do that?!? Not proud of it, but it’s true). But it’s also a question I’ve asked myself again and again and again. Over the years, the answer varied…
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Rejected Essays: The 7 Stages of Moving
While the prospect of living somewhere fresh and new can be exhilarating, the process of moving isn’t fun. Cleaning out closets and drawers, packing boxes, having your bad habits (like, ahem, not throwing away junk mail in a timely manner) laid bare as you pack … There is an almost-universal…
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Rejected Essays: Why I sometimes break my own house rule with my kids
As a single mom, I make the rules in our house — and they are rules I have created to encourage my kids to be thoughtful, considerate, responsible people. But even good rules have to be broken sometimes with good reason. That’s what this essay was about. I wrote it…