rejection

So my story, Driving Lessons, is now up on Amazon. But first, I did send it to a few places to see if it could pass muster. It did not. But it’s interesting to read and compare:

AGNI:

Thank you for sending “Driving Lessons.” Your work received careful consideration here. We’ve decided this manuscript isn’t right for us, but we wish you luck placing it elsewhere.

The Sun:

Thanks for sending us “Driving Lessons.” We’re sorry to say that it’s not right for The Sun. This isn’t a reflection on your writing. We pick perhaps one out of a hundred submissions, and the selection process is highly subjective, something of a mystery even to us. There’s no telling what we’ll fall in love with, what we’ll let get away. We rarely respond personally to submissions, as the number of manuscripts we receive makes this difficult. We’re aware that writing is hard work, and that writers merit some acknowledgment. This note doesn’t speak to that need. Please know, however, that we’ve read your work and appreciate your interest in the magazine. We wish you the best in placing your writing elsewhere.

One Story:

Thank you for sending us “Driving Lessons”. We really enjoyed this piece, but we didn’t feel it was right for One Story. We hope that you will continue to send us your work.

Obviously, these could all be boilerplate, so I don’t really attach much significance to any of them– a rejection is a rejection, after all– but I do get some small measure of encouragement from One Story’s hoping I will send more work.