I currently have three pieces that I am trying to place: an essay called Maltby Road, a short fiction piece called Smoke and Ash, and a poem entitled If They Weren’t Old Bones. None of these pieces has stuck yet, but Maltby Road is a finalist for a creative non-fiction prize. I can’t say where. While I wait for the decision, I am holding off submitting that essay anywhere else.

That leaves the other two. I have received the first two rejections of the poem:

Dear Trace Ramsey,

Thank you for the opportunity to review “If They Weren’t Old Bones.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t right for us at this time, but we’re grateful to have had the chance to read it and we wish you all the best of luck placing it elsewhere.

We regret that, due to the quantity of submissions we receive, we’re no longer able to offer editorial feedback, but we appreciate your interest in The Penn Review and hope that you’ll keep us in mind in the future.

Best wishes,
The Penn Review Editorial Board

and

Dear Trace,

Thank you for sharing this work with The Adroit Journal. After a review of your submission, the staff has decided that it unfortunately is not quite right for the journal at this time.

If you haven’t already, you might consider giving our October 2017 issue (featuring poetry, prose, interviews, and art) a read: http://www.theadroitjournal.org/issue-twentythree.

Either way, best of luck placing this work elsewhere, and we hope to hear from you again soon!

Sincerely,

Peter LaBerge
The Adroit Journal
www.theadroitjournal.org

I would consider both of these to be “form” rejections even though they ask to see more work from me in the future.