My writing career is still new enough that I continue to rack up a series of firsts. Earlier this month was my first published Drabbel. Now comes my first hold-for-further-consideration response!

You know, that response from a publisher that is not quite an acceptance but also not quite a rejection. I finally received one. For some reason, I find that response nonetheless a cause to celebrate. My story made it through at least one round of review and is still in the running to be published. Given my dearth of accepted stories this year, I’ll take it.

Of course, there is no guarantee the story will be accepted. Also, the publisher gave no timeline for when a decision will be made. That leaves things in limbo, which is not always the best feeling. I’m willing to deal with that though. Several publishers have rejected this story since I started submitting it last year, so I’m pleased to be one step closer to finding it a home.

There was something a little different about this submission. I don’t generally reread a story following a rejection before sending it to the next market. This time I did. This market had a lower word limit, so I needed to trim about 100 words. Normally that is not an issue. This time was a challenge. The story was already fairly short, and after rereading it, I realized the language was fairly tight as well. But I did it, and as usual when I’m forced to cut from a story, it is better for for it. I especially like this one as it’s one of my humorous stories. It had been so long since I read it, the story was new enough to me to laugh at several parts. That’s a good sign!

Have you had any writing firsts lately?  Let me know in the comments.