Cobalt

"COBALT is a quarterly literary magazine published online. Each issue will feature fiction, non-fiction and poetry of the highest caliber, as well as interviews some of the most influential writers in the literary community. We seek to publish quality creative work and promote the literary arts, as well as those who celebrate them."

Poetry rejections

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2011 note As a fundraising exercise, Cobalt provided individual critiques for a $5 fee/donation.

Thanks for submitting to Cobalt. It is with a heavy heart that we report: we will not be able to publish your work at this time, but encourage you to submit for a future issue.

Best of luck with your writing and we look forward to hearing from you again soon.

If you would like a more detailed, critical response to your work, you can still go back and send us a donation. Just send an email to [email protected] to let us know you did so. You do not need to resubmit the work itself.

Regards,

Jill Williams

Poetry Editor

Fiction rejections

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2020

Dear [Submitter],

Thank you so much for submitting you story, "[Title]". I’m sorry to tell you I don’t feel it’s a good fit for Cobalt at this time.

As a writer, I used to imagine that the editor rejecting my work has either:

- read the first paragraph of my story, about a teenage suicide, and laughed out loud;

- printed the story out and used it as wrapping paper for their niece’s Bat Mitzvah gift; or

- emailed it to their best friend, another literary giant, so the two can share a Skype chat and a virtual martini while discussing the 273 places in my story where I illustrate that I clearly don’t know what I’m doing.

When I joined Cobalt, I learned that editors rarely do those things.

I know rejections are both part of the process and very disappointing. But something I don’t hear many literary folks talk about is the simple fact that a rejection means that your work was read. It has an audience, which is the reason we write stories in the first place. One person is a small audience but it’s how we all start.

I truly appreciate being part of this piece’s audience. I wish you, and it, all the best.

Gail Schwartz Editor