What does a writer do with that story–the one that comes from the heart, that took everything you had, that you are in love with…the story that you are immeasurably proud of…but just can’t place in any market, no matter how many times it’s submitted?
We’ve all got one. A piece that we worked on, rewrote, edited, poured ourselves into; a piece we are moved by more and more with each rereading. It’s a bummer of magnificent proportions that nobody else seems to see it’s brilliance.
I’ve written many stories, some great and some not so–and I’ve seen several make their way into print (thank you, publishing powers-that-be!). But there’s this one that sits on my hard drive, languishing. It’s one of my personal faves, and yet–“not for us…good luck placing it elsewhere…”
So, there it sits, waiting for an audience, and I scour duotrope every couple months, looking for its home. Poor wayward, homeless (but brilliant!) little thing.
mary june brown 
My best story, “Daughter”, was turned down by 50 different magazines and anthologies before finding a home in a small British magazine. It’s heart-breaking when you know you’ve got a terrific tale but no one else seems to recognize it. Far worse, however, is spending THREE YEARS writing a novel and have it go absolutely nowhere–publishers, agents and editors declining to even look at the manuscript. That’s what I’m going through now and, believe me, it is a very ugly, demeaning process. I’ve been a professional writer for over 20 years, have over a hundred published stories and anthology appearances but that didn’t even allow me a foot in the door with my novel. So I’d like to reassure you that there is hope, better times ahead but, based on my experiences…
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This is the hardest thing about writing for me, and I probably don’t spend enough time submitting stories or looking for markets to send them to, so it seems quite likely a lot of my stories will languish on my hard drive.
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