# rejection letters



## Lavender

(not sure if this is in right section, but I'm new so don't tell me off too much if it's not lol)

Anyway, if you have had any in the past, what was your first rejection letter like and how did you feel about it?
I got my first when I was around ten. My mum and I sent some poetry off to an agency or publishing house...(it was something like Big Foot publishing...something along those lines) and the agent who wrote back was named Rosemary Canter. She was very pleasant and told me to send more work when I was older.
I still treasure that letter, even now. I agree with something I read somewhere that J.K Rowling said. She expressed how even her first rejection letter made her feel like a proper writer. It still makes me feel like that to this day!

However, I also understand how it can become very wearing and make a writer feel jaded after receiving rejection after rejection.

Did you feel pleased that you had at least got some sort of reply from a publisher when that first rejection letter landed on the doormat? Or did it make you feel as though you failed?

And for those members who still have not received a rejection letter, how do you imagine it might make you feel if you get one?

Just interested to know


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## Map the Dragon

For me, rejection letters have been entirely impersonal and formulaic. And, rightfully so...for the most part. I can only imagine the submission desk, piled with thousands of hopefuls. Wading through that must be a nightmare. I once sent a story off for consideration. The letter traveled most of the width of the country. Three days from the time I sent it, I had a rejection letter (more of a slip) in the mail. I was pretty much "Sorry, but your peice (fill in the blank) does not meet our current needs" or some such. I doubt they even read it.

Stephen King, in his craft memoir "On Writing" talked extensively about the matter. He hung the letters on his wall with a tack for motivation. The tack became a nail, and the nail a railroad spike. For giggles, after he was famous, he dug up an old short story that was rejected in a particular nasty rejection letter. In finding a copy of that pititful excuse for a narrative, he shipped it off to the very no-name rag-mag that rejected him those many years ago. They were elated to put the story in their publication immediately that cycle with his name plastered across the cover.


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## Lavender

I'd love to read that book, I may have to buy it soon. I think perhaps my last letter was so gentle was due to my age...perhaps they thought sending a blunt rejection letter to a ten year old wasn't quite fair!


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## Map the Dragon

Believe it or not, I've actually read many, many books and shorter works on the craft of writing. Stephen King's "On Writing" is by far the best. He addresses the very things that we concern ourselves with and discuss here on these forums. The memoir parts are quite amusing, but his discussion throughout concerns getting published, grammar, rejection letters, agents, dialogue, adverb usage, style, voice, marketing, and numerous other things I'm forgetting. I recommend to everyone on here to read this before they even pick up their next fantasy novel.

If you want to be a writer, write. But do other things to...like study the craft. Reading this book is one way to do that.


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## TWErvin2

I've gotten plenty of rejection letters. Most of those were form rejections, although sometimes the wording can disguise it some.

Rejection is part of being a writer and submitting your work for publication. You either develop skin that allows you to let it drip off of you like water on wax paper or you can get caught up on the frustration and wondering why they didn't accept it. Always remember, they're passing on (or rejecting) the piece, not you as a person or even as a writer.

Rejections can come for more reasons than the work wasn't up to the market's standard.  Maybe they are just full (have all the slots for the current and next issue filled). Maybe they just accepted a story similar to yours. Maybe it was good, but just didn't fit the market exactly--editors didn't feel it would meet their reader's expectations. Maybe the queue or desk was just too full to deal with and form rejected without even looking.

Often you'll never know. When you do get a personal note as to why, maybe it'll give you insight for modifying the story before sending to the next market. But maybe it's not good advice for the next market on the submission list. The writer has to decide.

Age should have little to do with the decision (or how they treat you). They would have no clue as to your age unless you tell the market.

Whatever you do, don't give up.  The story I listed in the NOvels and Stories section that I had published recently took a while and many efforts to find a home. It even was accepted by a very good paying market--than ended up closing before publishing it, and it got released. So I went to the next one, and they thought it was a great story. Before all that "Accelerated Justice" got several form rejections.

And after you write, edit/revise, research a market and submit a story, don't wait around. Start working on writing the next story.

But, back to the original question. The first rejection? I was disappointed but just sent out the story again, and again, and it found a home eventually. I think the more you write and submit and find rejections in the mail or the email inbox, the easier they are to move past and continue forward.


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## Jenna St. Hilaire

I've gotten exactly three rejection letters, after sending out exactly four queries. (The fourth has been silent long enough to consider a rejection.) And to be very, very honest, I find every last one difficult to get over. It took me months to write that query, and I've polished every line of those first few pages of my novel to as near perfection as I can get. So I look at each kindly-worded rejection letter and think "All that hard work, and it's STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH."

And then I remind myself that agents are stretched to the limit of how many clients they can handle... and that I discovered after submitting to one that she already had a client with a similar writing style... and that just because someone says they take fantasy doesn't mean they want to read about a world in which London and New York do not currently exist, so maybe some of those others just didn't want my kind of fantasy. And I think of the lovely things that my critique partner--who had no trouble ripping early drafts of my query letter to shreds--said about my little tale. There's always a way to stay positive.


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## Telcontar

Ah, rejection letters. I'm building a tidy little collection. My first one(s), though, were from submitting a short story to various magazines. I got one or two that didn't seem like form letters - one actually stated that it was not, it was from one of the subeditors asking me to submit again in three months for their next issue (it was rejected from that one, too). The story was never accepted, though I got bored with submitting it after twenty or so. Every now and again I give it another try.

I'm also now collecting literary agent rejections for my first novel.


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## Joe the Gnarled

I wish I could remember the author’s name, but he is well published now and used to use his rejection letters as wall paper in his study.  I thought that was a good motivator to stick it to the man.


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## Kaellpae

I look forward to my first rejection letters. And of course my first acceptance.


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## Map the Dragon

Kaellpae said:


> I look forward to my first rejection letters. And of course my first acceptance.



Well, keep us posted. AND...start sending your stuff!


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## Argentum

I got two rejection letters, both online. It was kinda sad, because you send those queries hoping that perhaps THIS time will be different, though I know I haven't even gotten started yet. I plan to get busy soon, perfect the query letter, and send out a flood more


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## Motley

All my rejection letters have been form letters really, except one where the editor of an online mag actually said things... complimentary things... about my piece of flash before apologizing because they couldn't use it. At least I could tell he actually read it.


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## fcbkid15

I've never gotten a rejection, for I've never sent my work out before. But I feel like even if you do get one, it wouldn't be as bad since it is written form. If they had to come to my house themselves and tell me they don't want me, I'd feel awful. Its much better getting a letter from someone you don't even know. I mean it cant be as bad as when you ask someone out and they reject you. And hey! If you finally make it big, you can go make the people who rejected you sorry for rejecting you.


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## RedRidingHood

My first rejection letter had the title of my work misspelled. They must have really hated it! It's hard being rejected, but the more it happens, the more you get used to it. It's never personal and many times it doesn't even have to do with your work being good or bad. It's all a matter of finding the right publisher and learning to look at your work from a third person perspective.


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## Kelise

I've only applied electronically to short story anthologies, twice. My second rejection said:

'Thank you again for your submission. Unfortunately 'A Silent Relief' is not quite what I'm after for the anthology, but I wish you the very best in finding it a home.'

So they were really quite nice. The first time (same group) said 'Regretfully, I don't have a place for your story.'

So I feel like I'm moving up a bit hehe


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## mythique890

I'm about to send in my first-ever submission in the next few days.  Just waiting for a critique from a friend, then I'll revise and submit.  I'm kind of nervous, but not really.  I imagine it will be rejected, since its my first try, but I'm excited to get a story out there.  Like someone said, it will make me feel like a "real" writer.

I'm trying to set yearly goals for myself.  This year it was to submit something.  Next year I want to set a goal to have something accepted (I'm not holding my breath, but it doesn't hurt to have goals).

I'm not looking forward to doing all the research that goes into finding the right agents/editors to submit my novel to... something I'm also hoping to accomplish next year.


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## Dreamer

I have not received any rejection letters to date, but only because I have not had the guts to go ahead and send my work in.  I have a few pieces that I would like to send in to see if there is a chance of getting it published.  I 
did write a poem once, and I sent it in to a celebrity who has a show that is related to that particular piece. I 
received an email saying that he was currently out of town but that she (his assistant) would be making a note for him to review it.  I never heard back after that, so I guess in a way maybe I did get a rejection letter, lol.


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## HÃ«radÃ¯n

I just woke up to another rejection letter... but it is ok, I noticed somethings I wanted to tweak only a few days ago with it. So, I'll keep going.


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## Qfantasy

I've had a lot of rejection letters. Mostly they were just standard letters that were sent out to everyone they rejected, but a couple of times there were a sentence or two written in pen. The one that sticks out in my mind, read: "Nicely written, but I'm not convinced I could sell this. Sorry, good luck."

I stopped sending my work out for a while but kept on writing and honing my skills, now I've decided to self-publish by way of ebook. It's an exploding market and, of course, has zero cost apart from any advertising you decide to pay for.


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## SeverinR

Went to hear a lit.agent speak last night,
he mentioned reject letters.

Each agent has a group of rejection form letters, simply a number on your submission tells the mail clerk which 
letter you have earned.  The sig is even digitized.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Never give up! Never surrender!


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## mythique890

Did anyone happen to see _Castle_ on Monday?  For those who are unfamiliar, it's about a famous novel writer who follows a police detective around to get inspiration for his crime stories (he gets away with it because he's close friends with the mayor).

Anyway, his daughter is having a tough time because she got rejected from something important to her (I won't spoil it), and she asks him how he can stand to have his first-ever rejection letter prominently displayed on his office wall.  He tells her it's to remind him what he overcame or something to that effect, and then he says this:

"Rejection isn't failure.  Failure is giving up."

Anyway, just thought I'd share, as it seemed appropriate for this thread.


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## dean

My 1st rejection letter was pithy and ridiculously hyperbolic with the publisher's best wishes and whatnot. I felt that the man was either insane or on drugs to reject what I thought at the time was one of the greatest fictional works of our time. I have that load of slop lying in a drawer somewhere (my book, not the letter).


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## Philip Overby

I was going to start a new topic, but I saw this already existed sort of.  So I wanted to add this on to maybe get some new discussion going.

While self-publishing has definitely decreased the amount of rejection in the publishing field now, a lot of people are still interested in going the traditional route.  In this case, how do you usually handle rejection?

1.  Do you get angry and assume the publisher just doesn't get what you're writing?

2.  Do you use the rejection as inspiration to get better?

3.  Do you completely give up on traditional publishing?

4.  Do you essentially ignore the rejection and just keeping writing the same way in hopes that it'll click with some publisher?

5.  Do you not bother even sending anything out because nothing you write meets your own high standards?

6.  Something else?

I would say I've done a bit of all of the above in the past.  

1.  When I was young.
2.  More often than not now
3.  Haven't given up on traditional publishing yet because I haven't given it much of chance.
4.  I never ignore rejection personally.  I use it in some facet.
5.  I would say this is my biggest problem so far.

Anyone else have thoughts about this?


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## Kelise

Always #2 because after a few months break, I can see that the piece of work in question could be better with more work.

Once I've developed my writing further, I'm guessing it'll become more like #4. Many things get rejected a few times before someone takes them on (though I'm guessing they still edit between that.)

Currently I'm only submitting short stories to anthologies though. I'm #5 with any novel I'm partway through completing.

While I have respect for those who self-publish (because goodness that must be hard and dedication is required) I'm only interested in the traditional route. I live for the day I get accepted by a publishing house. That's my aim, and I can't wait to get there.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

#4. At this point, the only thing I'm submitting is short fiction to markets that qualify for SFWA membership. I have three stories in circulation at the moment; I've made six total submissions and gotten three rejections. I'm also self-publishing some short stories, and publishing other short stories for free on my blog. The idea is to attack on all fronts at once, and build up enough material that it looks professional enough that people will _think_ it's professional, and read it, and say "Wow! How professional!" and then recommend it to their friends. Eventually there will be revenue, followed shortly by harems of dancing girls and palaces made of solid gold.

The first rejection hurt a lot; the second one a lot less; the last one I barely blinked and immediately went to the next market on the list and submitted the story there. My plan is to get enough stories in circulation that eventually one of them gets sold, which, statistically speaking, may take a year or two, but that's okay. I'm in this for the long haul.

Several years ago I wrote a few short fiction stories (all SF, in fact) and submitted one or two of them. They got rejected. After only one or two rejections I gave up, because it was disheartening; I thought my writing was _really good!_ and I couldn't understand why those fools at _mumble mumble mumble_ wouldn't want to publish it. (This was before I learned that Stephen King got rejected hundreds of times before selling a story.)


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## Muqtada

For me it's #5 all the way... it takes several cycles of leaving something sit for a month or two and then coming back to it to polish before I'm finally pleased with it, and by then my writing style is fairly different from when I started. So far only short stories though, I haven't quite written a novel all the way through to an ending


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## Vanya

For those who have work published by a publisher, have you received rejection letters for your second book? I planned on making mine a series and wondered what I have to look forward if I decide to go to a publisher rather than self-publish.


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## Kelise

Generally if you're writing a series, you tell the publisher that when submitting your first book and they accept the series as a whole once they've seen a series plan, synopsis and so forth.

Or have you already had your first book published by a publisher, and you're looking to going back to them with a second book?


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## Vanya

Nah, I'm procrastinating with my first book. I have the first book jitters if there is such a thing.  I was just curious how the process could go.


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## Kelise

In that case you submit the first book, with note to say it's part of a full series. Some also submit with a synopsis and sometimes even a chapter plan, others hold back and wait for the publisher to say they're interested in seeing more


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## Jess A

*I have questions for you all:*

I have never sent anything fictional in and have only had journalism pieces published, which requires dealing with newspaper editors rather than magazine editors or publishing etc. 

Say I finish my novel and send it to various publications. I get rejection letters. Should I try to find out why? Should I then revise it and resend it to the same people who rejected me? And should I wait a certain amount of time before doing so again? 

Thank you.


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## Philip Overby

Here's my experience on both sides of the fence, both as a writer and as a submissions editor.

If an editor asks to see more from you or asks you to edit your manuscript and re-send it, then do so.  If they don't, then it's best you don't re-send them something they already read.  I'm sure they would be fine with something new even if they didn't ask for it, but if they reject two or three manuscripts from you, it's safe to say they don't want anything you write.

It's best to read publisher guidelines because some of the more prestigious ones don't want unsolicited manuscripts anyhow.  They'll usually also list their policy on rejections and submissions.  They may say "please wait six months before re-submitting to us" or "we will not contact submissions that are rejected."  It depends on the volume they're getting.  I notice small presses are generally better about giving detailed info regarding your manuscript.  I tried to do that as much as I could when I was editing.  When I noticed some writers couldn't bother to say thanks for the opportunity or questioned my judgment then I was less interested in giving feedback.  

Editing is somewhat of a thankless job in some regards.  Keep in mind that they are fielding hundreds or thousands of manuscripts so it's difficult for them to give special attention to certain manuscripts.  It can't hurt to ask why.  Some send form letters so it's best not to ask them for more specific feedback.  

Another thing is read about their policies regarding simultaneous submissions.  Some editors don't like that.


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## Jess A

Phil - thank you. Much appreciated.


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## MichaelSullivan

Vanya said:


> For those who have work published by a publisher, have you received rejection letters for your second book? I planned on making mine a series and wondered what I have to look forward if I decide to go to a publisher rather than self-publish.



Don't know...will tell you soon as I need to submit something to fullfil an option clause.  To be honest, I doubt they will reject my next work as I'm selling well and they know I have an audience and therefore will be successful with it.  Whether we can agree on terms?  That's another matter entirely.

If you have a series - more likely than not they'll want to sign a multiple book deal.  It is possible that once you submit your "sequel" they won't like the way you went with it - and they may cancel its publication. But then you can self-publish it and people who have bought the book from the "publisher" can still get the second book directly from you.


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## MichaelSullivan

Little Storm Cloud said:


> *I have questions for you all:*
> 
> I have never sent anything fictional in and have only had journalism pieces published, which requires dealing with newspaper editors rather than magazine editors or publishing etc.
> 
> Say I finish my novel and send it to various publications. I get rejection letters. Should I try to find out why? Should I then revise it and resend it to the same people who rejected me? And should I wait a certain amount of time before doing so again?
> 
> Thank you.



Most rejections will come as "form rejection" that basically says...it's not for us...good luck.  It's not worth bothering to ask why as they probably didn't spend more than 3 - 5 minutes on the review and just moved on. They'll not likely remember why.

In some cases you'll get a personalized rejection - in which case they will give you feedback...in that case it is worth taking their advice and resubmtting, along with a copy of the rejection, as well as a letter indicating you addressed their concerns. It will at least get a "second look."

It's not uncommon to submit the same work to an agent several times (say with six-months between) and in many cases they won't even remember it from before.  Sometimes its just a matter of hitting them on a "good day" but the more likely scenario is if they didn't see what they wanted the first time around the chances of them being interested at a later date is unlikely.


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## Ireth

I've received about four rejection letters so far for my first novel, all of which I've saved. Though I'm reconsidering sending my novel out to any more agents in the near future, because it is the first book of a duology, and I've had advice speaking against sending out the first book of a series of any size before the rest (or at least the first three of a longer-than-trilogy series) are finished. The sequel is in progress, but currently stalled on account of writer's block.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

I'm up to 9 rejections now! (All for short stories.)


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