I just got my first rejection letter. I am so excited. Why do I feel so good?
Did anyone else feel happy about theirs?
Posted by kings_falcon (Member # 3261) on :
Yes. It meant I was a writer not just someone scribbing stories on legal pads between docket calls.
Congrats on sending it out.
Posted by Wolfe_boy (Member # 5456) on :
Not remotely. I suppose it probably bodes well, though, that you seem to enjoy rejection.
Jayson Merryfield
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
Oh--I just notice why. There was a wierd glitch in the manuscript (electric submission) A fragment of a line got locked into some weird format. It repeated itself on three lines. I hate Word '07
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
Congrats--you are an aspiring professional now! Did they say why they rejected it?
Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :
Actually I was thrilled by my first rejection. It's the later ones that got hard.
And I swear the ones that are the hardest are the ones that say we really liked this BUT... LOL
[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited March 07, 2008).]
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
Thanks Skadder. It was an auto response and it only took two weeks, so I was a little bummed that it was in the slush pile. The I realized that there was the format error that I mentioned above. I guess that is good though. I corrected it by cuting and pasting into a new file piece by piece. The old doc had a bermuda triangle in it that would keep jumbling things.
Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :
You rock. Rejections mean you're sending stuff out there. Some writers never make it that far. Good on ya...
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
That makes me
6-1-0 submits-rejects-accepts plus three on deck.
Posted by KStar (Member # 4968) on :
I've just had my first 5 rejections. I'm over it now.
Kudos to you for feeling good!
Posted by tnwilz (Member # 4080) on :
I didn’t actually send anything out, but last night I turned over in the bed and bumped my wife's shoulder. Without really waking up, she mumbled something about having to get up early tomorrow. Does that count as a rejection? I mean there was no actual letter- but then there was no real inquiry, so…. Hmmm.
Still, I kinda know how you feel.
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
Good for you BT!
I felt pretty good about my first rejection. Number 21 is a little tougher. Now that first acceptance, thats nice. Still waiting for my first pro-sale. Keep it up.
Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :
lol tnwilz.
I am actually really excited about getting my first rejection letter. I think I might even frame it.
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
I am sure that the next one won't feel nice.
Posted by gobi13x (Member # 6837) on :
I remember my first rejection. They said they thought it was very well written, but the editor did not like the content. O well, it could have been worse.
Posted by darklight (Member # 5213) on :
I hated my first, and the next so many after that. These days, I'm just glad to get them back so I know one way or the other and can move on.
I did enjoy getting a letter asking for a partial, but then the wait is agonising until you get a reply, then when they reject after that, you realise all the worry was for nothing.
At least, Bent Tree, you know you're a writer now, good luck the next ones.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I think I would have been more excited by my first rejection if it had been a first acceptance...but, then, all those early rejections were deserved. It's the more recent ones I have issues with.
Posted by ChrisOwens (Member # 1955) on :
My first rejection, they didn't even send a form letter. They just sent the manuscript back. Of course, back then, I misunderstood proper formatting. Hopefully my name is not on their reject-on-sight list.
Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :
Some publications will write a rejection that will help your story, while others will have you making an appointment on the shrinks couch. My favorite is from Flash Me magazine. You will get at least four opinions of a couple of sentences or more on what they thought of your piece. Getting a single 'yes' or even a 'maybe' is a great moral booster.
While others like Postcards From... will give you a
Your story has been sent to the Lake of Fire. Have a nice day.
Not much help but it does make me laugh and they are quick. It took four hours for my last rejection to come back from them. Now thats service.
[This message has been edited by snapper (edited March 08, 2008).]
Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :
Yeah, that first rejection... Torn between expecting that your writing will appear in the public venue, and afraid to see what they say. I actually don't remember what my first of many form rejections said. Mostly because it took me a while to figure out that the forms were nicely written but impersonal.
My first rejection that I actually remember was my first personal rejection, where the editor took the time to say that he liked the story, and really enjoyed the writing, BUT...
You'll notice I don't remember much after the BUT...
Good luck. Keep submitting. Do you best to roll with the punches. For me, it got harder when I'd gotten 21 rejections with no acceptances. Then I started to wonder if I was delusional about all this writing stuff.
And then, I got published. Sorta reminds me of the AA perspective. You got to hit rock bottom, whatever that means in writing. I think of it as hope, well hidden behind a "if no them, then somebody will like it" approach.
Posted by ozwonderdog (Member # 7837) on :
I've had 2 rejections. The first was like...meh. I got rejected from Allen and Unwin's Friday pitch. Not so bad.
It was the second, short story rejection, that sucked. Liked the writing but the story didn't really stand out.
But hey. As someone said- rejection means you're writing. Rejection means you've sent your writing OUT there.
Yay us!
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
Thanks Oz. Good to see you out and about in the forum. I just got my second rejection from the same story. This time I got a detailed response. The editor said that it was well written and kept her attention, but was unsatisfied with the ending. As well as other positive comments about the piece. At least now I know it made it to a set of scrutinizing eyes.
