I got a form rejection letter today.  A rejection doesn’t mean “you suck and should never write again.”  Most frequently it means “your story didn’t fit our anthology”–maybe they have too many teacher/student stories already, or have their spanking story, or whatever.  In this case, the form letter specifically states that there were over 300 submissions for 30 slots…that means 90% of us received a rejection.

It still sucks.

However, you can’t let a rejection letter shut you down.  In my case, I move the story out of my “submitted folder” into a “possible submissions” folder.  I may also have indulged in some “I got rejected” chocolate.

I also have perspective if I’m being honest with myself.  This was my first m/m story, it was written a bit hastily, and while it’s a good story, it’s a bit niche (it’s a christmas story with nerdy characters–very niche, possibly).  The acceptance odds were not super high to begin with.  But it was fun to write, and I love the characters.  It was also useful to have written a m/m story and to have gained the experience.  Hopefully when I edit it for another submission attempt or write my next m/m story, I’ll have a stronger piece thanks to this experience.

Still sucks.

But I have Nano character sketches to write, a non-fic piece to finish, and a trip to MONOLITIHICTHEMEPARK to plan.  Plus the newly minted 1 year old is getting more and more interested in walking.  So I can’t dwell–I move on.

Filed under: Rejected, Writing | Tagged: delilah night |