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 |
Leave a Reply