Rejection Letters
Aren't All Bad
Aren't All Bad
"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing.
They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in
his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'" ~ Saul Bellow
They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in
his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'" ~ Saul Bellow
They Didn't Give Up
Okay, you've gotten a rejection letter from an agent or editor. It feels awful!
Maybe it was your first. Maybe it was number sixteen. Whichever it was, don't
despair, you're standing in really good company, so don't give up. These authors
didn't.
If you are a romance writer, and maybe even if you aren't, you've probably read --
or at least watched -- Margaret Mitchell's story, Gone with the Wind. Over 20
publishing houses tuned that little story down before it sold.
Who hasn't heard of John Grisham in this day and age. Did you know that the
fist manuscript he wrote, A Time to Kill, was rejected 45 times before it was
accepted?
Famous western novelist Louis L'Amour has sold countless books over the years.
Many of his stories have been made into movies, like The Quick and the Dead --
the old one, not the newer version. His stories earned him over 300 rejections
before he ever sold a book.
Mary Higgins Clark is well known by mystery fans all over the world. She kept
wiring and sending out her novels, even after 40 rejections rolled in.
If you have children, you've probably spent at least a few hours with a Dr. Seuss
book in hand. He was the proud owner of nearly 30 rejections, and that was just
from one story.
Aren't you glad they filed those rejections away, and then kept on trying?
Rejection Letters Have Some Good Points
Getting a rejection from a publishing house -- or agent -- might leave you feeling
depressed, sad, angry, and more. That's okay, let yourself sink into the biggest
pity party known to man. Eat a ton of chocolate, watch a sad love story and cry
your eyes out, sit around in your PJ's until noon, but don't spend too much time
on that party. You have things to do, another publishing house to research, a
new agent to check out, and that manuscript to get back in the mail. There is
also that new story you should be working on.
Believe it or not, there are some good things you should remember about
rejection. What good things? Let me list a few. Oh, and let me add
congratulation on that rejection letter. You should be proud!
1) That rejection letter means you are a REAL writer.
2) You completed a manuscript. A whole story.
3) You wrote both a query letter and a synopsis; something that can be harder
than writing an entire novel.
4) When you were done, you looked through guidelines and found a publishing
house that printed your kind of story, or an agent who accepted the genre you
write in..
5) With dreams overflowing, you addressed that envelope and mailed your baby
into the cold, hard world.
6) You used up more patience than you even knew you possessed, watching that
mail box and waiting to hear something, anything...probably for months.
7) When you got that rejection, you didn't give up, or you wouldn't be hear
reading this.
The Steps on the Rejection Ladder
When you at last get brave enough to send out your manuscript, the rejection
letter you might get could be the standard form letter. When I sent my first MS
off about ten years ago, I thought it was filled with great writing! Now looking
back, I know it was awful! It did get me my first rejection letter though.
Dear Author,
Thank you for thinking of DreamOn publishing, but at this time we feel your story
does not fit our needs. Best of luck placing your work elsewhere.
The Editors
Notice I'm an author, but they don't use my name, nor do they mention the title
of my MS, the real reason it was rejected -- it sucked dirt -- or even list an editor
by name. Oh well. I kept writing, joined RWA and went to some meetings,
started learning what I was doing wrong, did a little rewrite, and sent that baby
out again.
Next rejection, please, one step up.
Dear Ms. Dillon,
Thank you for thinking of GettingBetter publishing, but at this time your story, Love
at Last, does not fit our needs. Best of luck placing it with another house.
Assistant Editor, April Noname
Lots of work later, I made it to the top step of the rejection letter. Ah the glory of
it all. (Smile) Hopefully, sites like mine will help you skip at least the first kinds
of rejection letters.
Dear Ms. Dillon,
I enjoyed reading Love Again, and find you have an impressive writing style, but
I'm sorry to inform you that we can not accept your story at this time. Although you
have strong characterization skills, and a powerful use of description, too much
narrative slows your overall pace throughout the story. If you have any other
manuscripts available, I would be happy to consider them.
All the best,
Senior Editor, Pattie Loveme
Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com
Okay, you've gotten a rejection letter from an agent or editor. It feels awful!
Maybe it was your first. Maybe it was number sixteen. Whichever it was, don't
despair, you're standing in really good company, so don't give up. These authors
didn't.
If you are a romance writer, and maybe even if you aren't, you've probably read --
or at least watched -- Margaret Mitchell's story, Gone with the Wind. Over 20
publishing houses tuned that little story down before it sold.
Who hasn't heard of John Grisham in this day and age. Did you know that the
fist manuscript he wrote, A Time to Kill, was rejected 45 times before it was
accepted?
Famous western novelist Louis L'Amour has sold countless books over the years.
Many of his stories have been made into movies, like The Quick and the Dead --
the old one, not the newer version. His stories earned him over 300 rejections
before he ever sold a book.
Mary Higgins Clark is well known by mystery fans all over the world. She kept
wiring and sending out her novels, even after 40 rejections rolled in.
If you have children, you've probably spent at least a few hours with a Dr. Seuss
book in hand. He was the proud owner of nearly 30 rejections, and that was just
from one story.
Aren't you glad they filed those rejections away, and then kept on trying?
Rejection Letters Have Some Good Points
Getting a rejection from a publishing house -- or agent -- might leave you feeling
depressed, sad, angry, and more. That's okay, let yourself sink into the biggest
pity party known to man. Eat a ton of chocolate, watch a sad love story and cry
your eyes out, sit around in your PJ's until noon, but don't spend too much time
on that party. You have things to do, another publishing house to research, a
new agent to check out, and that manuscript to get back in the mail. There is
also that new story you should be working on.
Believe it or not, there are some good things you should remember about
rejection. What good things? Let me list a few. Oh, and let me add
congratulation on that rejection letter. You should be proud!
1) That rejection letter means you are a REAL writer.
2) You completed a manuscript. A whole story.
3) You wrote both a query letter and a synopsis; something that can be harder
than writing an entire novel.
4) When you were done, you looked through guidelines and found a publishing
house that printed your kind of story, or an agent who accepted the genre you
write in..
5) With dreams overflowing, you addressed that envelope and mailed your baby
into the cold, hard world.
6) You used up more patience than you even knew you possessed, watching that
mail box and waiting to hear something, anything...probably for months.
7) When you got that rejection, you didn't give up, or you wouldn't be hear
reading this.
The Steps on the Rejection Ladder
When you at last get brave enough to send out your manuscript, the rejection
letter you might get could be the standard form letter. When I sent my first MS
off about ten years ago, I thought it was filled with great writing! Now looking
back, I know it was awful! It did get me my first rejection letter though.
Dear Author,
Thank you for thinking of DreamOn publishing, but at this time we feel your story
does not fit our needs. Best of luck placing your work elsewhere.
The Editors
Notice I'm an author, but they don't use my name, nor do they mention the title
of my MS, the real reason it was rejected -- it sucked dirt -- or even list an editor
by name. Oh well. I kept writing, joined RWA and went to some meetings,
started learning what I was doing wrong, did a little rewrite, and sent that baby
out again.
Next rejection, please, one step up.
Dear Ms. Dillon,
Thank you for thinking of GettingBetter publishing, but at this time your story, Love
at Last, does not fit our needs. Best of luck placing it with another house.
Assistant Editor, April Noname
Lots of work later, I made it to the top step of the rejection letter. Ah the glory of
it all. (Smile) Hopefully, sites like mine will help you skip at least the first kinds
of rejection letters.
Dear Ms. Dillon,
I enjoyed reading Love Again, and find you have an impressive writing style, but
I'm sorry to inform you that we can not accept your story at this time. Although you
have strong characterization skills, and a powerful use of description, too much
narrative slows your overall pace throughout the story. If you have any other
manuscripts available, I would be happy to consider them.
All the best,
Senior Editor, Pattie Loveme
Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com
Copyrighted 2002 by Charlotte Dillon
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If you find my articles being used in any way that isn't free and open
and including my name and link, please report the situation to me so it
can be handled. If you are unsure if your use will fall under what is
allowed, please contact me and ask. Thanks!
newsletter or on a free website as long as 'my name and a link to my
homepage' is given. You may not include my articles in an e-book
without asking unless it's a free e-book and my name and link are
included. You may not charge in any way for others to read or reach
these articles. They may not be used in any way for profit, like in a
workshop, class, site where people have to pay for a membership, ect...
If you find my articles being used in any way that isn't free and open
and including my name and link, please report the situation to me so it
can be handled. If you are unsure if your use will fall under what is
allowed, please contact me and ask. Thanks!