# First rejection letter



## Jagunco (Nov 14, 2012)

And here it is. Despite expecting it I was still a little upset.


Thank you very much for letting us see "*****"  We appreciate your taking the time to send it in for our consideration.  Although it does not suit the needs of the magazine at this time, we wish you luck with placing it elsewhere.

Please excuse this form letter.  The volume of work has unfortunately made it impossible for us to respond to each submission individually, much as we’d like to do so.

Sincerely,

 Also was a bit annoyed that it was a bulk letter but hey ho. Anyway on to next submission


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## alanmt (Nov 14, 2012)

Very typical; can't be taken personally. Keep at it!


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## Jon M (Nov 14, 2012)

Can't get annoyed at stuff like this. So impersonal that it's almost funny.


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## dolphinlee (Nov 14, 2012)

It is not much comfort but at least you actually received a reply. I'm still waiting for a response to submissions I made seven months ago.


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## Winston (Nov 15, 2012)

Jon M said:


> Can't get annoyed at stuff like this. So impersonal that it's almost funny.



Almost funny.  But not quite.

When you put years into a manuscript, it's like a piece of your life.  Of you.  Being dismissed out of hand hurts.
I now know what I did "wrong".  It's literally live and learn, and knowing the difference between art and craft.

@ Dolphinlee:  I had one agent that took over a year, but most were two to three months.  I have a list of about fifty I submitted to.  Give me some names, and maybe I can tell you how long they took for me.  Just for comparison.


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## squidtender (Nov 15, 2012)

Congratulations! Seriously, I'm proud of you. You got a rejection letter, which means you sat down, wrote something, made it ready for publication and submitted it. Man . . . you're way ahead of lots of other so called "writers". Good work and keep it up


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## nerot (Nov 15, 2012)

A rejection is only *one* opinion.  Keep writing and submitting.


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## Jon M (Nov 15, 2012)

Winston said:


> When you put years into a manuscript, it's like a piece of your life.  Of you.  Being dismissed out of hand hurts.


The first time, yeah, it stung a little bit. But I guess it all depends on how you view this process. I know a lot of people think of editors as the rotten old curmudgeons at the gate, but I happen to think they're in my corner, in a way protecting my best interests, my personal Q.C. department. I've written a lot of junk. Had stars in my eyes, thought my story was the BEST THING EVAR when I sent it out. Fortunately, most of that junk didn't get through. Editors are to thank for that. 

And sometimes rejection has absolutely nothing to do with quality. More of a 'right time, right person' kind of thing.


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## Jagunco (Nov 15, 2012)

Thanks all  I have to point out it was a 10,000 word short story and not a huge manuscript I submitted  I'm not broken up about it at all just looking for the next magazine to post it too. Appreciate all the messages  Just thought this was something of an aupicious occasion  first of many and all that lol


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## mockingbird (Nov 16, 2012)

Stephen King was rejected hundreds of times. No one was interested in a horror tale about a young girl being tormented by her religious mother who explodes with telekinetic powers.


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## Morkonan (Nov 17, 2012)

Jagunco said:


> And here it is. Despite expecting it I was still a little upset....
> 
> Also was a bit annoyed that it was a bulk letter but hey ho. Anyway on to next submission




Congratulations! Hooray! You got your first rejection, so you're over the hump. Now, you have something to look forward to!


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## Gorgemind (Nov 29, 2012)

Im getting at least 2 a week now 
For me its the more the merrier


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## Leyline (Nov 29, 2012)

A form rejection letter is disheartening, but it's the only way certain markets can handle it (short staff and high submission rate), but you just have to nod and go on. Many times after multiple submissions to a single market, you'll begin to get a more personal approach. 

Keep your rejection letters, print them out if they're email. Keep them where you can see them. Divide them into form letters, personal rejections, personal notes, almost sales, etc. They won't be tokens of success, they'll be a record of your progress. Because if you keep writing and submitting you'll eventually get a better response because writing is what makes you better. There's actually a large degree of luck involved: the editors may have loved your story but had published one with similar ideas last issue. You could have caught the editor on a day when she was just utterly sick of robots, for example.

Don't see it as a setback, see it as a first step on the journey. 

Best,
-G.


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## dale (Nov 29, 2012)

i've come to not mind rejection slips now. it's the sometimes months long "waiting for the response" time that i don't like.


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## Newman (Nov 29, 2012)

They say you send out 50 for the 1 yes.

So expect another 48.


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## InDeathITrust (Dec 5, 2012)

Very true. King had a nail in his wall he stuck the rejection letter onto.


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## dale (Dec 5, 2012)

InDeathITrust said:


> Very true. King had a nail in his wall he stuck the rejection letter onto.



lol. yeah. and after the 1st one, he then went on to collect so many the nail wouldn't support them all, so he replaced the nail with a spike.


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## Burlesk (Dec 5, 2012)

I've never had a rejection letter. All my rejections (and they have been many and painful) have come either via phone or email.

One day, if you're lucky enough to be in the appropriate situation, you may be _un_lucky enough to experience real, harrowing pain. It comes when a publisher who has previously published your work, and has encouraged you (over the course of a year) to pour time and energy into a specific book, decides he doesn't want it after all.

And says so in a one-line email.

That's when it _is_ personal, and can't be shrugged off.

Er ... sorry about that ... I seem to be doing the forum equivalent of showing people my operation scars. 8-[ Carry on, as you were.


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