Now that I’m back to my home computer, here are some rejection letters I’ve recieved. I post them not because they are particularly funny or heinous or anything — they’re pretty standard — but because they both come from publications that I work for or have done in the recent past. Both of the editors who rejected me I now consider good friends. (Yes, Kris, you are my good friend.) Onward!
Dear Ms. Bradford,
Thank you for submitting your story “Enmity” to SYBIL’S GARAGE. Unfortunately at this time we will not be accepting your submission for publication. We enjoyed your story, however, it’s not quite right for the magazine. We hope you consider sending to us again.
Sincerely,
KD
Editor
SYBIL’S GARAGE
and
Dear [my real first name and, may I note, spelled WRONG],
Thank you for your submission to Fantasy Magazine, but it didn’t quite grab me, so I’m going to pass on this.
all best wishes,
Sean
That second rejection was for Black Feather, BTW.
Nothing scathing, as I said. But funny for me, considering.
Both of these stories were/are going to be published. This is one of the reasons why writers share rejections. To show that even when you don’t wow one editor, you may wow another. And that editor’s not being wowed has no absolute bearing on your ability to wow elsewhere.
Thank you for that. It’s heartening. Also, how is your first name in any way hard to spell? (Just sayin’ …)
there’s an extra e between the l and the y.
My first two rejections came from MZBFM and were copies of the guidelines with the appropriate sections highlighted. That didn’t bug me nearly as much as the one from Cicada suggesting that I sign up for their young writer’s forum for critiques and possible publication… when I didn’t put my age anywhere in the cover letter.
It’s good to share rejections even under these circumstances.