Got another rejection letter today. While it can’t compare with my latest rejection letter — my first ever personal rejection, and rather nice at that — it does have its charms. There are slight scribbles of personalization on the form letter, viz. “it didn’t hook me fast enough” underlined in the list of possible offenses, and “Do try again. Thanks!” scrawled at the bottom.
Of course, the offense indicated is somewhat humiliating, as it may mean that the editor didn’t finish my story. CRINGE! On the other hand, I can’t imagine that the chap scrawls “Try again, thanks” at the bottom of every one, so there must have been something he liked about it, so maybe he did read all of it! On the other hand, it might just have been my spelling and grammar in the few paragraphs he did read. On yet a third hand, the form letter text indicates he feels bad for using a form, so perhaps he feels so guilty that he scrawls the phrase at the bottom of each as penance! So much to analyze and consider.
And then there’s the question of whether this is ‘form’ or ‘other’ when reporting the response type and time to the fabulous duotrope. So much to ponder.
Comments
yes, it means something
yo, lifesaver, yes this note from the editor means something. i got rejected by a magazine four times before getting a piece accepted, and each time they told me to please try again. keep on keepin’ on. when push comes to shove, it’s a least a numbers game and eventually you’ll strike a winning ticket (letter). but there’s more to it than that, and you and i both know it. you have the energy to send stuff out and there’s no harm in that. somewhere, somehow, that energy will come back to you in the form of an acceptance letter.
hearts and hugs, katey
Re: yes, it means something
:)
Nice to hear someone else refer to an acceptance letters as a winning ticket—of course, I always call it the Golden Ticket! (So why am I sending out stories instead of eating candy bars?)
Thank you VERY much for the encouragement. I am going to go revise a story right now (okay, FINISH revising a story…I already read the revised beginning at Residency!)