Self-pity - the murky monster
The other day it happened again.
"Thank you for your submission to xxxxx. I regret to inform you that we are unable to use it at this time."
It is far from my first rejection, and it will not be the last one either. It does not leave me quite as devastated as the first ones, yet I do get grumpy or dejected for a day or two, depending on how important the submission was. And it would have been really nice to tell my readers I had sold a story right now - just to prove that I am not only a self-publishing writer.
Well, they have a point (the ending being too abrupt), and that is why agents and editors come in handy, I suppose. They have that distance to your work which you can never achieve yourself. So now that they have showed me the flaw, I may have a better story for you at some other time.
And in the meantime, let me prop up my self-esteem a little bit:
The opening paragraph is wonderful -- compact and developing. I also liked the progression of the piece in its structure and believability of interactions. ... The descriptions are well written.
So perhaps I should just find someone who is a better ´plotter´ and become a brilliant ghost writer? :)
If you are a writer, how do you handle rejections?
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11 kommentarer:
On the bright side, it is nice that they read it and gave you some customised feedback, which might help next time. At our journal, we reject most submissions with a form letter (because we are many, many times oversubscribed). It is very tough for the recipient and I sympathise. I wish you well for next time.
I think I'd just take the compliments to heart, since they didn't seem to offer any constructive criticism. Then I'd keep writing and resubmit--this time with a query that says you appreciated their thoughts on your last submission and hope they'll enjoy/be able to use this one. :)
Dorte - I'm glad, too, that they were specific in what you need to do. I'm even happier (although not surprised) that they gave you such nice feedback on what they liked.
I don't like rejections, either, and they are tough to handle. I admire your choice to work on the story and re-submit. I try to think of rejections in two ways: 1) I'm not perfect and there are things I can do better; 2) it's just not a fit between me and the publisher/agent. In either case, it's not the end of the world. Of course, that doesn't stop me from feeling gloomy, but it is a way to use rejections constructively.
Ugh. No one likes rejections. Fortunately I'm on the other side of the manuscript and not in acquisitions. Thus I'm shielded from the frustration and pain.
I'm sorry for your rejection. I don't have a lot of experience with rejections because I haven't put much of my work out there but I would take the compliment and go from there.
I cherish the personalized rejections because it means the writing is good enough to warrant that attention!
It's good that you received a specific comment about the ending. I've also received similar rejections that praised the story, yet the feedback for the ending was "it didn't work for me". ;)
Don't become a ghost writer! Plotting is a skill, not a talent.
I have a huge collection of rejection slips, most of which are just form rejections. The ones that actually have comments, good or bad, are to be treasured. Like you I would be down for a day or two, then pick myself up, brush myself off, and try to fix my ms according to their comments. Rejections mean you are actually writing and submitting. You are brave!
These are positive comments and I was interested that they pointed out the fact you at least got some positive feedback rather than just a form rejection. That should take a bit of the sting out.
I admire you tenacity (and that of anyone willing to submit their work to others in this way)!
Thank you for all your encouragement!
And I know I shouldn´t despair as long as they find something to praise. I didn´t either - I have been very busy writing today - 1300 words, which is very fine for me.
Not well to say the least. And this is ten years into them.
Patti: I believe I am getting better. Many years ago a particular ´rejection´ from a beta-reader made me stop writing altogether for at least half a year. This rejection made me sit down and write most of the weekend.
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