Double Shot of Rejection

suck it up

Bushdoctor - this is the section of the forum where people get to post about their rejections and their feelings about said rejection in a safe and supportive environment. If you don't like it, then maybe you shouldn't hang out here. But to tell someone to "suck it up" when they are just trying to share in the same way as everyone else does in this section is not helpful.

sthrnwriter: sorry about the rejection, but it sounds like you've had luck with them in the past if I've read your post correctly, so I'm sure it was just a matter of not quite the right thing at the right moment. Better luck for next time!

The funniest thing about this:

Their rejection should be 140 characters or less, just sayin'.

A double rejection calls for a triple shot of your booze of choice.

Welcome to hell...

Tri--the non-drinker. Just cuts himself with razor blades.

You're lucky to get that. Not all editors are honest. The worst rejections come from writers who've just started having some of their work published and have fallen into editing an anthology or magazine. Those kinds of editors can be mighty envious of other writers.

You won't always get a response that's worth reading anyway. Most of the time there is nothing constructive to take away from a rejection.

And it never gets any easier.

I have a way of dealing with rejections (and I've had some sledgehammer rejections) and that's to simply ignore them. There comes a point (after your umpteenth submission) where there is nothing to learn from them about your writing, but plenty to learn about the editor. Most of the time it's all down to the editor's personal preference. Bear in mind that editors are human and not all are professional and that even professionals are insecure about their own work and can take an irrational dislike to anything and anyone.

And something that you may not have considered. Small press is a bit of a clique, like it or not.

Keep writing, keep submitting, and if you're having no luck in a certain genre, move out of it. You'll meet more editors that way and you're less likely to be bouncing about among a clique.