Good Rejections!

Brukaviador · Jul 8, 2016

There are a lot of threads in here about how down people get after receiving a rejection, and I've felt it myself, but I've also found on occasion that even a no can sometimes be positive. I've had a couple that, while ultimately didn't result in me getting my work published, made me feel great about having taken the chance to submit it in the first place. The negative response actually became a positive motivator to keep going.

I was curious if others had similar "good rejections" in their career, so I thought I'd start up a thread where people can post some. I'd like to hear about the near misses with words of encouragement or praise that helped fuel the fire to keep you submitting.

Here are a couple of mine.

For my current non-fiction work:
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review your proposal. This is a serious and important topic, and you have a very unique and valuable perspective to share. With regret, I must inform you that I’m unable to find a fit between your proposed manuscript and the **** publishing program. We mainly publish scholarly monographs and scholarly edited collections in academic subject areas (e.g., sociology). This is a commendable project, and I wish you the very best in finding a good home for it."

For a horror short story:
(Paraphrased from memory) "I loved this story. It was dark, twisted, deeply unsettling, and reminded me a lot of Edgar Allen Poe. I would love to see this story in print. Unfortunately, it's about 1000 words too long for our requirements, but I encourage you to keep shopping it to other publications because I'm certain someone will pick it up."

zmethos · Jul 9, 2016

I had met an agent during a pitch session at a conference and she'd requested the first 40 pages. Four months later she got back to me and said she thought I wrote really well, and she kept looking at the pages and they kept landing back in her "maybe" pile. But finally she decided that she must not have enough passion for the project if it didn't make it to the "yes" pile. Still, she said the book deserved an agent and to be published. I took heart from that.

J.J.PITTS · Jul 9, 2016

Funny isn't it, how a good rejection can give us heart?

One agent sent her rejection with a note telling me she really thought about it and sat on my book, waffling. She loved the premise, absolutely loved my style but in the end, she felt her plate was full enough with the authors she was already working with.

Its rejections like that which make us keep querying, I guess. Otherwise, I would just hunker in the bunker and continue pumping them out for me and no one else.

LJD · Jul 9, 2016

I actually find these rejections particularly heartbreaking. I got one recently from an agent that began, "This is HILARIOUS." I like being told my writing is funny more than anything else, and that made me feel good...for maybe an hour. And then it sunk in that it was still a rejection, and multiple people had told me this book was very funny but not sellable or marketable, and I became even more discouraged. Because if I do my best, and other people like my work, but I still can't sell...then what's the point in trying?

Filigree · Jul 9, 2016

Personal rejections give me forward momentum and inspiration. They build a tiny but longterm dialog with that agent or editor. My writing has become better because of each interaction. I listen to what these folks offer, especially when they're visible on social media. So when I do a mass unfollowing to clean out my Twitter lists, it means that I've lost confidence in that agent or editor, and would probably never send them anything again.

I also owe a couple of agents or editors drinks, because their rejection letters kept me away from horrible situations.

Added: the point of trying is to have tried. I started writing in 1987. I sucked. I kept at it, but not diligently. Along the way I discovered a knack for other art forms that have paid my bills and fed my need for validation. I could afford to hone my writing through hundreds of of rejections. Now that I'm a much better writer, those personal rejections tell me I'm leveling up. Even if no agent or editor bites this time, I know I'm ready for self-pub.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 11, 2016

It takes a very special rejection to make me feel good about my writing. Most rejections, however praising they are, are just rejections that come with praise designed to make the writer feel better.

But, yes, now and the, a rejection can be good enough to make most writers feel good. The best rejection I ever received came from the top editor at a national magazine. I was new to writing, and needed a boost. The rejection said everyone on the floor read the story and loved it. Word got around, and everyone on the floor above read the story, and also loved it. Eventually, nearly everyone in the building read and loved it. I even talked to a few of them.

But the editor rejected the story because it simply did not fit the content of the magazine in any way. And he was right. I hadn't done my homework, and didn't realize the magazine had changed its focus.

Anyway, that rejection gave me the uplift I needed to get busy, to write, write, write, and write some more. I sold a lot of fiction because of that rejection. Had the editor simply said, "No thanks, not for us", I doubt that would have happened.

Taylor Harbin · Jul 11, 2016

I've gotten very few personalized rejections. The best/worst one was a rejection for a science fiction story that the editor loved, but wasn't able to put into the anthology because it wasn't "the right fit." She asked if I was working on a novel and expressed interest in seeing it. I researched the company and found out they are very young and have tipped a few red flags on people's radar. Another magazine said "this story caught our attention" but then went on to explain why it was a tough sell and they weren't going to accept.

I'd rather get these kinds of responses than nothing at all.

zmethos · Jul 12, 2016

Oh, Taylor, I had a great story I'd written for an open call to an anthology, and the editor loved it but ultimately rejected it because it was SO different from all the other stories . . . It was too odd a duck to blend. Sigh. It did finally get picked up for an online magazine, and I'm just glad it went *somewhere,* but that was so heartbreaking.

ads1909 · Aug 30, 2016

Currently waiting for one agency to get back to me on my full MS, but had another say this the other day:

"Please do see this as a sign of how few new clients we take on rather than a reflection on your writing. At your level all you need is someone to properly love your novel and I hope the other agent who has the manuscript is going to snap you up."

Somewhat positive!

Earthling · Aug 31, 2016

At the query stage, I had one who told me she couldn't meet my timescales (I had an offer) but she couldn't wait to see my book on the shelves, among other very nice comments. Maybe it's her standard reply in that situation but I didn't care; it really touched me.

There was also an agent that seemed genuinely upset she couldn't offer me rep. She liked the book a lot but wanted serious revisions, whereas the agent I went with shared my 'vision' for the book (as pretentious as that sounds!)

At the editor stage, one of those 'I liked it but didn't love it enough' rejections with lots of personalised comments about how good my writing was, and that it was some of the funniest dialogue she'd read in a long time.

mbowman · Aug 31, 2016

I just had a really good rejection!

I was feeling SUPER down in the dumps like I always get when I am querying (My boyfriend has named it "The Depths of Despair" because of how bad I get whenever its querying season) and I got a reject on a submission. At first I only read the "Unfortunately," part and got upset, went and took a loooooooong bubble bath + wine, and then I came back and actually read it:

"Your story reminded me a lot of Buffy, which I really enjoyed, and I loved the main character's voice. Unfortunately, the narrative wasn't my cup of tea."

I wrote her an email thanking her for reading (I do it for every submission) and even though I knew it was a longshot, I asked her if she could kindly explain what she didn't like about it, for my own purposes of making the book the best it can be.

Amazingly she responded!

"Oh, yes The Question! I ask this all the time of Editors too. Rest assured, there is nothing "wrong" with your book, I would've mentioned if there was. It just didn't speak to me and I feel I need to be completely in love with the book to represent it. Your novel needs no improvements or rewrites, and I'm sure you'll find a new agent soon!"

This agent was amazing and her authors are so lucky!

...Now if only another agent would ask for a submission soon so I wouldn't feel so antsy about it...

Bryan Methods · Aug 31, 2016

Absolutely, it often happens that your writing is just what the person reading likes but for whatever reason isn't what they're looking for professionally. Those rejections tend to be pretty heartening!

josephperin · Aug 31, 2016

I had an indie publisher call to reject with great tips on what needs to be improved. He also told me I could resubmit once I've edited.

elizabeth13 · Sep 3, 2016

In high school, I had an agent email me after she read my full that she thought I had raw potential but my voice sounded a little too much like a high school student. It stung during high school, but now that I'm out, I've been able to read the manuscript again and understand what she meant - and it's made the rest of the YA I write much stronger.

Good Rejections!

Brukaviador

zmethos

from words to worlds

J.J.PITTS

LJD

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

Jamesaritchie

Taylor Harbin

Power to the pen!

zmethos

from words to worlds

ads1909

Earthling

I come in peace

mbowman

Bryan Methods

josephperin

elizabeth13