I was freaked out and driving home with that rattling for some 40-45 minutes kept reminding me that I could have been showered with chunks of glass and been cut or even blinded.
Rejections can be hard. I used to joke that I'd had enough rejection letters to wallpaper the bathroom. Rejections don't come on paper anymore, of course. Now they're listed on an Excel spreadsheet culled from emails. I no longer take them personally.
I learned from my writer/creative friend group that they don't want to hear complaints about rejections. One friend reminded me, "You've already published books. Why are you complaining? I'm still trying to get a first book." Point well taken. Now I just urge perseverance and share information on how to research publications.
I wish your friend had been kinder. I've had many ups and downs and my best writer friends commiserate and I return the favor when they're feeling blue. Having success or at least being published doesn't armor us against future failures.
My cure for rejections is to submit a lot. I write genre fiction, a market that pays very little, sadly, and where mags come and go in relatively quick succession, so an opportunity lost/missed can quickly turn into a new one. I try to always have a stack of stories in rotation. When a "no" comes in, I often send to somebody else right away. So there's no brooding about rejection and no nail-biting about waiting for a response. Mind you, I still take it hard when a mag rejects a story I thought was perfect for them... it's unpredictable out there! And I have one that nobody has wanted for 5 years now. I'm letting it gather moss.
I had 23 rejections on a piece I knew was good--it just hadn't found an editor who resonated with it, and then it did. Just like I once couldn't find an agent month after month and then suddenly EIGHT agents were competing to represent me. It was crazy.
This came at such a good time for me, Lev. I do fear rejection, but, more than that, I worry that I don't have enough time left to wait for those acceptances. It's the waiting. It's agonizing.
I'm rethinking where I want to go with my writing, wondering whether blogging is enough when I really do want/need to make money and writing is my only real skill. It won't happen on Substack alone, and I know that, but venturing out into that cold publishing world again scares the crap out of me, not to mention how demoralizing it can be.
I'm feeling quite cozy right here and the thought of venturing out into the cold makes me shiver. But I have things to say beyond what I write here, and I need to pay attention if I'm ever going to get brave enough to commit to something beyond just blogging. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
You're welcome! Think of it as "Essay In/Essay Out" :-)
I try to have at least one draft of an essay out in Submittable drafts so I'm ready to go ASAP after a rejection--that way I'm not stewing and can stay positive. And I submit as simultaneously as I can to increase my chances, especially with my favorite essays. I currently have three remaining essays out. One is at 7 lit mags; another is at 10 lit mags; a third is at 4. It's work, I know it, but I'd rather do that kind of work than promotion.
Do you submit only new work or is some of it already published? I'm afraid I'm not that prolific, but I do have stuff I like well enough to want to see it go out into the real world.
If I find a journal I like that takes reprints and enough time has passed, I submit a favorite piece and that way I increase the audience.
All things considered, though I've made more money than I expected via published essays this round, it's not remotely comparable to speaking gigs or book royalties, or editing fees from my clients. I'm just having fun, especially when I tinker with a rejected piece and send it out again and this time it gets accepted. Bingo!
They come across as unctuous and condescending--at least to me.
But the worst and funniest rejection I ever got in my career was for my first short story collection (which eventually won a prize): "I don't much like your metaphors and such." Points for internal rhyme?
The second funniest rejection was a two-page single-spaced rejection explaining why I should re-write the story like something of Balzac's. I read Balzac. I love Balzac. I am not remotely Balzac and have never wanted to be.
Your sunroof exploded?! That must have just about stopped your heart!
I was freaked out and driving home with that rattling for some 40-45 minutes kept reminding me that I could have been showered with chunks of glass and been cut or even blinded.
Rejections can be hard. I used to joke that I'd had enough rejection letters to wallpaper the bathroom. Rejections don't come on paper anymore, of course. Now they're listed on an Excel spreadsheet culled from emails. I no longer take them personally.
I learned from my writer/creative friend group that they don't want to hear complaints about rejections. One friend reminded me, "You've already published books. Why are you complaining? I'm still trying to get a first book." Point well taken. Now I just urge perseverance and share information on how to research publications.
I wish your friend had been kinder. I've had many ups and downs and my best writer friends commiserate and I return the favor when they're feeling blue. Having success or at least being published doesn't armor us against future failures.
My cure for rejections is to submit a lot. I write genre fiction, a market that pays very little, sadly, and where mags come and go in relatively quick succession, so an opportunity lost/missed can quickly turn into a new one. I try to always have a stack of stories in rotation. When a "no" comes in, I often send to somebody else right away. So there's no brooding about rejection and no nail-biting about waiting for a response. Mind you, I still take it hard when a mag rejects a story I thought was perfect for them... it's unpredictable out there! And I have one that nobody has wanted for 5 years now. I'm letting it gather moss.
I had 23 rejections on a piece I knew was good--it just hadn't found an editor who resonated with it, and then it did. Just like I once couldn't find an agent month after month and then suddenly EIGHT agents were competing to represent me. It was crazy.
This came at such a good time for me, Lev. I do fear rejection, but, more than that, I worry that I don't have enough time left to wait for those acceptances. It's the waiting. It's agonizing.
I'm rethinking where I want to go with my writing, wondering whether blogging is enough when I really do want/need to make money and writing is my only real skill. It won't happen on Substack alone, and I know that, but venturing out into that cold publishing world again scares the crap out of me, not to mention how demoralizing it can be.
I'm feeling quite cozy right here and the thought of venturing out into the cold makes me shiver. But I have things to say beyond what I write here, and I need to pay attention if I'm ever going to get brave enough to commit to something beyond just blogging. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
So, all this to say thanks.
You're welcome! Think of it as "Essay In/Essay Out" :-)
I try to have at least one draft of an essay out in Submittable drafts so I'm ready to go ASAP after a rejection--that way I'm not stewing and can stay positive. And I submit as simultaneously as I can to increase my chances, especially with my favorite essays. I currently have three remaining essays out. One is at 7 lit mags; another is at 10 lit mags; a third is at 4. It's work, I know it, but I'd rather do that kind of work than promotion.
Do you submit only new work or is some of it already published? I'm afraid I'm not that prolific, but I do have stuff I like well enough to want to see it go out into the real world.
If I find a journal I like that takes reprints and enough time has passed, I submit a favorite piece and that way I increase the audience.
All things considered, though I've made more money than I expected via published essays this round, it's not remotely comparable to speaking gigs or book royalties, or editing fees from my clients. I'm just having fun, especially when I tinker with a rejected piece and send it out again and this time it gets accepted. Bingo!
Good attitude!
Impressive. And now I'll make sure the inside cover for the sun roof is always closed.
There's probably a whole slew of posts somewhere claiming it's caused by meteorites or aliens--or both. :-)
Chem trails.
Weaponized COVID crossed with microrobots.
Nailed it.
Is there an emoji for heh-heh-heh?
I wonder when the decision was made to send out "sympathetic rejections"?
They come across as unctuous and condescending--at least to me.
But the worst and funniest rejection I ever got in my career was for my first short story collection (which eventually won a prize): "I don't much like your metaphors and such." Points for internal rhyme?
The second funniest rejection was a two-page single-spaced rejection explaining why I should re-write the story like something of Balzac's. I read Balzac. I love Balzac. I am not remotely Balzac and have never wanted to be.