Wednesday, October 01, 2008

My first rejection letter

Do you remember when I posted about sending a story to the NZ School Journal? It was my first ever (and still my only) story submission. And how excited I was when the editor sent me a letter saying they liked parts of my story and wanted to see it again when I'd improved it? Well, the editor who is filling in for the first editor, didn't like my rewrite (assuming that is what it means when they say they couldn't find a space for it, which I do).

I'm disappointed, and receiving the rejection today is a little bit like being kicked when I'm down ('cos I'm still sick). But I'm quite aware that even the most successful authors have had submissions rejected, possibly many times. So it's not that bad really.

5 comments:

Watson Woodworth said...

When you do get famous you can have your rejection letter framed like the eviction notice from 1997 I'm saving.

Amanda said...

It's disappointing but probably a necessary rite of passage which everyone goes through. Is there anywhere else you can submit it?

aprilbapryll said...

The only time I submitted anything was to a journal where my friend was the editor in chief and my poems were still rejected. It hurt even though I know she sat on an editorial board and didn't have all the say anyhow. I haven't submitted anything since. One day ...

Determinist said...

You should see how many rejection letters you can collect in a year. No pressure that way!

Violet said...

nigel: would it be used as bribery?
mtnw: yeah probably but I'm not motivated enough to bother!
aprilbapryll: at least she was honest enough not to promise anything. But it shouldn't stop you from trying though.
determinist: yes, and I should do it by writing more stories rather than by submitting the same one to many publications...