Thursday, July 7, 2011

REJECTED TODAY, BUT THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW!





Everytime you get a rejection notice, does your heart feel as if it has fallen to your stomach? I know mine does. Some rejections are nice like this one I recieved for a flash fiction piece.



Rita,


Thanks for sharing your story with failbetter.com. We’re sorry to report that it’s not quite right for our site. We wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere.


Sincerely,


The Editors

Some are not so nice. I, personally, like the rejections that give advice or say that they see me as an up and coming writer, but they can't use my story at this time. There are harsh ones that say your piece is "trite".



Trite [trahyt]



-adjective, trit·er, trit·est.



1. lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition; hackneyed; stale: the trite phrases in his letter.



2. characterized by hackneyed expressions, ideas, etc.: The commencement address was trite and endlessly long.




3. Archaic . rubbed or worn by use.




Most writers hope their stories are unique, so this particular phrase can wound. Hopefully, you will re-visit your work before sending it off to another publication. Or if you feel it's at its best, then do nothing. You should always try to look at it from another's point of view, after all readers are really important in the publishing world no matter what you write.


Rejection is a part of life, especially the writing life. Even the greats have been rejected, so keep this in mind when you get that rejection notice.


What do you do with your rejections?

Here are some links:

Rejection is a Gift
Why You Are Receiving Rejections
The Real Reason You're Getting Rejections
Literary Rejections on Display

1 comment:

Diandra said...

I try not to think to much about rejections. Sometimes, when reading the piece after a while, I understand why it was rejected. But I don't give too much about the words in the rejection - most of it are standard letters (which is easy to understand, taken into consideration how many submissions are sent), and I hardly ever find anything of worth in there for me.