- Handwritten (or personal e-mail) note asking you to submit more
- Personal scribble (or added line on an e-mail) on a form rejection asking you to submit more
- Note with critique but not asking you to resubmit
- Handwritten note (or personal e-mail) saying he/she likes your work
- Personal scribble (or added line on an e-mail) on a form rejection saying he/she likes your work
- Notification that your work is wonderful but the market has died
- A request that you not send more work because you don’t understand the market
- A request that you not send more work until you learn enough to be ready to submit
- A note (or added line on an e-mail) on a form rejection with vitriolic rejection of your writing ability, subject matter or style
- A note (or added line on an e-mail) insulting you personally
- Form rejection letter (or e-mail)
- Web link to a spreadsheet with the word “decline” beside your name
- A red NO scribbled on your query letter
- A red NO scribbled on someone else’s query letter
- A red NO scribbled on a query letter you sent, but not to that person
- Just your query letter
- Your query letter stained with what you hope is coffee
- Your empty SASE
- Silence
Nov
25
Category: writing
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man o man! that is just painful. I received a rejection letter a few days back. Typical. Large number of qualified applicant followed by unfortunately…… I’ve been keeping them for years. I’m up to three inches thick in them. Plans to paper a room in them as a future installation piece. Me bad or am I bad?
I keep all mine too, but they don’t see the light. They’re all entered into a spreadsheet and then filed. I kind of see them all as one side of a balance with each one bringing me closer to the tipping point of a sale!
[...] Sometimes I Lie » Blog Archive » Hierarchy of Short Story Rejections [...]
Amazing as always
This was freaking amazing. More! More!
Silence. Amazing how much we can read into that. Impressive where it rates on your ranking. I make a silent prayer hoping that my submission merely evaporated into the ethernet; the mail carrier carried it home; the designated recipient had an untimely demise…
I put it as the worst because it doesn’t give me any useful information for future submissions. And it dangles hope in front of me like a chocolate cupcake.
You forgot:
- your query letter returned with ‘no’ scribbled across it and a subscription card for the publication
- a form letter rejection to your request for writers’ guidelines
I forgot about those. I’ve gotten both!
Is this hierarchy top to bottom or bottom to top? Ha ha.
Depends on my mood when they come!
Hey Cindie – great blog! I’m glad I found it. I am very much enjoying your writing -
Thanks!
Wait. Is this the Rita from JBR?
Yes – I’m still in New Mexico, but really miss Nevada sometimes. I was thinking about you, good to see you’re still writing.
Nevada seems to have that impact on people. Good to see you’re still making the world better.