Rejection Letters

No mater how prepared you are for a rejection letter, they still suck. The past month or so I’ve been submitting query letters – and some full articles - to various magazines in hopes of getting published for the first time. I’m fully aware of the success rate for new writers and am prepared for rejection. Rejection letters are something everyone gets – even Stephen King I’m told.

My first rejection letter came in the mail today. The editor’s feedback was provided in handwritten form at the bottom of my query letter. He starts off with a nice thank you for the submission, then continues to say that my article was more of a personal journal than an story about camping and canoeing in the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area. He also said that the article has too much focus on preparation for the trip and not enough content about the trip itself. I can’t disagree with any of his feedback and sent him a nice email stating so.

I ended my thank you note by asking if he would entertain a future submission, taking into consideration his feedback. Whether he gets back to me or not, I will do my best to take his rejection feedback and produce something more apropos to his needs and submit again. Rejection letters are part of the game and the good thing is, with each rejection letter, you’re that much closer to acceptance.