![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Jan. 30th, 2012 08:07 amYesterday? Warm enough I was out and about in a T shirt. Today? Snow. My sinuses are rebelling and I am transformed into some manner of hideous snot monster.
Jan. 30th, 2012
Anatomy of a Rejection Letter
Jan. 30th, 2012 10:34 amThank you for submitting "****" to *****. I'm going to pass on your story. There's some interesting imagery here, but the tale overall just didn't grab me. Best wishes placing it elsewhere.
Things that make me very happy about this rejection letter- you will notice the acknowledgement that the editor not only read the story but had something good to say about it. Fantastic!
What to do with this knowledge- go back, and look at what I have written with what follows that something good in mind. He liked the imagery, but there was not enough of a 'grab'. So, if I was interested in continuing to shop this story around I would then go back and look at the structure of what I have written. How can I rework things to better catch a reader? Maybe it was just not a good fit for the anthology, but maybe it really does need work. The first draft you write for you. Every following edit you are fine tuning the writing for an audience.
Never be too in love with what you have written, my friends. Enjoy your craft. Enjoy the sheer joy of watching the words emerge as you write, the words twisting and twining together into a tale. But know that your craft can always be improved. Rejection letters can give you immensely useful bits of information in regards to what you need to look at. If someone has taken the time to tell you why they have rejected your work read it closely, and even if you don't agree, go back and look at your work with a critical eye.
Things that make me very happy about this rejection letter- you will notice the acknowledgement that the editor not only read the story but had something good to say about it. Fantastic!
What to do with this knowledge- go back, and look at what I have written with what follows that something good in mind. He liked the imagery, but there was not enough of a 'grab'. So, if I was interested in continuing to shop this story around I would then go back and look at the structure of what I have written. How can I rework things to better catch a reader? Maybe it was just not a good fit for the anthology, but maybe it really does need work. The first draft you write for you. Every following edit you are fine tuning the writing for an audience.
Never be too in love with what you have written, my friends. Enjoy your craft. Enjoy the sheer joy of watching the words emerge as you write, the words twisting and twining together into a tale. But know that your craft can always be improved. Rejection letters can give you immensely useful bits of information in regards to what you need to look at. If someone has taken the time to tell you why they have rejected your work read it closely, and even if you don't agree, go back and look at your work with a critical eye.