I got one of the buggers yesterday, see. I don't much like the sinking feeling I get when I open the mailbox and see that the brown envelope with my own handwriting on it is thick enough to hold a returned story, but after that I'm quite sanguine about the whole thing. The way I see it, a rejection letter is proof that I'm writing, that I'm sending stuff off, that I'm working at it. After a long period of not doing so, I'm pretty happy about that.

A friend of mine falls apart, though. He pins all his hopes on one submission and gets very depressed if nothing comes of it. He can't put it in the post and forget about it, work on something else, he just waits. Can't be healthy.

How about you guys?

They're no big deal. It's a part of the process. Like you said, at the very least they are reminder that you're workingand writing and not being lazy. That's a GOOD thing. I feel pretty good when I get a few submissions out, and if/when rejection letters come back at least I know I've done something. My first reaction tends to be, "Cool, heard back from those folks, now who's next on my list?"

Granted, I tend to get lazy and sit on the next mailing for far too long, but that's procrastination for you.

And the rejections themselves? Eh. Whatever. I never pin all my hopes on a submission or proposal, keep my expectations realistic, and understand that a rejection letter does not necessarily mean your work stunk, it just means it wasn't right for that editor at that time. Maybe it helps that I am an editor (not in fiction), so I can see things from the other side of the desk, too.

Really, they're not a big deal. There are limited publications and limited space in them, and TONS of people writing. Fact is, even if you're good you still have no guarantees. Why worry about it? I'd sooner worry about what I'm going to write next than obsess about something like a rejection letter.

Oh yeah, my last one came just on Wednesday, in fact, and it was via email. I liked that. Nice and quick. So, in a few days I'll get my book proposal back in the mail, then I can draft a new cover letter, tweak the proposal, and pitch someone else.

Never gotten one. I've submitted three items for publication (in very, very local magazines). Two were accepted and one I never heard back about. Other than that all my published writing has been weekly library columns that the local paper runs as a public service. They basically can't be turned down as long as I submit them by the deadline.

I'd be so afraid to submit a manuscript to a substantial publisher! I don't know whether I'll ever get up the nerve to try it.

Yup, that's my first thought (erm, after the 'oh no' and then the 'it's proof I'm writing, etc.' thoughts): where can I send this thing next?

I do feel for people who torture themselves waiting for validation. My impatient friend has sent scripts off even though he knows they aren't ready, because he wants the feedback. Of course, he's only going to get negative feedback, which depresses him, and so on...

Falls under the heading of what have you got to lose, doesn't it? You've got two published articles to your name, plus the stuff in the paper, so you've got a foot in the door.

DEAR WILL:

Thank you for your thread submission entitled "How do you handle rejection letters?" Unfortunately, at this time we do not feel that it fits in with the high standards set by Imwan and cannot accept it for publication. Please do not add a curse word to the title and re-submit to the Wanderground as that will only waste your and our valuable time. We encourage you to endeavor to improve your thread creating abilities and hope you find success in the future. Just not with us. Thanks for reading Imwan!

Sincerely,

THE ESTABLISHMENT

Son of a bitch! My life is over. Just over. Everything I've worked for... up in smoke. I put my heart and soul into this thread, and this is what happens? I quit.

I'd kill for a rejection letter. In the 5 years I sent out spec scripts, and tried to get a screenplay sold, I never got one rejection letter. Just quiet, soul-numbing silence.

Validation is the wrong reason to send something out. Hell, validation is even the wrong reason to ask someone to read your work. You send something out because you think it's ready to be sold, published and read by people. You ask someone to read your work so you can get criticism and improve your craft. If you want validation, start a blog. No insult intended to your friend.

Even sending something out to get feedback is the wrong approach. Editors don't have time to offer real feedback. You'll almost never, ever get something back with substance, and if by some miracle you do get feedback with substance it will be critcism ... which should be embraced with open arms if you're serious about improving as a writer. If all you want is a pat on the back, like I said, start a blog.

And again, I don't mean to come across as insulting to your friend. That's not at all my intent.

Were you sending to agents? If you were trying to sell a screenplay, I'm pretty sure -- could be wrong on this, but I'm almost certain -- that unless you have an agent you won't even get a response. Unagented screenplays go right in the trash at most places. What you wanted were rejection letters from agents, not from studios/whoever.

I've been quietly removing them from mailboxes and disposing of them, relishing your quiet despair.

I seem to handle it by not submitting things for publication. It's been 100% effective at not getting rejected. The percentage for getting published has been less than 100%.

One of the tricky things about being an unpublished writer is that you need feedback, but you have to get it BEFORE submitting something. Otherwise you'll just hit editors with stuff that's not ready for primetime and make an awful first impression.

Once a writer told John W. Campbell, the legendary editor of the science-fiction magazine ASTOUNDING, that he had a story that was finished but he hadn't submitted because he was sure Campbell wouldn't like it. Campbell's response: "How dare you, sir, presume to edit MY magazine?"

That's why it's so valuable to have a trusted reader or three. And NOT family and friends, because all they'll offer you is praise. You need someone who is willing to pick your work apart in a constructive manner, with honesty, and who has the ability to articulate their impressions.

The biggest hurdle for a starting writer probably isn't finding someone who can do this, it's being willing to subject yourself to it. Putting your work out there and asking for criticism is hard. It's a big step, but it's also pretty damn vital.

Does anybody here remember Marvel's "Epic" line from a while back? Where they invited ANYBODY to submit pitches for comics stories? I remember there being all kinds of confusion and speculation about that--some said Marvel was going to cultivate cheap new writers and throw out all their established ones, others thought it was a way of bribing online comics journalists with the promise of publication if they'd be nice to Marvel, others thought it was all a fake and only people with connections like Mark Millar would be accepted. There was confusion about whether Marvel would accept creator-owned proposals, and fears that they'd steal people's ideas. Writers who made submissions complained about the form letters they got in reply. There were rumors of tens of thousands of submissions, and some actually claimed to have made a number of different submissions. And some of the would-be writers were people whose message board posts appeared to be the work of near-illiterates. Yet they somehow thought they had a chance....

It was all quite a spectacle.

None taken (on behalf of my friend). I've said the same thing to him. I wouldn't put something in the post without believing it's the best I can do. It might be shit for all I know, but it's as perfect as I can make it. Anything else is just silly.

I do have friends who are great at giving honest feedback, and I do the same for them. Very useful, even if it's hard sometimes. Especially when they're wrong

I can't imagine what it's like to look at a piece of your work and sincerely believe it should be published. I look at my writing and it seems hopelessly bad to me -- in fact, my "skill" as a writer comes from my skill as a reader. I just constantly ask myself "is this a good sentence?" "Is this a good paragraph?"

But the answer is always "not good enough." I've got a piece I've been working on for most of 2008, constantly reworking it. Not editing it, mind you. Rewriting a totally different story. Different voices, different settings, different eras.

I would love the sensation of sending something off, if only because it would mean I got it to were I thought it should be published.

My goal is not to earn my living as a writer. My goal is to write something good. First one thing. We'll worry about the second thing later.

And by the way -- I submitted a story for publication in the 1990's and got a form rejection. Didn't bother me at all. I was following the school of thought of "Write one, get it out there, write another, repeat."

You'll never reach that goal. The moment you write something and get an inkling that it might be worthwhile, you'll realize you can do better, you'll write something else, and all things before the new piece will become garbage you can no longer read. Rinse. Repeat.

And by "you," I mean, of course, the general you, not you you.