The anonymous recipient of this rejection writes: "This is the only rejection I've gotten that I felt was worthy of sending in for your blog. I think it's something about the best wishes always that's disturbing and creepy. On the plus side, I've been so lax about keeping any sort of tracking on my submissions that each rejection is almost like a present or a surprise! "
Monday, May 4, 2009
Disturbing and Creepy
The anonymous recipient of this rejection writes: "This is the only rejection I've gotten that I felt was worthy of sending in for your blog. I think it's something about the best wishes always that's disturbing and creepy. On the plus side, I've been so lax about keeping any sort of tracking on my submissions that each rejection is almost like a present or a surprise! "
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5 comments:
???
I must say, even though I enjoy LROD as someone who has worked as an editor I have zero idea what people on here want from a rejection. Put a nice sign-off, you are a creep. Don't put a nice sign-off, you are cold and hate writers. Use a form rejection and you are a callous jerk. Write any explanation at all for why this manuscript didn't work (ie don't use a form) and you are a huge asshole who just has to rub it in because you despise writers. Try to be funny or clever in your rejection and you are worthy of nothing but scorn. Use a completely standard form rejection and you are unoriginal and worthy of scorn.
and on and on.
I guess the lesson is that writers here aren't actually offended by the rejections they get, they are just offended by the rejection and will hate every magazine until one publishes them.
No such thing as an inoffensive rejection. There's truly no way to please us with a rejection. What do we want? We want to be accepted.
If "best wishes always" is disturbing and creepy, it's time to shut your laptop, sell your copy of FICTION WRITER'S MARKET, and go to a therapist.
I'm betting the therapist came way before the rejections, creepy or not. (At least that's the case with most writers I know.) But never, ever shut that laptop and quit. That's terrible advice.
Some people should shut their laptops and quit.
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