Diary of a Mad Editor

Archive for December 14th, 2007

Sometimes Rejections Make Me Feel Like I’ve Dodged a Bullet

Even now, as I’m preparing to hand-out my 60,000th-something rejection to a writer who didn’t make the cut, I understand that my rejection slip won’t exactly feel like a Christmas present to the rejected author. Because, let’s face it, rejections sting. Hell, I’m still smarting over a rejection I received 3 days ago from a publication I really had my heart set on being a part of. What hurts is I know the short story I sent them is a good story. But you know what? Sometimes rejections don’t hurt at all. I’ve come to realize that on occasion I feel relief when I get a rejection — well, maybe not at the moment I receive a rejection slip, but soon after reading an issue of the publication that rejected me.

For example there was this new online journal that had rejected me a couple of months ago. They’d never published an issue and were looking for material for their first. Based on the vague description of what kind of poems they were looking for, I sent them a few I thought would be right up their alley. Turns out they were less than enthusiastic for what I’d sent them. So yesterday, I noticed they’d finally published their first issue and went to check it out. My assessment was that this wasn’t such a great publication — in truth it was quite mediocre and anemic. Suddenly, the sting of rejection was replaced by a calm cool feeling of relief. Wow, I thought, I could have been a part of that!

Now lest you think this is a case of sour grapes poisoning the wine, let me also confess that there are a fair number of really excellent publications who’ve rejected me for years that I continue to submit work to and do so gladly in the slim hope that one day I can call myself a contributor. Those publications are becoming increasingly rare, however. Publications like the aforementioned abortion are a dime a dozen. What this trend has done to me is made me less likely to submit to a publication before they’ve published that first issue. Had I been able to spy that issue before I’d bothered to submit those few poems, there wouldn’t have been a rejection because I would have submitted those poems elsewhere. So, let that be a lesson to you, dear writers — whether rejection brings forth a hurt or a sigh of relief, better to read a copy of a publication before blindly submitting.