Category: Rejection Letters

The Daily NO – Halloween Special

Today on The Daily NO, we’re celebrating Halloween by looking at all the rejections I’ve received on the spookiest day of the year. However, to my shock and surprise, in over 12 years and nearly 1,000 submissions, I have received exactly ONE rejection on… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Halloween Special”

The Daily NO – Rejection #478

Today on The Daily NO, we’re going to look at the first rejection I received for a story that would go on to collect a record-setting (for me) 25 rejections before I sold it. This is definitely a case of sticking with a story… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Rejection #478”

The Daily NO – Rejection #7

Today on The Daily No, it’s another first. The rejection we’ll be discussing today is my first ever personal rejection with actual feedback from an editor. It was a momentous occasion, and the first time I really felt like I was making actual progress.… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Rejection #7”

The Daily NO – Rejection #1

Next up on The Daily No, we’re traveling all the way back to the beginning, to the first rejection I received once I started tracking my submissions on Duotrope. Imagine, if you will, a warm spring day in Seattle, circa 2012. A baby writer… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Rejection #1”

The Daily NO – Rejection #740

Okay, I’m gonna start a new series. I’m gonna to show you one of my rejections (almost) every day for as long as either of us can stand it. I’ve got hundreds, so we should have material for YEARS. Anyway, I’ll give you all… Continue Reading “The Daily NO – Rejection #740”

Surviving 700 Rejections

Last week, I hit another significant submission milestone. I received my 700th rejection since I started tracking them on Duotrope back in 2012. If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know that when I hit a big round number… Continue Reading “Surviving 700 Rejections”

Rejection Whys: Not Ready For Primetime

The reasons for a rejection are myriad and seemingly endless, but the more rejections you get, the better you become at reading the literary tea leaves and divining why the “not for us’s” and “we’re gonna pass’s” are clogging your inbox. In this series,… Continue Reading “Rejection Whys: Not Ready For Primetime”

Current Pending Submissions: What Are My Chances?

One thing I spend far too much time doing is poring over my pending submissions on Duotrope and trying to divine my chances of publications by studying the market in question, my past history with said market, how long the story has been under… Continue Reading “Current Pending Submissions: What Are My Chances?”

Rejection Feedback – Inspiring, Informative, or Insensitive?

Editorial feedback on a rejection is as varied as editorial tastes, and how an editor chooses to relate something like “close-but-no-cigar” to an author can be radically different from market to market. A recent discussion about a comment I received a while back got… Continue Reading “Rejection Feedback – Inspiring, Informative, or Insensitive?”

Rejectomancy Rabbit Hole: Acceptance Rates

Recently, I was discussing the chances of getting published at some of the big genre markets with my author pals, and a few numbers were thrown around, some by yours truly. These numbers were mostly guess-work. None of us really know the exact percentage chance… Continue Reading “Rejectomancy Rabbit Hole: Acceptance Rates”