The more you submit, the more you hear no. This is a fact for anyone in the creative world and a certainty for unknown writers like me. At least as a writer, the no is delivered via e-mail, so I can read when I'm ready. I remember going to a friend's comedy shows and the squirming shared horror when his jokes didn't land, or he got heckled and was unable to adequately snap back.
While rejection always feels bad, and makes me question my credentials as a writer and even as a human daring to breathe air and exist, the way it's delivered matters. A lot. The rejection Tin House sent me this week was a reminder. A slap-in-the-face reminder.
I'll note that I've mostly stopped submitting anywhere that charges a substantial fee. You could spend hundreds of dollars a month just submitting to journals. It's the ol' pay for play and I hate it. Recently a writer friend recommended I submit a project to Tin House and even though it cost $25 (plus another chunk I chipped in to fund less privileged writers) I unwisely decided to give it a go.
Here's the form letter rejection. I really enjoyed the "don't even think of asking us for feedback" snark at the end. Joking aside, this is on the truly terrible end of the spectrum. Is it a PNW thing? A Tin House thing? I don't know.
I read for a respected journal and while it's true there are a fair number of less-than-spectacular submissions, we treat writers with respect and send encouragement when we can.
Here are 2 other rejections I've received lately. They are kinder, acknowledging the effort I put in and encouraging me to keep going. Form letters too, of course, but with a shred of humanity.
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| AGNI |
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| Juked |
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