Rejections

I wrote a short story a few months ago and was utterly convinced it was the best thing I'd written in quite some time. It went through several drafts and various incarnations before I decided I was done with it (and by "done" I mean "if I screw with it any more it'll be a total write-off) and sent it off. Thus far, it has gotten rejection letters from Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine and Analog magazine.

Then I sat on it for a few months until last night when I decided that dammit, it was valid and I just need to find the right publisher. So, tomorrow, off it goes to someone else.

The trick, aspiring short story writers, is to take all your rejection letters and put them in a file. If they give you a reason WHY they rejected your manuscript (don't count on it, but some do) take it to heart and maybe think about revising your piece a little. If they don't, go back to the drawing board and find someone else to submit it to. Above all, PERSEVERE! If you let yourself get bogged down by a couple rejection letters (or even a hundred rejection letters) you'll never know if that next publisher would've taken it. Don't make the same mistake I did and wait five months in between submissions. The day it comes back to you, send it back out to the next publisher on your list.

I know it's hard, but guess what: everyone else works for a living. As a writer, SO DO YOU. You just face different challenges and enjoy a few luxuries and annoyances that others don't.