At some point in your career, whether when you are getting started, or when you feel the need to leave one publisher for another, or who knows when - you will get one of these. They are usually short, they are rather bland, they rip your dreamers heart to shreds, and they tell you abso-freaking-lutely NOTHING! Usually. Unless you are with a bigger publisher in which case you may (heavy emphasis here) get the "why" answered.
It will more or less go like this:
Dear [Your name/pseudonym here]
We regret to inform you that your story [Insert title you submitted here] is not a good fit for us at [Insert publisher name here]. We wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
[Name of the schmuck that got stuck sending you this letter inserted here]
Now, let us note, this is a very short version of the rejection letter. In some cases it will be longer, in others... Pretty much what you see is what you get. Basically, whether your rejection letter is four pages long, or two measly sentences, it boils down to the same thing. They don't want to publish your story.
This can be extremely frustrating. We know, we understand, we sympathize and we buy Ben & Jerry's in bulk because of it. Sadly there is nothing to be done about it. It is what it is. Now, in some cases, you can send them a return email inquiring about what in your story wasn't a good fit. You do need to be careful here though, it's a bit of a shaky ledge to be hanging off of. They might tell you, they might not, either way, whatever they send you, do NOT get into an email discussion/argument with them. They are the publisher. They are *cough* "always" *cough* right. Ask if you feel the need, and take whatever they send back in the vein that it is helpful criticism. Unless they don't send anything back at all, in which case call them all sorts of names and plot their violent, bloody deaths. 'Cause we're authors, and that shits just plain fun!
While receiving a rejection letter is depressing, it's a fact of life, and life just isn't fair. If you are of the generation that actually played outside, got a job in high school for spending money, and didn't have your parent(s) catering to your every whim and need, you understand this. If you are from the generation that doesn't know what any of that previous sentence means in relation to you, boy-oh-boy, you have even bigger issues than one measly little rejection letter.
That's it for the moment - we'll have more on this topic, for sure!
The Moderator (the only one not with a current deadline - woohoo!)
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