Decoding the Rejection Letter

It’s a fact of life for all writers who aspire to get published ⎯ you will be rejected. Of course, by you I mean your work, even though it can be hard not to take a rejection letter personally. While the impulse is to toss all rejections in the recycling bin, if you know how to read them right, they can offer you valuable clues to help you get one step closer to getting published. Following are the most common rejection letters, from the “worst” to the “best”:

The “Dear Author” rejection

This preprinted form letter offers no clues whatsoever as to why your work has been rejected. It may not even be signed. After all the blood, sweat and tears you poured into your work, to have it responded to almost as if it were a piece of junk mail, is infuriating.

Translation: Unfortunately, there is no meaning to glean from this kind of rejection. Ignore it and move on.

The “atta boy” rejection

This can be either jotted by hand or printed at the end of a form letter, offering a nugget of encouragement: “Keep writing,” “Good writing, but sorry not for us,” “great characters,” or something else complimentary.

Translation: a hurried reader liked your writing enough to say something nice about it. Use that as fuel to keep sending your work out.

The “my heart’s not in it” rejection

This letter will give you some sort of positive response and non-reason for the rejection. Here’s an actual example: “You have a great imagination — I love the premise — and you’re a good writer, but I’m sad to say that I just wasn’t passionate enough about this to ask to see more. I wish I could offer constructive suggestions, but I think it’s the kind of thing that really is subjective.”

Translation: The reader thought enough of your work to craft a personal response and offer a word of encouragement. Keep this agent or publisher in mind for future projects.

The “I like it, but” rejection

This letter will give some positive feedback and tangible reasons for the rejection. Here’s an actual example: “It’s clear that you are capable of creating fully fleshed-out characters, and your elegant prose was a pleasure to read. Unfortunately, as a result of slow pacing in the opening chapters I just couldn’t get as invested in the book as I would have liked. I’m not the right agent for this book, but I’m grateful for the chance to have read it. I wish you the best of luck in finding the right representation.”

Translation: You’re almost there. Reread your manuscript and see if there’s any validity to the reader’s response. Ask, what would make the reader more excited? More passionate? Are you taking enough chances in your writing? Making bold choices? Keep trying. It’s just a matter of time before you hit the right agent.

The “try again” rejection

This letter expresses something positive about your work and ends with an invitation, such as: “Please keep us in mind for any future works.”

Translation: They like your writing — they really like your writing. This manuscript may not be right for them for a number of reasons. Keep them in mind for future works, and be sure to remind them of this response.

The “I’m almost ready to commit” rejection

This is like being one number off in the million-dollar lottery. The agent or publisher will ask you to fix one or more things before taking on your manuscript. The letter will say something like “I can’t take this on at the time being, but if you… [some specific suggestion here] I’ll reconsider.”

Translation: “I really like this book, but there are just a few things that bother me about it.” Don’t let this opportunity slip out of your fingers! Send back a note of thanks, telling the agent you’re revising your manuscript according to her directions. If you’re not sure how to address what’s being asked, hire an editor to work with you.

March 23, 2011 at 5:26 pm | getting published | No comment

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