When I pitch an idea for an article or an idea, I do it electronically. 
In fact, if the editor or agent won’t accept pitches by email I move on. Sure, I might be missing a wonderful opportunity but my feeling is that if that person is not comfortable with electronic submission then I probably won’t have the patience to work with him. It’s a fast paced world out there, if you can’t keep up, move over.
I have long ago given up writing everything out by hand, printing it, making edits, and then re-entering everything. And I’m not even sure we keep envelopes in the house anymore for the obligatory SASE. These days everything I do is directly on my computer. I edit in my head and make my corrections using the keyboard. It’s far more efficient and after decades of doing it this way, it’s how I feel most comfortable.
Electronic writing and submission makes me happy because of its efficiency and it makes the trees happy for the non-usage of paper but it means that I miss out on what is arguably one of the most important rites of passage in writing: the hardcopy rejection slip.
All of the writing greats have stories of their work being rejected. They take great pride in saving those rejection slips in a folder to pull out once they become successful. In fact, here is a list of some of our better books and the amount of times they were rejected:
Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis (15)
Carrie, Stephen Kng (30)
Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfeld and Mark Victor Hansen (140)
Diary of Anne Frank (16)
Dr. Seuss books (15)
Dubliners, James Joyce (22)
Dune, Frank Herbert (23)
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (38)
Harry Potter book one, J. K. Rowling (9)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach (18)
Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl (20)
M*A*S*H, Richard Hooker (17)
The Peter Principle, Laurence Peter (16)
The Prncess Diaries, Meg Cabot (17)
Watership Down, Richard Adams (26)
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle, (26)
Just think of the beauty in all those rejection slips – “Sorry J.K. Rowling, we don’t think this will attract an audience.”
Those rejection slips become an important part of a writer’s history. It seems that you’re really nobody in the world of writing until you amassed your share of people telling you “no.”
Oh don’t get me wrong, I get plenty of electronic rejections “this piece does not fit our list” “Cute story – good luck” “Not open to submissions” but they just don’t have the same “zing” as a piece of paper sent through the U.S. Mail in which a real live person bellies up to the bar telling you to your face “nope, not now – hot shot.”
The hardcopy rejection of yore could be tacked to the wall – a constant reminder of “just who the hell does he think he is?” spurring you ever onward. Instead, these days we get an email that once read is lost in the daily onslaught of incoming information.
It’s just not the same.
I’m not saying that things should be changed, they shouldn’t. Electronic submission is the quickest and most efficient way to get anything done, I guess I’m just saying that in the good old days, you know the ones where I had to walk one mile uphill to school in the morning and then walk one mile uphill home in the afternoon?, there was a certain distinction and incentive-spurring quality to the now defunct hardcopy rejection letter that I do, along with Turkish Taffy, sorely miss.
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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.
Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).
You were wondering how I would fit in the Turkish Taffy, weren’t you?
A friend of mine is an aspiring writer who’s very much struggling with handling the rejection. I’ll inform her right away about this little piece of motivation. Thanks for sharing!
Rejections are nothing to be feared, they are simply someone else’s opinion.
Wendy
I received my first “your article doesn’t fit what we are looking for email”. I printed it out and kept it for motivation and promptly started my own blog. It probably doesn’t fit what “we” are looking for since it doesn’t have many readers yet. But at least it exists. I am printing out your list to put with my rejection to give me hope!
Thanks!
joylaughclub.com
I silently have the urge to ”reject” the rejection letter, with a ”yada blah, blah – your loss” response, but alas, this is nature of the industry…so we boowoo with sugar
and try again
Oh absolutely, I don’t go gently into the night with any of my rejections letters, instead I damn the authors for being too naive to see the brilliance in my work.
Sour grapes rule.
Wendy
For a less experienced writer, reading this was a huge boost of confidence for me. I guess there’s no shame in ‘failing to appeal’ now and again. Thanks!
Fall 7 times, get up 8.
Wendy
Great advice regarding rejection. Let us know how your chicken book comes out. Thanks, Linda Harper
Still working on that book, getting closer, thanks. You know I’ll be writing about the process along the way.
Wendy
A couple of years ago I made a resolution to get 100 rejections in a year, because I’d heard some great work of literature had been rejected that many times. My theory was that to get that many rejected, I’d have to submit at least that many times. I didn’t quite make my goal (40 actual rejections out of 77 queries sent) but it made it kind of fun to receive the rejection letters.
I did find, however, that those agents and publishers who required snail mail queries were more likely to send back an actual rejection. Most that used email only just said they’d only contact you if they were interested. I’m not sure if either way is better. Sometimes rejections will give that little hint of feedback that can help. I find that submitting via email is much easier on my part, however – no trips to the post office and printing out reams of paper you’ll never see again!
Kate!
What a lofty goal! See? All you have to do is change the mindset and rejection letters become a goal – brilliant.
Wendy
I much prefer electronic submission over the more traditional way. Submitting my queries and proposals electronically is less time-consuming. . . It cuts out all of the extra whatever i.e. waiting for the post office to distribute my letter. Besides I don’t have to keep a ton of envelopes and stamps handy which eventually ends up cluttering one corner of my bedroom.
I’m with you, electronic just makes so much more sense.
Wendy
Ah, 90 days of running to the door every time you hear the postman and then finally the envelope arrives and…nope, rejection. They can certainly be demoralising after a while. There was a time when I had a rejection from one agent who recommended two to me. I thought, ‘This is it, I’m finally getting somewhere – surely one of these agents will see my talent’. But when I got rejections from both of the recommended agents I was so crestfallen I actually cried.
Now thankfully, the electronic age has opened up possibilities to submit electronically and receive much quicker reponses (or rejections!), and there’s also the self-publish via Amazon KDP or Smashwords etc. to spur all of us writers onwards and hopefully upwards!
I really enjoyed the article (and the list – I think I probably would have rejected Carrie to! Definitely not King’s best!).
Thanks
David
David,
Never, never, never give up. That’s all you really need to know about writing.
Never give up.
Cheers,
Wendy
I have noticed a trend recently that some editors don’t send rejections, even electronically. This really makes it difficult when I might want to send a query to another market. I try to follow up, but would appreciate a quick form email rejection. I think it would save everyone involved some time.
Electronic submissions make it easy for everyone to send in a submission. That means that agents can get inundated with email. The general rule of thumb is that if they don’t contact you after a few weeks then they aren’t interested.
Also, and this is personal opinion, I don’t think you should submit to only one agent at a time. Throw your bait into the waters and see who bites.
Wendy
Thanks for this!
I have heard that some agents take only snail mail submissions to avoid being inundated by robo (mass) mailings. I don’t know if this is true or if those agents are simply Luddites. Also, I’ve notice that some very reputable agents limit their web presence (possibly for the same reason?). Anybody have insight on this?
Even if the top agent in the world used snail mail, I still wouldn’t send to them. It’s a waste, it’s expensive and let’s face it, it’s a dinosaur.
I do think that some agents do limit their web presence but if you follow their submission guidelines, you can usually get through.
Wendy
I haven’t sent my MS out yet, but I’m going to start querying soon. This article makes me feel better! I’m sure I’ll get a whole gad of rejection letters, but hopefully (*crosses fingers*), someone will see talent and possibility.
Reading posts like this gives me hope that if it doesn’t happen with this MS, it’ll happen eventually.
oh something will happen eventually, just stick with it and most importantly LEARN from the feedback you receive along the way.
Wendy
Inspering article!! Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it.
Wendy
There are always lots of people out there who will love one’s work… unfortunately, most of them don’t work for publishing companies.
So true, but there’s always your mom
Wendy
I received my first “your article doesn’t fit what we are looking for email”. I printed it out and kept it for motivation and promptly started my own blog. It probably doesn’t fit what “we” are looking for since it doesn’t have many readers yet. But at least it exists. I am printing out your list to put with my rejection to give me hope!
Thanks!
joylaughclub.com
Good for you. Build it and they will come.
Wendy
Wendy, I say hooray and bring it on for email submission practices, especially when it comes to queries. Phooey on collecting all those rejection letters. By the way, do you know the accurate count for the number of rejections THE HELP received?
The Help was rejected 60 times before it found a home. As always, carry on.
Wendy
Maybe paper rejections are gone for good, but BONOMO TURKISH TAFFY IS BACK!!! http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/jump/productDetail/Food_&_Candy/Candy_&_Chocolate/Nostalgic_Treats/Bonomo_Turkish_Taffy_(Pkg._of_Eight_1.5_oz._Bars)/56111
Great blog Wendy – I love it when agents will take work via email, but the rejection letter has much more weight. I know I’ve heard the stories before, but it was v. reassuring to see again the number of rejections significant works have had. We just have to keep on keeping on.
Thankyou.
Wendy,
FYI, Turkish Taffy is baaaack! And I can get it for you. Strawberry? Banana? Chocolate? or Vanilla?
Deb.
Thanks for a wonderful post Wendy. Something struck me as I was reading. I think what is more incredible than the number of rejections, is the number of times each of those authors you listed said to themselves, “No, I have something here and I believe in it enough to put it out there again!” Persistence pays. Good luck to you in all of your writing.
I think we all struggle with rejection of all kinds, and that fear keeps many of us from trying. Rejection isn’t always bad. Sometimes we can learn from those rejections, making us better writers and sometimes we just need to find the right hands to get that manuscript in.
I thought ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ had also been rejected numerous times (hence the title, a code between the postman and the author, James M. Cain), but checking this out on Wikipedia and a few other sites, it appears to be a bit exaggerated. Thank you for this timely reminder and words of encouragement.