Rejection Letters

Everyone is familiar with the "Dear John Letter." A letter sent by a woman to a man madly in love with her who has found someone else. Dumped via a letter. These letters were usually sent to soldiers off fighting in wars on foreign soil. Their love, who promised to wait for the man's return, found someone new and was ending their relationship. These letters were viewed as the cruelest letter to receive. Many will argue in this new age, "text" breakups, are just as painful.

Writers will tell you the "rejection" letters/e-mail from potential agents and publishers are excruciating also. After writing what they believe to be the best book ever, writers send out their query letter letting agents and publishers know they have a manuscript the world needs to read. With hopes high and fingers crossed, writers wait for a reply of acceptance. To their dismay, "rejection letters" roll in quickly.

Some refusals are polite, instructive, and encouraging. Some rejections are brutal, insensitive, and cold. But writers know this is part of the process to become a published author and they continue sending their work out into the world to be rejected once again. Don't become dismayed. You are in good company. Many famous authors survived being rejected multiple times and we are forever grateful they did not give up.

• Margaret Mitchell was rejected 38 times before she published Gone With the Wind.
• Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected 144 times before they published Chicken Soup for the Soul.
• Robert Pirsig was reject 121 times before publishing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
• James Joyce was rejected by 22 publishing houses before Dubliners was published.
• Joseph Heller was also rejected 22 times before publishing Catch-22.
• Frank Herbert was rejected 23 times before publishing Dune.
• James Patterson was rejected 31 times before publishing The Thomas Berryman Number.
• Alex Haley received 200 rejections before seeing Roots in print.
• Jack London received 600 rejections before publishing his first story.
• J. K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishing houses in a row before Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone saw the light of the day.
• Louis L’Amour, whose books have sold 330 million copies, was rejected 200 times before he could publish his first book.

I am currently sending out queries for my book, When Will Eve Be Forgiven?, and I'm hoping not to become discouraged from the many rejection letters I'm expecting to receive. For my mental health I decided to try to engage with my fellow writers/authors as I obsessively check my e-mails for the wonderful ACCEPTANCE lettere-mail.

I enjoy INTERVIEWING people from different walks of life on various topics. I would love to share with others on my blog the agony of rejection letters and how writers find the courage to continue putting their work out there. I would love for my readers to be able to read some of the more INTERESTING rejection letters you have received.

AUTHORS!!! Participation appreciated for interviews regarding manuscript rejections. Answer the below questions, e-mail answers to rizerfall@yahoo.com, include your photo, state/country you live in (optional), work, book, links, and please share your rejection letter story. 

I need encouragement and I know other writers new or old to the querying process needs support and encouragement as well.

QUERY REJECTION INTERVIEW

1.    How long have you been a writer?

2.    Genre?

3.    Estimate your number of rejections so far in your career.

4.    Worse rejection letter received.

5.    How or what do you do to bounce back from rejection of your work?

6.    Best advice for writers regarding submitting their work to agents/publishers?

Help me spread the word about this offered insight and support for writers.

Thank you all so much for your participation and good luck in your journey.