Reject!
Rachel Toor of the Chronicle of Higher Education writes on what it’s like to reject writers, and to be rejected:
“Reject!” meant just send the form letter. You would thank those writers for submitting, say that “after careful consideration” their project wasn’t appropriate for our list, and then thank them again for thinking of us and wish them good luck.
“Nice reject!” meant give the same basic message but tart it up a little, to soften the blow: That meant adding phrases like “while your writing is a pleasure to read . . .” or, “As much as I would like to be able to publish your fine book . . ..”
She goes on to detail the internal process of manuscript evaluation, and explains that the sheer amount of material means everyone will have their successes and their rejections:
Occasionally, an intemperate author will fire back a response. Generally that is not a good idea. Lick your wounds for a while, and then figure out where else you can send the manuscript. Just because an editor rejected your first book doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be interested in your next. Don’t burn your bridges.
For those aspiring to publish, you’ll probably gain some insight into the process from this well-written piece.
