Dear Nobody,

If you've ever submitted your work to anything you know the soul crushing feeling of rejection.  If you're like me you feel it quite often.

"Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil - but there is no way around them." ~Isaac Asimov

My first time submitting my work for something was in 8th grade. I was in theatre and wanted to write a play for my class to perform. I started writing it in October and finished it early January. I had kept my theatre teacher updated on the goings on of the story. The day when I finished editing I printed out all twenty pages and proudly handed it to my teacher. As time moved forward he announced that another girl in my class had written not a stage play but a screenplay for us to perform. It was awful for my self-esteem. I confronted my teacher and he told me that the seventh-grade class would be performing the play instead. I was disappointed but I went home and re-edited the entire play, making everything as perfect as I could. I waited two weeks for him to ask me about my play. I then gave him the completed script again tired of waiting. I found the script in the trash behind the stage. That year the seventh grade did not perform the play I wrote and the eighth-grade movie is by far the most awful thing I've ever participated in and I refuse to ever align myself with it.

The next year I was in high school. My new and better theatre teacher came up to me after noticing me writing a lot and started talking to me about writing. After listening to me for a while he encouraged me to write for the youth writing competition going on in my state. I had four months to write a play I was proud of. It took me three months to write it and the last two edit it to my standards. I got really proud of that story. That's when I got my first ever rejection slip. My play was not considered at all. The slip didn't even say why. My teacher who had also received a copy told me that if we ever had the means to put the play on he would contact me straight away.

These two instances have one thing in common, they were plays. The last thing I can write is a play. I write stories I like detail and description. So I decided to go back to what I actually like doing, stories. 

I've probably submitted about ehhh fifteen short stories in the past six months. I've submitted to magazines, reviews, presses, and publishing agencies alike. about eight of them are still active the rest weren't considered. 

If you've never seen a rejection email you're about to.

Dear [me],

Thank you for your interest in our [whoever I submitted this too] and for the chance to review your work. Unfortunately, the editors did not select your submission for inclusion in the upcoming issue. Though we will pass on your submission at this time, we love your style, and we encourage you to keep submitting elsewhere and to keep creating. We know you'll find a good home for your work!

[whomever I submitted to]

You receive one of these after like two months of anxiously waiting. Sometimes, they don't even open the document you sent them! THEY JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER LETTER.

I've currently submitted my longest work yet to two publishers. One small publisher that will make it into an ebook if accepted and one Large publisher that will actually publish. The small publisher has shown interest but hasn't contacted me out right. 

Submitting something can be tough and mentally exhausting but remember. Many many many authors get turned down several times before hitting fricken jackpot. I probably won't hit jackpot but maybe I can make someone smile which is so much better than jackpot.

Thanks for listening,

The WritingEvil

bad joke- You know some people say they pick their nose but I feel like I was born with mine.