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The Rosetta Stone of Rejection
There’s a little-known resource that makes it easier for writers to decode rejection letters.
Thank you so much for sending us XXXXXX. This time, however, we’re saying no, but we wish you the best of luck with your piece.
While we are grateful to have had the opportunity to read your work, we’re sorry to say it isn’t a good fit for us at this time.
Thank you for sending us XXXXXX. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not for us.
Rejection sucks. It seems to always slither into my inbox at inopportune times, souring my mood. While it’s an inevitable reality for most writers, I’ve found it valuable to know that there can be victory even in defeat. It might seem like there’s a binary of accepted/rejected, but not all rejections are the same.
Literary journals and magazines often maintain an internal hierarchy of rejection notes that go out to writers. There’s the “standard rejection,” but there are also “tiered” rejections, which you might get if your piece made it through a few rounds of consideration, or was a near-miss. And finally, there’s “personalized” ones that might include specific comments on your writing.
