So I start work at Wal~Mart tomorrow. It’s some what of a depressing idea to be heading back to work, but all in all I know I’ll grow used to the idea sooner or later. I also woke this morning to find I have been sent a rejection letter, or rather a disqualification letter about a short story I had submitted a few weeks back. It was disqualified for a rape scene that takes place in the story. At first I was taken aback at this statement, I had recalled in the guidelines for submission that “we could let our sick little minds run wild” or something along the line to that. So I checked out the guidelines again only to see the part that I saw every time I have looked at those guidelines yet somehow kept over looking. “Keep it R-rated”.
Now I know what your saying, there is rape in R rated movies. That is true, but the rape in my story is like that you would find in the unrated dvd of the movie. It’s a very violent rape that implements using the woman’s own blood as lubrication. I let my sick little mind run wild and I didn’t spare the details. Maybe had I not gone into many details about the act, it could have went on to be my second story in print. Sadly I fear that I may have made a bad impression on the publisher, I don’t know and I too much of a chicken shit to just come out and ask. I’d be willing to remove the rape form the story, or at the very least just imply a very gruesome rape had happened.
Anyway, I will get onto the subject that I wish to cover in this post. People getting angry at publisher for rejecting them. See I never understood that, I have always taken rejection as a good thing, a thing that lets you know what areas that need improvement. Like with my rejection today, it was my fault, I wrote that story just for that anthology, I should have followed all the guidelines. What did I learn this time around? Follow the fucking guidelines better next time. I have no desire to send the publisher upset e-mails, telling them that they are wrong and I am right type of deal. What is the point of that?
I’ll admit there was one publisher that I, to this day stay mad at, because of their rejection letter. Out of all the people that ever rejected me this publisher sat out to not be helpful at all in their rejection, but to be as harmful as they could be. From calling me retarded to saying that my parents must have been morons for letting me think that I could ever write. Now a letter like this, I can understand getting upset at. I just never told them to fuck off like I should have. In the end I feel I give them the best fuck off that I could, I don’t even let people know the name of their small publication. With no word to mouth, and their higher then you rejections, they will not be around much longer.
As far as a normal rejection goes, I have never had a problem and I don’t see why other people do. In my mind you should always be nice to publishers, I mean if you’re to much of an ass to them they might just remember your name and pass you up the next time you try with them.
It really does bum me out that I didn’t make it in the book. I mean it is going to have the most kick ass cover art also. That’s just the way life is and the way the writing world works. You can either learn from it or let it destroy you.
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