In the same spirit as our recent post on Dear Rockers, you ought to peruse the archives at Catherine Wald’s Rejection Collection, which is the internet home to dozens of rejection letters aspiring (and established) writers have received from publishers, literary presses, and magazines not accepting their submissions. You may not find any heart-spearing prose here, but some of these accounts convey such a simplistic slap-in-the-face that you can almost feel, Braille-like, the misery and dejected worthlessness etched in raised, reddened skin.
Take, for example, the four letters that reject a book about the frustrations of having your work rejected. One particular rejecter even praises the book’s wit and cleverness. Still, he rejects the rejection book. It’s cute to the point of calling into question the authenticity of the supposed book and its rejection, but in the interest of Rejection Collection’s numerous pleasures, I choose to accept it.
(Thanks, Prospect.)
