On Monday night I received my second novel-related rejection.
When I received my first one back in March, it was a generic email titled “submission update” and the first sentence began with “Thank you very much for providing us with the chance to read your novel”. It was a single paragraph, without greeting or farewell, which essentially ended with “It’s not for us and have a nice life”.
This week’s email greeted me by name, and began “Thank you so much for submitting Shadow Sight”. It was ended with a “best wishes” and a signed name. After a moment to re-read it and double-check for any comments regarding feedback, I sent a reply thanking her for letting me know, and asking for any constructive comments.
If you don’t ask, you won’t get.
She wrote a pleasant “sorry, but no” and instantly, I’ve decided to try again at another point (perhaps with a different novel). That’s how rejections make a novelist – with friendly, human interactions between people who love the written word.