The REJECTION RASPBERRY thread

[Barbara]

I rejected my own work today. Do I get a raspberry?

I wrote something this afternoon but I hated it so much I deleted it. I think that deserves a Prrrrrrrrrp!

 

[Jonny]

Definitely not. It was the first page and I thought it showed bags of promise.

Instead you can have a round.of applause.
.

 

[Barbara]

Definitely not. It was the first page and I thought it showed bags of promise.

Instead you can have a round.of applause.
.View attachment 6351

Ah bless you. Thank you so much. It went belly up after. I tried to sort the page you saw and it went downhill from there. But, I think I have a way forward so I'll take the clapping with a bow.

 

[Mythobeast]

I couldn't find a good GIF for killing your children, but sometimes it's necessary.

 

[Barbara]

Can I have a raspberry please. Don't send me farts. It's too hot for those.

Actually, could I have raspberry ice cream?

 

[Mythobeast]

PTTTTHHHHHHP! Not sure what sound ice cream makes. Maybe mmmmmmmm.

 

[Jonny]

It's meant to be GIF but it's not Giffing well Giffing!


Link

 

[Barbara]

View attachment 6437

It's meant to be GIF but it's not Giffing well Giffing!Link

Perfect. Sod the diet.

 

[Eva Ulian]

Several years ago:
An agent after hearing my pitch for a novel.
"I really like the sound of that, can you send me something?"
*I send 3 chapters with full story breakdown (as requested) and I wait two weeks*
PING! email from agent: "It's a really commercial idea and I can definitely sell it for you. Perhaps we change X Y & Z to R S & T and it's game on."
*Spend four months rewriting and making alterations (we swap some emails during this period) and I then send back the fully overhauled MS*
PING! email later same day: "Looks great, I will be back to you as soon as I can with my notes."
I guess she must be quite busy currently
Since then not even a polite "Sorry, but this sucks even more than a hosepipe emptying a septic tank."
Reluctantly I was forced to accept I must have turned a promising elegant swan into a turkey - but she'd already read first three chapters and professed to have really liked them and the overall concept..
I was baffled. Still am. I thought I might've deserved the soft let-down at the very least. Ah well.


View attachment 6097

Maybe she left the agency, stopped being an agent, had a baby or coronavirus. You should have got back to her and asked if the work was still under consideration or could you withdraw the submission. And if still, she didn't answer- you are better off without her.

 

[Barbara]

A fart please. Anyone?

 

[KateESal]

Confartulations, Barbara!

 

[Jonny]

Here you go @Barbara

 

[KateESal]

One for @Galadriel

Confartulations on your rejection

 

[KateESal]

PS I just had one too. Raspberry required

 

[Barbara]

RAAAAASSSSSSPPPPPPPPPPLPFPFJIOHP

 

[Barbara]

One for @Galadriel

Confartulations on your rejection

A confartulation from me: Furz (that's Swiss, in case you're wondering)

 

[Rich.]

I've only just discovered this thread. How utterly fantastic it is!

One for @Galadriel
PS I just had one too. Raspberry required

 

[KateESal]

Welcome to the restorative power of fake flatulation, @Rich.

 

[Jonny]

For @Galadriel @KateESal Upwards and onwards!!!

 

[Julie]

I never knew this thread existed. Thank you all for your raspberries; I'm still wiping the splother off my face. Sure feels good to be in this group hug.

 

[Lex Black]

Another day, another rejection. I have stopped writing and submitting, and I'm STILL getting rejections. At this point, I'm wondering if an old ex didn't somehow attain Illuminati-like secret power in the publishing industry and constantly circulates worldwide memos saying "Under no circumstances publish anything by this individual!"

This time, I thought I'd try to make it a learning experience. So, I went over the "things we say you should do differently" section of the letter, and compared them to some other recent examples. I thought if I cross-referenced what various "professionals" note I am doing wrong to turn them away from the MS, it can give me a better idea of how to do things differently. I carefully compared what was said and what was suggested in three different samples.

This has led me to a conclusion: whoever writes these rejection letters pulls slips with things like "engage the reader better", "provide more backstory," "provide less backstory", "do better at worldbuilding," "less worldbuilding, more focus on story events," et al, out of a f(BLEEP!)king hat.

ROAR. How is everyone else?

 

[Tracey (T)]

Still haven’t worked out how to attach a gif so I’ll just send my commiserations instead. Don’t you just love the fact that they always seem to send the rejection emails on a Friday just to knock you down before the weekend. I say, just ignore them and carry on writing anyway.

 

[Rich.]

@Lex Black, just for you, this for them...

 

[Rich.]

Still haven’t worked out how to attach a gif

Go here (giphy.com). Search for the gif you want. Click Media to the right of the gif. Copy the GIF Link. Come back into Litopia. In the message box, click the Media button. Paste in the link, and you're done.

 

[Jonny]

@Lex Black

Commiserations - but as the old saying goes - upwards and onwards.

 

[Tracey (T)]

Go here (giphy.com). Search for the gif you want. Click Media to the right of the gif. Copy the GIF Link. Come back into Litopia. In the message box, click the Media button. Paste in the link, and you're done.

Thanks Rich, I'll have a go

 

[Lex Black]

Still haven’t worked out how to attach a gif so I’ll just send my commiserations instead. Don’t you just love the fact that they always seem to send the rejection emails on a Friday just to knock you down before the weekend.

Absolutely, and even moreso. A few months ago I submitted during the week, and had my rejection come late at night on that Saturday (like, 1130 PM when I was fighting insomnia kind of late). I immediately submitted to another venue and went to bed...only to find another rejection waiting for me the next morning.

Like, who the hell is up at midnight on Saturday/Sunday, reading and rejecting manuscripts for online publishing of short-form fiction? Is this a normal thing?

 

[AliG]

I've just sent a to a few agents so I look forward to collecting my crop of raspberries from you all shortly. Makes the process seem less depressing/negative.

 

[KateESal]

A general raspberry to *waves hands vaguely* all the crap stuff

 

[Barbara]

A general raspberry to *waves hands vaguely* all the crap stuff

That's a very cute raspberry.