Mary Deal
Sitemap
My Blog
Success Story
Contact Author
Read
Reviews
Books
· Write It Right-Tips for Authors - The Big Book
· Write It Right - Tips for Authors, Volume II
· The Howling Cliffs - A Sara Mason Mystery
· Off Center in the Attic - Over the Top Stories
· Legacy of the Tropics
· Write it Right - Tips for Authors, Volume I
· Down to the Needle, a thriller (Hardcover)
· Down to the Needle, a thriller (Paperback)
· River Bones, a thriller (Hardcover)
· River Bones, a thriller (Paperback)
Short Stories
· Grandpappy's Cows
· Any Way You Distort It
Articles
· Opening Scene - Down to the Needle
· Let the Dialog Speak
· Books on CD Interview - Terry W. Lessig, Producer
· Forensic Evidence in Plots
· Unfinished Manuscripts: A Tribute
Poetry
· Writer's Block
· Pigeon Modem
· Naked Night in the Tropics
More poetry...
News
· A Free eBook
· A Big Award for River Bones
· My Novel, The Ka, in Amazon's Top 100 - Twice
· Live Interview on BlogTalkRadio
· River Bones, a Winner
· River Bones is a Finalist
· New Writing Contests
Events
· Win-A-Book Competition - Three Winners
· Call for Submissions
|
|
Mary Deal, click here
to update your web pages on AuthorsDen.
|
|
|
|
|
Blogs by Mary Deal
Interpreting a Rejection
6/6/2008 9:58:05 AM
Finding positive information among the bad.
Fiction is supposed to be written so true to life that the reader suspends disbelief and becomes engrossed in the story - feels it, lives it while reading.
I received a rejection of a short story that was both positive and negative. The first paragraph of the rejection was this:
We are sorry to tell you that we are not accepting your story "Mashed Potatoes" for inclusion in our anthology. We recognize that you, like many of the people who submitted, are writing about experiences very close to your heart. We thank you for so generously sharing these experiences with us. We are the richer for it.
The negative aspect, of course, was the rejection itself.
The positive was that they seem to think this story was real and about me or someone close to me when they say "...very close to your heart." This story is only close to my heart because it is a product of my imagination and writing ability. It is fiction and seems so real that the editors did suspend belief and ended up thinking it was real.
My writing is great. The story just didn't fit with the caliber of prose they accept for their books.
After many years of writing, I've learned not to be disheartened by rejections, but to find some good in them when comments are included.
Post a Comment new!
More Blogs by Mary Deal
• On-Going Writing Competitions - Tuesday, January 27, 2009
• Two More Short Stories Accepted - Monday, June 09, 2008
• Interpreting a Rejection - Friday, June 06, 2008
• Praise for my Web Site, writeanygenre.com - Thursday, May 29, 2008
• My Short Story, Pupule - Tuesday, May 27, 2008
• Book Tours - Thursday, May 08, 2008
|
|
