Comments on LitMatch.net: Encouragement for the Discouraged

Nice posts about a not-nice topic. A rejection for...

2009-09-30T12:19:36.208-07:00

Nice posts about a not-nice topic. A rejection form letter is not "constructive criticism," it's just a "no." Here's a poem I wrote on the topic when I was mildly less discouraged than I am today.

Paul Brucker

Thank you for submitting to our journal, but …

We always open the envelope, hoping to discover a gem --

A crap shoot is a gross understatement. As a write...

2009-03-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

A crap shoot is a gross understatement. As a writer who has been trying to get past those cold-hearted gatekeepers since the early seventies, I know just how impossible it is. You read all about these so-called sensitive, understanding agents who say they are looking for fresh new talent, but it means nothing. It's a smoke screen designed to make them look less horrible. Put your heart and soul

Well said--and refreshing. I've had some success a...

2009-02-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Well said--and refreshing. I've had some success and some of the opposite, and your comments ring true.

You are so right and it's quite refreshing to see ...

2009-02-03T14:48:00.000-08:00

You are so right and it's quite refreshing to see it from someone else's point of view. To often, we writers get caught up in that whirlwind of doubt and sadly, many put their pen and paper up - never to write again. Today's market is tough and the important thing to remember is to take each rejection as constructive critisism. As long as you love what you do, it shows in your work and many

That's exactly my point, Anonymous. Tastes are su...

2009-02-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

That's exactly my point, Anonymous. Tastes are subjective. You enjoy Paolini's work; I don't. We're both right, because there is no absolute measure of talent or marketability.

I think that if people like Christopher Paolini, w...

2009-02-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

I think that if people like Christopher Paolini, who can create amazing imaginary worlds just with words, are mediocre writers, then we all are below average.

Well Done - especially like Item 4.

2009-01-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

Well Done - especially like Item 4.

Thanks for this post. I am querying agents right n...

2009-01-29T06:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks for this post. I am querying agents right now, and I need all the encouragement I can get :-)

Thanks for the encouragement. It's so important to...

2009-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the encouragement. It's so important to hear. It hits me in the gut at least once a week that I will never publish anything and am a fool for trying. But I get up the next day and write some more and I fall in love with writing all over again that it melts my publishing worries away, at least for a while.