Worse than a rejection

There's nothing worse than getting a rejection message, right?

Wrong. If you get a rejection, then you know someone has read your manuscript, and may even offer you some feedback to improve for next time.

If you get a rejection, you can wear it as a badge of honour, ala Stephen King style. Pin them to your noticeboard. Keep them in a folder. Share the number in interviews when you finally do get published.

So what's worse?

Silence.

Nada.

Being completely ignored.

That seems to mean that your manuscript was not even worth wasting energy on writing a rejection email. That's my reading, anyway. Or maybe it just didn't get read at all.

So if you get a rejection message, congratulations. That's a sign of encouragement. Me, I'm still waiting for mine.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash