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Top 10 reasons your book, or story, gets turned down
It’s not the writing, it’s the bad street food the editor had for lunch
There are a lot of reasons your submissions to publications might get rejected. Many, maybe most, have nothing to do with you as a writer and are not a comment on your writing ability. When I say publications, I’m not talking about just Medium publications, but anywhere you might send a manuscript or a pitch for actual money.
I have been on both sides of the fence. The one submitting and getting rejections, and I have been the one choosing what to publish or what not to publish. There are many reasons for rejection. Maybe understanding these secrets will soften the low when it happens.
We should stop using the word “rejection” altogether. That isn’t what happens to your submission. They chose someone else’s story or idea. That’s all it is.
This assumes you have grammar check and spellcheck, and that you use this regularly. It also assumes you can basically write. It is possible that you do suck, but it’s highly unlikely. I would even go so far as to say getting published doesn’t mean you are a good writer either. “Good” writing is very subjective.