My Favorite Rejection Letter
All writers get rejected, sometimes it’s worth remembering.
Black Leather and Glass is a short story about the time I almost started a race riot at a gay leather bar on the West Side of NYC. I submitted this story several places and received the following letter.
Dear John,
Thank you for submitting your work, entitled “Black Leather and Glass,” to our Literary Review. We are sorry to let you know that we have not selected your work for publication.
Our editors found much to admire in this story, and we enjoyed the playful irreverence of the voice most of all. It’s pretty amazing that this voice can pull off moments like “I am a despicable, white-trash, American bastard” and make them feel lighthearted.
At times, we felt that the language in this piece isn’t fully integrated by the voice; some of the descriptions of Nicole and the patrons of the gay bar, in particular, come off as more misogynist and homophobic than it seemed they should given the nature of the story, and we felt if we knew more about the narrator, that would help to make sense of his choice to use the words and characterizations he does. We know he “loves Jesus” but it’s very difficult to assess to what degree that’s serious or facetious or, more importantly, what that means in terms of his worldview and experience prior to this story.
We also felt that the narrator could use a lighter hand, at times, in directing us in how to read the story, such as when he points out the pattern of asking for trouble but carrying on anyway.
We appreciate the talent and skill that goes into every manuscript sent our way, but we must whittle the submissions down to those few that best exemplify the identity of our journal and our personal editorial tastes. Unfortunately, this piece isn’t for us.
