All Things Rejection!

[-xXx-]

This is what I got back from TQR this morning:

When my boys were little, the only TV shows I censored were WWF wrestling and the Saturday morning G.I. Joe cartoons. The former struck me as sadism for the stupid and the latter imperialism for the idiotic. So, needless to say, my thematic biases against this Onslaught cap, even if it had been competently penned and edited rather than chock full of mispunctuated speech tags and incorrect and missing words, would have compelled me to spread it on the Floor, urinate and (if Carol would just turn her head) possibly defecate on it so as to impart to its too many pages enough weight and substance that the trebuchet we keep always at the ready here might sling the soggy mass as deep into the Porthole as possible.

Needless to say, I will NEVER send them anything else ever again.

-JJB

*adds to 2021 goals*
*'cuz one solid wow-that*
*can motivate*
sorry the response was, umm...intensely vivid.
sometimes less is more.

best,

[Darren White]

Needless to say, I will NEVER send them anything else ever again.

Wow... I'm speechless. What a jerk.

[JJBuchholz]

Wow... I'm speechless. What a jerk.

I was speechless as well. Then sad, angry, confused. I have NEVER seen any rejection that vile before.

-JJB

[Phil Istine]

I was speechless as well. Then sad, angry, confused. I have NEVER seen any rejection that vile before.

-JJB

If the purpose was to prevent you sending them anything else, it's certainly worked, but surely they must realise that with the worldwide web around, their rejection letter might be publicised. Even if they thought your writing was total crap, there are more professional ways of saying so that would deter you from submitting to them again.
Here's the rub though: due to their rudeness they have deterred others from submitting to them - others who they might wish to publish.
I've just sent them a message - using a fake email address that is very unlikely to belong to anyone.

[PiP]

This is what I got back from TQR this morning:

Needless to say, I will NEVER send them anything else ever again.

-JJB

WoW, JJB! How rude and unprofessional of them.

I was speechless as well. Then sad, angry, confused. I have NEVER seen any rejection that vile before.

-JJB

It is vile.

[JJBuchholz]

Even if they thought your writing was total crap, there are more professional ways of saying so that would deter
you from submitting to them again.

I'm no stranger to rejections, and I've received some that really hurt. That being said, all the rejections I have received (minus this one) have
maintained an air of professionalism, even when harsh.

This one was so vile and disgusting, that I had to share it here. I have never seen this before, nor do I wish it on anyone.

I've just sent them a message - using a fake email address that is very unlikely to belong to anyone.

Interesting. I wouldn't mind knowing how this turns out.

-JJB

[Pamelyn Casto]

This rejection looks like it came from a thoroughly nasty individual. I think it's disgusting what he said to you, JJB. How I wish people could stop even looking at their guidelines. It's too bad they can get so many hits and can set up so many people to try to destroy their belief in their work. A professional "no thank you" would have served just fine as a rejection but this jerk of a person had to take it into deliberate nastiness. JJB will never submit work there again and I will never even take a look there now (thanks to the results JB posted). That's unfortunate because it by our refusals to take a look he's hurting the poets he's published already. I hope they take notice of his nastiness and demand that he remove their work. I don't know why cruel comments have become so "cool," so in style lately. Enough with the cruelty!

[Matchu]

Yes, it was a most unpleasant post about your write on their public forum. However, that is their thing, it is what they do.

If it is any consolation my own personal public rejection/humiliation upon their forum made me never want to ever write anything ever ever again, affected my mood/ego/maybe my mental health considerably for several days, including today...the ‘yes, I am a jerk’ sensation, kind of thing.

So...writers be wary of TQR :/

[JJBuchholz]

This rejection looks like it came from a thoroughly nasty individual. I think it's disgusting what he said to you, JJB. How I wish people could stop even looking at their guidelines. It's too bad they can get so many hits and can set up so many people to try to destroy their belief in their work. A professional "no thank you" would have served just fine as a rejection but this jerk of a person had to take it into deliberate nastiness.

As writers, we are used to rejection letters that come in many forms. I myself have been rejected many, many times in the last four years since I started sending my
work out to publishers. That being said, these people went above and beyond (for the wrong reasons) what other publishers would do. I received some stern rejections,
with one even telling me that, "We don't publish sub-par work like yours."

That's fine, I can take that. But this rejection and the language it contained was so vile, the likes of which I have never encountered before. There is absolutely no
reason for anyone to be like this.

I don't know why cruel comments have become so "cool," so in style lately. Enough with the cruelty!

Some people seem to get off on being nasty and hurtful to other people. The reason why this bothered me so much is because I've had a rough few years, and
2020 has been the roughest ride so far (even though I got something published this year) and has left me completely stressed out and freaked about almost everything
right now. Writing is the only thing keeping me going, and to see that response was just....disheartening.

I really appreciate everyone here, as well as the kind words from all you. Thank you.

-JJB

[BornForBurning]

If the purpose was to prevent you sending them anything else, it's certainly worked, but surely they must realise that with the worldwide web around, their rejection letter might be publicised

TQR publicizes their rejection letters. I agree that it's disgusting, vile, evil, etc. But I also agree with Matchu...what were you expecting? Those guys are an open book. Take it or leave it. Don't play their game and then get upset when you get slammed by their rules. And for the record, I leave it. I don't believe in supporting that kind of thing. But regardless, see above. It's like people that go on imageboards to scream about how terrible imageboards are. What's even the bloody point?