Rejections suck. There’s no way around it. No one likes hearing that something they might have been working on for years is not worth anyone’s time. But you know, sometimes, rejection can be a good thing. Take the following, for example:
1. You get the story back and realize (after cursing the editor out) that it is the worst thing written since that thing you wrote in the third grade about the whale with hiccups). Seriously. I’ve gotten stories back that I thought were FAB when I sent them out. But when they came back…not so much.
2. You killed off that nasty neighbor of yours in a novel…but during the four months it was on that agent’s desk, she passed away. IN EXACTLY THE WAY SHE DIED IN YOUR BOOK. Damn, dude. Send that agent a thank you letter. She may have just saved you from years in prison.
3. Right after you sent the story off, you find a publication that is the absolute PERFECT home for it. Sure, you could withdraw the story, but what if they really want it? And what if the “perfect home” doesn’t? Being rejected save you a lot of decision making.
4. You mention to your child’s 3rd grade teacher that you write romance. She squees and says, “Oh, like Christy?? I am so buying your book when it comes out!” (your book is more like 50 Shades…) At least by the time the book makes it through another round of submissions, your son might be out of her class.
5. You get the story back, and, slightly depressed, you read it over. And then… something magical happens. The idea you’ve been waiting for all your life, the plot twist of plot twists! My gosh, how could you not have seen this before?!
And that’s actually what just happened to me. I was feeling low about a rejection I received, decided to hop in the shower, and while I was in there, figured out that I hadn’t pushed things far enough in the story. I hadn’t taken enough risks. There was so much MORE this story could do. It already received an honorable mention from Writers of the Future, it was a finalist in the Boston Fiction Festival. It was written fairy well. But it was just missing the big thing that would have made it different.
I don’t recommend reworking things every time they get rejected. Sometimes things just aren’t a good match for certain publications. Keep sending it out and it will find a home. But every now and then, the light bulb will go on, and usually you can tell when it is a good enough idea, worthy of rewriting your story.
Do you guys have any fun rejection stories?
Nights of Passion 
Never give up, Mel. Nice post.
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