Dear Sir/Madame:

Thank you for your interest in our publishing company. While your manuscript was interesting, we are not currently in the market for that type of novel.

Best of luck on your literary journey.

Sincerely,
Publisher X

Harsh!

Have you ever wanted to submit an article idea/the great American novel to a publisher, but visions of a letter such as the one above haunt you in your dreams? Well, first of all, if you ever have a nightmare about sitting naked in English class, well, dreams of rejection letters wouldn't seem as scary. Anyway, while it might be discouraging to receive such a letter when you've poured your heart and soul into your masterpiece, know that even famous authors have been rejected at some point in their careers.

That's right. Kerouac, Orwell, and many other prominent authors were actually rejected. Why? I don't know. Maybe the authors needed to do some editing. Maybe the editor was having a bad day and rejected everything that came across his or her path. Maybe some poor intern spilled coffee on the manuscript, leaving it illegible. (I sure hope that intern got a stern talking-to!) Who knows.

Every aspiring writer should know this. Everyone gets rejected. So keep writing, and keep trying to get published. Live the dream. And maybe, someday, someone will be kicking himself for letting your masterpiece slip through his fingers.