Here’s a blog worth visiting when you’re mired in one of those dark nights of the soul when you fear no one will ever publish your work: Literary Rejections on Display. You’ll probably laugh, and at the least, you’ll see that you’re not alone. Plus, there’s some good info…for example, that Ploughshares regularly takes EIGHT MONTHS to respond. Just something to keep in mind if you’re that rare writer who doesn’t send out simultaneous submissions.
Also, here’s a delightfully juicy bit of revenge that writers live for: an agent’s assistant rejected a submission, but then the agent himself wrote saying how much he liked the work and wanted to see more. Alas—the writer had already signed with someone else! Sweet!
(Link via the new issue of Poets & Writers magazine.)