The Best Literary Rejection Letter I Ever Received

Plus a sneak peek behind the scenes of book making + easy soup recipe

Feb 24, 2025

purple flowers on paper — Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Rejection is a painful fact of life. We all experience it in some capacity, in the workplace and personal relationships. Yet, as with most things, it’s all in the way it’s communicated that makes all the difference. Personally, I’ve found that the rejections that tend to cut deepest are the one’s where there is a lot left undone, there is minimal communication from the other party and an abrupt ending. Whether it is going through the interview process for a new job or ending a relationship, the depth and length of the conversation vary but some form of open two-way communication is always best.

It can be challenging on both sides, communicating the rejection and receiving it however the one communicating it tends to hold the cards in shaping how it’s received. In both personal and professional circumstances, I’ve always appreciated a more direct, honest but kind approach because in the long-run that tends to hurt less and leave more space for a more positive reflection eventually on that experience.

In the literary world, with the over abundance of submissions to agents. it is most common to receive absolutely nothing back after you submit your proposal and draft of your book. If you are lucky you might receive a form rejection letter but at least you heard something, right? I get it. I really do, it’s not exactly a personal interview process unless you happen to have connections or are a celebrity or influencer with a huge platform. Literary agents receive more submissions than is humanly possible to review BUT considering the time, effort and care that it takes to develop and write a book it seems that there could be a better process. This is not a post about the literary world, which like other industries could use a lot of improvement but really about one of the best rejection letters I’ve ever received. Unbeknownst to most, I’ve been pitching stories and book ideas for some time. While my very first magazine story pitch was positively received and resulted in a decade long freelance nutrition magazine writing career, it’s been much more difficult to get any sort of response for my creative book proposals until last year.

I pitched my A to Z Love Letters Book 📕 to a literary agency that represents the kind of writers ✍️ I love and admire, who I would love to have a cup of coffee with and discuss life and writing and future book ideas. I got a rejection, but not just a form rejection with minimal feedback. The rejection was kind and extremely encouraging and included ideas on how I might consider moving forward. She liked the concept and felt it had real potential but the large publishers require a more developed platform in terms of an online presence. It was disappointing but all I could focus on was the fact that she actually liked the concept and thought it had potential. I reread that rejection letter a few times. It shifted my thought process to self-publishing but perhaps most importantly gave me that small amount of external validation that I needed to really put myself out there and just do it. It was the kind of rejection that provided not only redirection but growth and more peace in the creative writing process. It also provided me with the opportunity to collaborate with my wonderful illustrator and book designer and I’m excited to share a sneak peek of the cover she created for me in next week’s newsletter.

I hope to continue to use the literary agent’s rejection letter as an example and remember that the best approach to almost everything in life is being authentic, honest and kind. May we all continue to focus on how to continue to grow in that direction daily.

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