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My Most Hilarious Rejection Letters

Pamela Jane
3 min readAug 9, 2019

Rejection is the gift that keeps on giving! You’ve heard what people say about comedy coming from pain. That’s why I laugh at rejections. Be on the look out for these 10 standbys; they may show up in your inbox!

1. The rejection used to repair furniture

“When my office was moved yesterday, your enclosed manuscript emerged from under my desk. I am sorry.”

Hey, it’s okay to use my manuscript to prop up your desk!

2. The one-book-per-minute rejection

I once had ten picture book manuscripts rejected by an editor in ten minutes over the telephone. That’s a book a minute, an all-time record!

3. The “You don’t exist” rejection

I wrote an essay about my childhood fear that I didn’t exist, which was accepted by an internationally renowned journal. I was ecstatic. Now I’d know for sure I existed! Then, just before the presses rolled, my editor informed me that his boss didn’t find my piece “as charming” as he did, and my essay about nonexistence became nonexistent.

4. The rejection for a fan letter sent to a favorite author

Pamela Jane
Pamela Jane

Written by Pamela Jane

Pamela Jane is a children's author & essayist; her work has appeared in The NY Times, Wall Street Journal, NY Daily News, Writer's Digest, and The Writer.

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