What was your strangest or most frustrating rejection?

I did as he asked, and when he wrote back he said "I found it really well written and engaging, and it kept my attention all the way through, which is tough.  But I didn't love it.  So I'll pass."

-scottajohnson

I feel your pain, brother.  I have gotten that one too -- although for some reason more frequently in the screenplay world than from editors of prose (probably because I haven't done any searching for a literary agent).  Managers, agents and producers seem to really enjoy giving the "liked it, didn't love it" response.  You're left thinking, "But... you didn't say one negative thing about it!"

:-P

Not really a strange one but there is a bizarre story I wrote about 8 months ago that I dearly love. It is called All Due Stories are Good in Time. It has wracked up an impressive rejection list:

Weird Tales - nice letter
Clarkes - form letter
Bizarro mag - not enough action
Strange Horizons - thanks but no
Niteblade - Great story but not right for us

I mean after all that I have to think the story just plain sucks but I really like it. I need to find some free site to post it on because it is collecting dust. Except they would probably reject it too :)

-Tim

Funniest rejection I ever got was simply a torn shred of paper that said "nope" on it.  I kid you not. 

-scottajohnson

I hope you framed it. 

I also hope you someday get a chance to slap that agent. 

-Tim

Not really a strange one but there is a bizarre story I wrote about 8 months ago that I dearly love. It is called All Due Stories are Good in Time. It has wracked up an impressive rejection list:
Weird Tales - nice letter
Clarkes - form letter
Bizarro mag - not enough action
Strange Horizons - thanks but no
Niteblade - Great story but not right for us
I mean after all that I have to think the story just plain sucks but I really like it. I need to find some free site to post it on because it is collecting dust. Except they would probably reject it too :)
-Tim

-crusis

BTW, I am not taking offense to anything said in this thread, I'm just trying to explain the other side of the equation.  I have been in the writer's side and I am now on the editor's side of it.

With over 90 subs to Wolfology, I am facing the daunting task of picking out the best of the lot and letting down a whole lot of people.  I am sure there will be a lot of writer's getting the "is not what I'm looking for," "does not fit this anthology," and "doesn't fit submission guidelines" letters.  Also, I am probably going to have to turn down a lot of good stories because they will be too similar to a story I do select for the anthology.  I am not looking forward to it.

I spoke with someone who worked for a literary agency.  They were the one who read through the slush  pile.  She ditched anything that had any grammar and punctuation mistakes right off the bat.  Another editor told me that if they aren't grabbed by the first paragraph, they don't read the rest of the story.  With so many submissions pouring in, every editor has to set their own personal rules to keep sane.

I mean after all that I have to think the story just plain sucks but I really like it. I need to find some free site to post it on because it is collecting dust. Except they would probably reject it too :)

-crusis

Tim, definitely do NOT give up on the story if you still believe in it.  Those are mostly very difficult markets to crack.  I've had to rack up more rejections than that before getting a sale.  One story had gotten rejected by a "for the love" (i.e. free) market and ended up selling to a paying one.  Dig through Ralan's and Duotrope and keep trying.

I had forgotten about the story until I read this thread. I'll probably try to find a home for it again someday. If it had zombies in it I would post it in the story section here. It is definitely bizarro.

I also can understand the 'not abiding by the submission guidelines' rejection as a commitment the editor has to the person who actually buys the book. S/he is expecting an anthology about,say,  zombies but half of the stories are about other undead types, vampires, ghoul, Jason etc. Don't matter if they are good stories, it wasn't what the buyer was actually after and so therefore feels a bit cheated.
I bought a book of zombie stories, expecting it to be mostly romero types but there were all sorts of weird crap in there that I didn't recognise as zombies in the slightest.

Well put.

I haven't had any strange or frustrating rejections lately, just a few "not for us" replies that took a long, long time to make their way back to me. 

I did get an odd one a few days ago, where a couple of editors for a flash site didn't like a piece I sent them that they claimed was too vague or something like that. It was kind of a character study, a 1,000 - word short about an overly religious woman turning to book burnings in order to "save" her community. I like the piece a lot, and plan on submitting it elsewhere, but man did they miss the point of the whole thing. 

Oh, well. It'll find a home somewhere, I'm sure. It's a good story, and someone's bound to like it.

Hi Jessica!  Guess we know each other from three places now!  Glad this is one of them.  :)

Yeah, looks like we do! Cheers!

I have the up most respect for editors. I cannot imagine reading the amount of stories and books that you guys do, and making decisions. I know that it would be very frustrating to me if I received stories that did not follow guidelines. 
 
I have been very fortunate that my pleasant experiences have been with Library Of The Living Dead and Coscom. You guys are great!  Sorry I got off topic.

Yeah, now that I'm on the editing side of the equation (and still submitting my own fiction like a madman) I have a better understanding of the "it didn't work for me" and "it's not right for the book" rejections.  I've had my share of them over the last few years.

My favorite rejection came from Chizine: "I think this story is too much for its own good."

I laughed my ass off because they were right.  I then promptly sent it to Comet Press' Vile Things anthology.  They liked the story, short listed it, then rejected it.  The story currently resides in a slush pile somewhere...*looks at watch as he waits for response*

The very first rejection I got was for my novel I'm trying to get published, but as my first experience of such a thing, it was pretty awesome:

I sent it to an editor at a publisher called Bloody Books, and I don't mind saying who (Anthony Nott) because he was a) very nice b) said some amazing things and c) told me he was happy for me to quote him :) The rejection came after about two months of email correspondance, where he really liked the story and, blowing my own trumpet here, thought it was the bee's knees.  Unfortunately, it wasn't right for Bloody Books (plus his boss wasn't as taken by it as he was :S ).  Simple as that.  Right editor, wrong publisher. 

The thing I find frustrating about this example though, is that I keep reading 'advice' like "don't say so-and-so read it as that just tells an editor it was rejected".  I get the point of this sentiment, but taking the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook as an example, they say "if anyone notable reads your manuscript and says something favourable about it, include this in your covering letter".  And in my case, I have a letter and several emails of awesome comments but apparently can't use them, despite the 'problem' being with the publisher not my work.  Well, you know what I mean.  You could argue I should have researched them better, but the truth is I honestly believed my stuff would fit with them, like I'm sure a fair few writers do with other publishers.

Anyway, that's the closest I think I'll get to a rant :D as you were

The funniest rejection I've had was a pre-rejection from a pro horror mag. They sent a form rejection but I hadn't got a sub with them. (I'd subbed to them a few months ago and got a reply).

It was obviously a mistake, but it just cracked me up. I could imagine them think "Hmmm, Debs hasn't subbed in awhile. She'll be sending us something soon, no doubt. Let's save her the trouble."

pre-rejection -- what a time saver.

Rev,

there's lots of good advice out there, but you've got to go what feels right with you. If you want to quote him, go for it.

And congratulations on getting such a fabulous rejection.

I hate hearing about all you talented guys with the crazy (and oftentimes positive!) rejections. Makes me sad. I KNOW it has to be frustrating. Deb--your PRE-REJECTION sounds the oddest of all!!I've NEVER heard of that....

Funniest rejection I ever got was simply a torn shred of paper that said "nope" on it.  I kid you not. 
The most frustrating rejection I got was recently.  An agent, who shall remain nameless, asked for a manuscript re-write.  I did as he asked, and when he wrote back he said "I found it really well written and engaging, and it kept my attention all the way through, which is tough.  But I didn't love it.  So I'll pass."
Talk about something that makes you want to sit down and weep...

-scottajohnson

As for the shred of paper---absolutely PATHETIC and even RUDE.
And as for the agent--He deserves to be kicked.