I got my first rejection on the manuscript for my rural crime novel, BURY ME BENEATH THE TWISTED TREE, last week. It hit a little harder than the rejections from short works. I’m used to those.
Today, the rejection finally felt distant enough I could turn it into blackout poetry.

There are still three publishers in this batch of submissions, so I’m expecting three more rejections. But, I have no plans of stopping there. I’ve already started polishing and revising for the next batch after getting more feedback from early readers.
Most of us are conditioned to avoid rejection at all costs. One nasty rejection is all it takes. What’s your rejection story? How do you feel about it now? Did you learn anything?