Direct Quote:
Dear Alice Bateman,
Re: MS #0421
I have read the sample of poetry you have submitted to Wolsak and Wynn and regret to have to tell you that it does not fit our publishing programme. Though it has not worked out for us, I appreciate to have had a chance to see your work and wish you success with your writing.
Sincerely, etc....
And this does not mean you shouldn't send yours, Pam! Your poetry might be exactly what they need - and if they don't accept it, even the rejection letters make the fact of being a writer more 'real.' In this work, we have to be willing and ready to handle rejection, because every opinion is totally subjective. It is only one publisher's opinion and decision not to publish my work - what matters to me is the fact of writing itself, and the fact that I get to share my work with some friends and fellow writers who do appreciate me and my work!
Seriously, a lot of publishers set a policy decision each year about how many books they'll publish in a certain 'genre,' and I suppose this might be true of poetry book publishers too, I just don't know. Who does know what they're looking for? Only the publisher themselves, and they're not very forthcoming with information. Maybe my work is too 'standard' for them, maybe whatever, but I'm NOT going to look at it as if it's 'not good enough!' It's what I'm moved to write, and it is what it is. If it's not their cup of tea, oh well, their loss, that's how I choose to look at it!
Onwards and upwards, Ladies and Gentlemen, and do not be discouraged by the fact I've been rejected - I'm not discouraged by it, and I'm proud of myself for risking rejection by submitting something in the first place!
Love and Peace,
Alice