Sweet Rejection

I finally heard from StorySouth yesterday on a story I submitted back in April (!). Of course, it was a rejection. Am I bummed out? Just a little. But what a rejection it was.

Usually, the rejection letter (or e-mail) says something like this: "We regret to inform you that your submission does not suit our needs at this time." Fun, right?

Well, here's my rejection from StorySouth:

"Angela, I'm afraid we're going to pass on this for now. We were fascinated by the subchapter organization and Garcia-Marquezish tone, but we still felt it needed a little more plot to connect the dots. Best of luck placing it elsewhere."

What was that? Fascinated by the subchapter organization? Garcia-Marquezish tone?

Did he say fascinated?

Best. Rejection. Letter. Ever.

And this is my reaction because a) I might be completely insane, and b) because, as my skin gets tougher, I'm also learning to take whatever nugget of encouragement I can get in the face of "no thanks." I'm choosing to overlook, for now, the suggestion of "a little more plot." I'll come around to that later, and I'm a big enough girl to admit he's probably right.

As a published journalist and a busy online writer, life's great. I'm still working on the creative writing side, however, and my ego is a bit more delicate there, so thanks StorySouth fiction editor Scott Yarbrough, for throwing me the proverbial bone. I'll chew on it for awhile, gratefully.

And, for the record, I'm now rereading "One Hundred Years of Solitude." That Gabriel Garcia Marquez really knows his stuff.