Those Dreaded Form Rejection Letters

Has an agent or editor declined your manuscript with one of those blah form letters? Did you gnash your teeth and wonder what the heck it really meant?

"Thanks, but no thanks" is all you should take out of it. Nothing personal. It doesn't mean your manuscript sucks. It doesn't mean you suck, either. (Though that's the way most writers take it, especially when the envelope's just been opened).

If you keep getting declines, hire a writing coach like me or ask a good critique partner to check what you're sending out. Make sure it's the very best you can make it—then move on to the next set of names on your query list.

Evil Editor has a good blog post about rejection letters. Check out the comments after E.E.'s post, too.