How difficult is it to send an email that says, No thank you?

Very difficult, let me tell you.

I’ve been on the receiving end of those emails many times. Go check my email, in the folder labeled Rejections, and you’ll see what I mean. The myriad ways editors and agents have said “Not for us” spans far and wide, and over the years, I’ve learned how to take that rejection without shedding a tear. (As a quick aside, and if you want a great laugh, go read about the funniest version of a rejection I’ve received.)

But putting together several sentences stating—kindly and diplomatically—that what someone has worked so hard to create is not really for me (or for us)? Oh I think I’d rather have to eat eggplant than send a rejection letter (and let me be clear that I despise that vegetable).

But that’s where my writing family comes into play. Over the past five years, these ladies have taught me the correct way to say No thank you such that the person on the receiving end is neither angry nor saddened by the news. And over the past three years, I’ve learned just as much (and more) from the group of women I call my editorial family.

I’m a lucky girl, I tell you, and a lucky editor.

Picture of paper, pencils, and glasses by Jess Bailey at Pixabay.com.