A rejection slip is a notice to a
freelancer
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
, particularly a freelance author, that a submission has been taken from the
slushpile
In publishing, a slush pile is a set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts that have either been directly sent to a publisher by an author, or which have been delivered via a literary agent representing the author who may or may not be fami ...
, read or examined, and rejected for purchase. The format may range from a
form letter with one or more boxes checked off, to a lengthy handwritten note explaining in detail why the piece is not being purchased, often inviting the freelancer to make further submissions.
Due to the central role of rejection slips in the life of a freelancer, rejection slips play a large role in creative culture, being the subject of many cartoons, stories and even poems.
Charles Bukowski's first commercial sale was a
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
titled "Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip".
"Aftermath of a Lengthy Rejection Slip" and note. ''Bukowski.net'' website
/ref> Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
, better known for his prose, wrote a poem titled ''Rejection Slips
"Rejection Slips" is a comic poem by American author Isaac Asimov, written in 1959 for the collection ''Nine Tomorrows''. It intends to illustrate the three approaches of the most important editors in science fiction at the time (John W. Campbel ...
''.
References
Publishing
{{Publish-stub