Writers reading between the lines of rejection
For a brief, shining moment in the fall of 2023, writers of the world united in revolt against the tyrannical query system of representation and publishing—turning all their disappointment, frustration, angst, self-loathing, fear, bitterness, worthlessness, and hopelessness into poetry.
That’s what writers do: they turn feelings into words. But this time it was not just any words. The writers twisted the words of the very publishers, editors, and agents who were making their lives miserable.
The end result is the latest form of “blackout poetry“—this time drawing on the heartbreaking rejection letters that most writers get by the mailbagful from publishers, editors, and agents responding to the writers’ queries. The product was dubbed a few other things, but “query rejection blackout poetry” is the label I like most.
All across the writing universe, writers chose from among their most depressing rejection letters, redacted all the words that got in the way of the true meaning, and threw them to the faces of their cold-blooded oppressors, via tweets on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (and presumably on other social media that I didn’t bother checking.)
Writers revealed what they’re reading between the lines.
Mean? Spiteful? Cathartic? Funny? Community-building? Soul-cleansing? Healing? An obsession that became a distraction from all the real work of being a writer, like writing?
Yes, Ma’am; it was all those things.
Unfortunately, it also was so last week. The starburst of creative indignation lasted only a few days before burning out, leaving writers lying there, spent, satisfied, needing a cigarette or something.
Anyway, I figured someone needed to document this mini-fad. Here are some of the best query rejection blackout poems I came across between October 30, when I first noticed query rejection blackout poetry, and November 4, when the flow had dropped off considerably:
The very best query rejection blackout poems left no doubt why a writer or the work had been rejected, or at least how the message felt to the writer:
Others were just short and unsweet:
Some needed at least a little explanation:
Blackout poetry rejections sometimes crossed the line into condescension:
And sometimes you have to pity the poor editor or agent:
Some editors offered blunt advice:
Others were stuck between appreciation and offense, trying to remain graceful even in horror:
Other editors tried, and likely missed, to understand the writer’s own struggles:
Others made it clear that a writer’s personal problem was not a concern:
And of course, some writers might be a little scary to reject:
Of course, it’s not always personal:
Then again:
Of course, sometimes we’re talking about poetry or very-layered, deep writing, so the response has to be up to that:
Ultimately, it’s the writer’s loss. And some of the editors and agents know it:
What do you think? Share your favorite rejection letter blackout poems, or your thoughts on these, in the comments, please.
