Okay, the world is not beyond delivering me pleasant surprises. As I mentioned in my “Rejection” post, the manuscript is still out at my first-choice press. Last week, the returned manuscript from the second-choice press arrived in my mailbox at work. Knowing what it was, I decided to leave it there without opening it. I would deal with it later.
Today when I checked my mail, there was more. The more included a second large-ish cardboard envelope that looked disturbingly like the first. I glanced at it quickly as I gathered up my mail, now ample enough to require both arms. The new arrival was from the US, where the other press is located. The green customs form on this second package said “printed matter.” I could feel my spirits, which were quite good after a pleasant walk in, slipping. I made my way out of the mail room up to my office and shut the door. If I’m going to open something that I know in advance contains “news,” I need privacy. I threw all the other mail down on the desk and looked at the package.
During the walk from the mail room to my office, my mind had been way too active. Why, I wondered, would the editor send it back without even so much as an e-mail warning when we’ve been corresponding by e-mail for months. How severe were the reviewers reports? Where would I send it now? Should it go today? How much do I care about the quality of the press? I reminded myself of my own piece about rejection, where I said that it’s not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the piece. Suddenly, the words “not necessarily” took on a heightened importance. That means it’s possible that the thing is garbage. Stop it, I said to myself.
I groped at the edges of the package, trying to decipher whether its contents was my manuscript. It felt different. Smaller, lighter, firmer, more contained. I took a deep breath and assured myself that I could handle this, whatever it may be. I ripped the strip across to open the package and tore open the cardboard. A fully bound, very attractive book fell into my hands. And one of the pieces in the book is something that I wrote. I was so fixated on fending off a rejection tailspin that it didn’t even occur to me that the package might contain a success. In the future, I will try to regard un-opened mail with less suspicion.
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6 comments:
CONGRATULATIONS! Tell us more--what was the chapter about? That's so great! Go you.
Thanks, Bug. It's really not all that exciting. It's a philosophy article that I wrote, that was later revised into a chapter of said manuscript. It's always nice to see things in print, but often by the time they appear I'm quite tired of them. That's the case with this particular piece.
I agree with Bug--It wasn't a rejection- that makes it exciting. Sometimes when we're entrenched in our own ho-hum world things seem mundane that to others is intriguing. We're all intrigued by your philosophy publications!
Thanks, Repeater. I guess I am jaded. But I appreciate you guys being intrigued by my phil. pubs.
Hey, you! Don't downplay the successes!!! That's way, way cool. Is there any way you can post (or e-mail) us a link to this article????
Congrats...
I always know when I'm getting rejections because they come in the self-addressed stamped envelopes that we're supposed to provide to publications. It's reached a point that I loathe my own handwriting. Ha!
Oh, in philosophy they sneak these things in your mail because we don't do the SASE thing.
No links to the article -- in print only. I'll make a copy (believe me, one will be enough) for people to peruse in January. You can all look at it over lunch! I really do appreciate how interested you all are in this aspect of my writing.
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