What's behind this site
The life of a creative is tough. For starters, you're constantly surrounded by those less brilliant than you. That might be alright if it wasn't for the fact that more often than not, it's these same people who you are at the mercy of when it comes to getting your work out there. Let's face it; lawyers and accountants and marketing people are calling the shots these days. It's all about ROI, focus groups, and mitigated risk factors. Everything now comes with a dollar sign affixed to it, and sadly, your novel/screenplay/poem/interpretive dance/etc. is no different.
Let's say you're a writer who works a grueling 9 to 5 and when you're not doing the white collar equivalent of slinging hash, you pour your heart and soul into your great American novel. Each day you confront a blank page that mocks you while it simultaneously begs for yours words. But it won't accept just any old noun, verb, or modifier; it demands much more than that. And when your attempt to delve into your soul and bring back words of gravity and profundity fails, mediocrity is your bedfellow that night. Yet, you carry on. Months pass. What was once a mission mutates into an obsession. You realize that your very sanity has come along for the ride.
Then, abruptly, the unthinkable happens. On an otherwise unremarkable day, with your heart roaring and your throat parched, you pound out the last sentence of you novel. You force yourself to blink, and when you pry your lids apart, you see the same words that you thought had only be dreamt. It's over now. You have stood at the gates of Hell and lived to tell the tale. Now all that's left is for the world to be made aware of what you've done.
And when you send it out to a literary agent, what does he do with your novel/baby? If you're anything like the rest of us, he gives it a perfunctory glance before firing off a form letter that unceremoniously dismisses your work. Sure, he likes it, the letter reads, but it's just not what he's looking for right now and best of luck and all that. Bottom line? Rejection, pure and simple.
Shit.
FlatOutRejected.com feels your pain. In fact, we've been there ourselves, and the proof is on this site for everyone to see. Don't shred that rejection letter or purge the brush-off email. Join us instead. Send it our way. We'll post it. Think of it as group therapy without the mandatory meetings. C'mon. You'll feel better.
Who's behind this site
Brian Dunn is a writer who's currently shopping his novel to literary agents. Once he gets a bite, you'll know about it.
