Rejection. And how to deliver it.

Years ago I read something about the poet and editor, George Hitchcock. Because I was intrigued, I went onto Amazon and bought his book "One Man Boat." You can find it here.

My favorite part of Hitchcock's compendium was these elegant--and funny--rejection slips he'd send to poets whose work he couldn't use.

I guess there's something to learn in these from those of us in the business. 

Often, a large part of our jobs is rejecting work that's presented to us. 

It's sometimes nice if you can do that with a bit of charm, gentleness and even wit.

Generally speaking, people are still upset, no matter how you reject them. But they might feel a bit less disconsolate if you treat them with a smidgen of decency and respect.

Here are all the Hitchcock rejection slips I could find. They make me laugh.