I was ready to submit and had researched various literary agency websites. My covering letter, synopsis and manuscript were polished and ready to go. I felt a sense of euphoria when I actually posted that A4 envelope off or clicked ‘send’ on the messages I sent. There was nothing to do but wait for the positive replies to come in!

Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way. You see rejection may be presented in many different forms, but they all the mean the same thing: No means No!

Let me run you through the different forms of literary rejection. Please note that these are actual replies and not ones I’ve made up.

I can’t be bothered replying to you ‘No’:

This is where the agent doesn’t even bother getting back to you. They may have read your work or may not have. For all you know there is…