Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf of rejection?

“Non-selected entrants” caught my eye on a contest website. Reading the full article I realized that non-selected equaled rejected. This contest promoter chose a nondiscriminatory term to lessen the pain. The contest administrator or judge assumes the unpublished entrant will be less offended by rejection masquerading as non-selection. Does that lighten the blow of the falling hammer on the road of hopeful thoughts? From “maybe the publisher received too many entries in my genre,” to maybe this or maybe that, the truth emerges from the candy-coated term. Even when rejection is dipped in rich dark chocolate, it is bitter.

After reading this middle-of-the-road stance by the contest host, I’m glad I didn’t submit. Not that I fear non-selection. I don’t want to be published by a promoter afraid of the big bad wolf of rejection.

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