How weird is too weird?

A reader asked me, "How about how you differentiate between an exciting new idea and something that's just plain weird? Have you ever written anything that you loved, but others didn't quite get?"

First I'd like to quote from my favorite rejection letter:

"The majority of our editorial readers thought this story was just too odd for their tastes; it didn't appeal to any of them, although one editor found humor within your manuscript."

When I got the above rejection letter (the summer of 1997), ...