Other People's Rejection Letters: Relationship Enders, Career Killers, and 150 Other Letters You'll Be Glad You Didn't Receive

by Bill Shapiro

Welcome to the rejection-letter hall of fame, where the hopes and dreams of celebrities (Jimi Hendrix, Andy Warhol, among others) are crushed alongside the aspirations of the rest of us. You’ll find handwritten notes from former lovers, nasty e-mails from would-be bosses, heated texts, crayon scrawlings, and surprising dismissals from Playboy, Disney, even the pope. To unearth this collection, Bill Shapiro searched America’s desk drawers, hard drives, and government files. But what at first seems to be a voyeuristic jaunt through other people’s flops is ultimately a testimony to everyone who has at least tried. And while rejection’s sting is painful, it is not lethal; here, you’ll see that one of the great universals is not only people’s desire for acceptance but also their ability to persevere.
 
BILL SHAPIRO is the editor in chief of LIFE.com and the former editor of LIFE magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Comedy, Anthologies, Reference, Sociology, Friendship

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

October 30, 2009

Louis Cyphre
No Souls Barred Literary Agency
Pandemonium, Hell 66666

RE: Your Client’s Submission

Dear Mr. Cyphre:

We are in receipt of a completed draft of the work, Other People’s Rejection Letters submitted on behalf of your client, William Shapiro. Upon submission, you referred to it as “a wonderfully fun little book.” Well, sir, you are a prince of lies because this book is nothing of the sort. As far as publishing it, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND? This horrendous chunk of corny-filled shit couldn’t find a place under our label if Mr. Shapiro sold his talentless soul to the devil himself.

Clarkson Potter is a publisher of literature, Mr. Cyphre. You must have seriously deluded yourself to think YOU could persuade us to release this CRAPtacular stain of a book. You asked for a “blunt and frank assessment” of the work in the event CP decided to pass on it. Fine, you got it...so buckle up.

It seems readily apparent to us at CP that Mr. Shapiro found himself in possession of a handful of entertaining or “historically” interesting examples of negative correspondence. These included:

1. A rejection of Gertrude Stein for her M.S. magazine idea;
2. The military discharge request for Jimmy Hendrix;
3. A letter from Jackie Robinson to President Eisenhower blasting him for asking black Americans to be “patient”;
4. A rejection letter to Andy Warhol from The Museum of Modern Art; and
5. A resignation from Jeff Harris as Executive Producer of The Roseanne Show.

We acknowledge and agree that this is good stuff, especially the Jimmy Hendrix and Jackie Robinson pieces. Kudos to Mr. Shapiro there.

However, since the small number of print worthy notes were not nearly enough material to justify an entire book (and the corresponding paycheck for same), your client sent out flyers, bulk emails or texts, mailers, etc. to everyone he knew asking for any kind of break-up letter, termination notice, legal document or intra-family communication, no matter how boring, trivial irrelevant or generally asstardy they were so he could “fill out” the book.

All this junky crapspam was then gathered up, presumably without even looking at it, and added to the few quality pieces to create the embarrassment submitted to us. That is not art, sir.

That is literary larceny.

SHAME...ON...MISTER...SHAPIRO and shame on you Mr. Cyphre for being a party to it. You must have “fallen” quite a ways to end up peddling this kind of hope-sucking spoog stain. Do you know that while we were discussing this submission during a recent editorial review session, our editors were so outraged that the meeting was cut short amidst angry catcalls of “what a McDouchetard,” “who is this Sir Painfully SucksAlot” and “why are we even tea-leaving this stool sample.”

It was not well received to say the least.

In summary, your client has provided CP with 5-10 interesting to moderately entertaining real life “rejection” letters and 140+ examples of the worst kind of filler since the 2008 U.S. Presidential Debates. The idea that anyone would pay $15.30 on amazon.com for this book is ludicrous. It just couldn’t happen and if it did those that bought it would certainly become irate enough to go on a psycho killing spree, desecrate churches and question the very existence of God. Who knows, Mr. Cyphre, maybe that kind of shock reaction is your goal after all. However, it is not what CP stands for.

Therefore, we at Clarkson Potter hereby formally reject this horrendous, evil piece of shit**********%%%$^&&^*(*&^%$#@!#$$#***(*()*&^^%%R*************
...................accept this wonderful, exciting piece of art for publication by CP. We can not thank you enough Mr. Cyphre for allowing us the opportunity to work with such a talented “soul” as William Shapiro. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship between Mr. Shapiro, CP and you, Mr. LewCyphre.

Warmest Regards,



______________________________
Martin M. McFly, Senior Editor


CC: Mr. Shapiro (via hand delivery)
The dirty van down by the river.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I requested this book thinking it would be mostly rejections for writers - this kind of rejection I have grown quite familiar with in recent years. This book, however, deals with rejections of all kinds, from job rejections, break-up letters, eviction notices, and parent/child dismissals.

Some of these rejections are for very well-known people, including an army discharge letter for Jimi Hendrix, citing a demeanor that indicates being stoned and masturbating while on duty; a NASA rejection for a future astronaut; Eleanor Roosevelt's quitting of the D.A.R.; a scathing letter from Harry S. Truman to Joseph McCarthy; and a cringe-worthy letter from F.Scott Fitzgerald to his daughter reprimanding her for her terrible behavior and expressing anger at himself for even marrying her mother.

The rejection letters from children, such as one child telling her mother she's running away and quite happy about it, or an 8-year-old boy calling his friend a "crap-ass" for popping his balloon, are hilarious. The notes between middle school kids who may or may not have had a crush on one another brought back so many memories of that time in my life.

Throughout are rejections received by one artist who turned all his rejections into a work of art.

I never knew there were so many ways to be rejected... and these are certainly letters I'm glad I didn't get! (Although there was one form rejected shown in a mass - all for one aspiring author - and I have the same exact form rejection hanging on my Wall of Rejection!). This book would appeal to anyone who enjoyed the PostScript books - while there was not the range of hope and sadness in this collection, there is a section at the end which does a "follow-up" for several of the rejections, so there was some hope!

[Trudi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this little book hoping for a few chuckles, and maybe even some inspiration. I should have read Stephen's review first, and saved myself the trouble... or just skimmed the official website.

This really is a sorry excuse for a whole book, but I'm going to give it two stars for several notable inclusions:

the "request for discharge" for a Private James M. Hendrix: Apparently Private James "requires excessive supervision while on duty" and can't refrain from playing with himself while on detail (snicker). He also "cannot function while performing duties and thinking about his guitar". (No shit. Maybe if Jimi had his guitar with him while on detail he could have refrained from playing with himself).

Jackie Robinson tells President Eisenhower to get bent:
This was the highlight of the collection for me as Mr. Robinson lets loose his indignation towards Eisenhower's asinine comment that Negroes just need to show more "patience". It's 1958, and Jackie's mad as hell and is not going to take it any more. His scathing letter is thoughtful, articulate and passionate.

1934 Application for Executive Clemency:
This one caught my attention because it is such a "real" document: you can get rejected for a lot of things and move on with your life, but if you're on Death Row and your application for clemency is rejected, you're fucked. As if to prove the point, you turn the page and this rejection is followed by a letter confirming the applicant's execution was successfully carried out. Reading those two documents side by side gave me the willies.

[Lori Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while sitting in the book store. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I turned the pages. Each rejection letter had its own poignancy -- some were heart-breaking, particularly the ones that were between parent and child (the one between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his daughter will forever color the way I read his books from now on). I thought it amusing that Jimi Hendrix was discharged from the military because he "thought too much about his guitar", among other things. I was dismayed at the Walt Disney rejection letter to a woman, stating that "girls were not given that sort of job".

An interesting book that uses photos of Facebook pages, emails, letters, and texts to show that everyone, at some point, has been rejected.

Lori Anderson

Web Site
Blog
Facebook

[reading is my hustle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting coffee table book or dinner party reading.

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I really liked Other People's Love Letters and I still guiltily read things like postsecret, picking up this book was an obvious choice. However, where I found endless voyeur bliss pawing through other people's love letters, I felt mostly guilty and sad as I read their rejection letters. If the Love Letters book was about how similar the ways we love each other can be, this book is about the very similar way that we hurt each other. And while I am pretty confident in how well I love the people I love, it is a lot more difficult to stare into the ways I hurt the people I've rejected. Mostly this book is quite funny. I don't want to take away from that inherent humor, but it did make me reflect.

The author's gift for anthologizing strangers' private moments is evident. There is a good balance of historic/celebrity rejection here (letters from F Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Jimi Hendrix's military discharge papers, Andy Warhol's famous rejection, etc) coupled with some interesting series (failed swim lessons for Julie, or Mr. Gonzalez's collection of art gallery rejection letters) . The rejections are diverse - creative/career objections, failed romance, failed pick-up lines, political chasms, broken friendships and many parent/child tensions. There are handwritten letters, postcards, facebook messages, notes clipped from gmail and photos of text messages. It is all carefully edited to create a collage spanning at least 100 years of being mean.

I did really appreciate the section at the end. Many of the letters were revisited and explained further - context clues, history, extra information to fill in all the gaps, even occasionally some insight into the outcome or resolution of the rejection. It was a nice feeling of closure that I miss in "found objects" books. Since these letters are consensually submitted by at least one of the parties, there's just a little more context. I appreciated it.

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised by some of the vitriolic reviews, although I gave this book two stars myself the first time around. Similar to Shapiro's "Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See," we get a voyeuristic view of the rejection others have received, saved, and read over and over again. But there's no smugness or feelings of superiority here -- instead, this collection provides a comforting sense of community, proof that rejection doesn't escape anyone. Some of the notes are even amusing (i.e., Julie who failed to advance from a Water Frog I to a Sea Pup II swimming certificate because she couldn't master the face-float) but again, this isn't laughing at the person who's been rejected; instead it's charming, human.

This collection is weaker than the "Love Letters" one as some of the inclusion of some of the notes feels like a stretch, like the text message concluding with "Where are you sleeping?" while her presumed boyfriend is getting drunk at a "doggie-style party" -- it's more like a bummer than a flat-out rejection. And some the rejections aren't in any way interesting, like David's rejection for a Wells Fargo Business Platinum card; I read that one over and over, looking for "the punchline" or the reason it could've possibly been included but found none. The collection weakens as it nears the end -- more form letters that inspire more boredom rather than commiseration. There might be a story there, but the reader has to work too hard (or rather, harder than with some of the other pieces that were included) to figure it out.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book last night, and "hall of fame" is hardly an apt description of this collection, though there are quite a few interesting and mortifying letters included. Many are not technically letters, as he also dips into screed sent through modern technology. Several drawings by an artist done on his rejections are fun. Probably the most intense and worthwhile letters were those from spurned lovers. A few of the letters are revealing insights into famous individuals (such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jimi Hendricks). I suspect that there are many more riveting rejections out there that people (may) have kept. I still remember one I received from a graduate school I coveted that hit me like an ice dagger (I think I have it hidden somewhere). I'd wager there is the potential for a new collection: perhaps this attempt will shake many more loose and give Shapiro an opportunity to present a second (and better) volume.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't buy this book but it was an interesting book to flip through and worth getting from the library. Some of my favorite rejections:

"Thank you for submitting. Unfortunately, the work you sent us is quite terrible. Pleae forgive the form rejection, but it would take too much of my time to tell you exactly how terrible it was. So again, sorry for the form letter."

And the 3 swim class failures of a 5 year old who ended up being MVP of her swim team (she couldn't master the face float when she was 5).

And the 15 rejection letters from NASA to a man who was accepted and became an astronaut on his 16th try. Some of the "rejections" were stories of persistence and the value of putting yourself out there even if it leaves you open to rejection. And some (like the first) were just rejections.

[Patrice Sartor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I brought this book home from the library because I was hoping that by reading the rejection of others, I would feel better about my own personal (job-related) rejections. Misery loves company, and all that. Based on the couple of other reviews I've skimmed, I am not alone in this. However, I didn't feel better. After finishing this, I felt even worse. It's sad, pathetic and disheartening to read page after page of letters relating to love gone wrong, and continual professional rejection ones. A few were funny, some of the ones (like the Jimi Hendrix army discharge letter) were interesting. After a while I began to feel horribly sad for Mr. Arthur Gonzalez, an artist who decorated many of his "sorry your art is good but just isn't right for us" notes. I sure hope he found a place to display and earn money, he seems talented.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thumbed through this book at the library while my husband looked for videos to watch on his flight to Nome, Alaska! I brought home the book.

If you read any of the letters be sure to read the book's postscript, which tells "the story behind a few of the letters" and reports on how the recipients of some of the letters are doing today. When you discover who wrote or received a few of the letters, you will want to reread them.

As a teenager I applied for a summer job with a cruise ship company, unaware that it was a French company. The rejection letter was written in French, which I don't speak. "Pardon, rejeté!" C'est la vie.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like PostSecret, but with rejection letters. Some are poignant, some are pretty boring, and a few are actually of historic import.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pop Sugar’s 2017 Reading Challenge - A book of letters

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is it about the human condition that makes us nosy, pry into other people's business and, ultimately, lets us feel schadenfreude? That is something for the philosophers and psychologies to parse. But this book does take advantage that humans have these qualities.

At one time in our life we have all had a rejection of some sort, a dumping via text or credit being denied. Other People's Rejection Letters is a collection of these denials, from deportation papers to a request for clemency denied to negative paternity tests. Sprinkled throughout the text are gems of American history: a telegram to McCarthy from Truman, Jimi Hendrix's discharge papers from the US Army, a letter denying work to a young lady artist from the Walt Disney Productions (saying that the art was done by young men), a letter to the President from Jackie Robinson.

I think the highlight, for me, was Eleanor Roosevelt's withdrawal letter from the Daughters of the American Revolution in protest after they would denied the African-American singer Marian Anderson to sing at their Washington DC concert. The President and Mrs Roosevelt were instrumental in finding a venue that would allow her to sing. Ms Anderson later went onto sing in front of the Lincoln Memorial to a crowd of over 75,000 people of all colors and persuasions.

So whether you enjoy other people's rejection or are just curious, this tome is worth the reading

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fine idea, not a satisfying execution on several fronts.

This jumped out at me from a library shelf and I thought it might be a good companion to the horrors of my current job search. Ultimately a lot of the letters weren't really rejections - a jilted lover berating an ex or apologizing for a past misdeed... It would make an interesting book on its own, "anti-love letters" maybe, but they aren't really rejections.

The Arthur Gonzalez pieces were great, but ultimately it felt like it filled a lot of the book up with the contents of another, already existing book: Gonzalez's "The Art of Rejection."

Some of the letters were greatly improved by the context added in the appendix, which made me wish I had known the context while reading instead of waiting til the end to find out. Eleanor Roosevelt's DAR letter for example! It made very little sense without context (and without any indication of who wrote it at all!) but I went back to re-read it after finding out what it was about and found it much more satisfying. Similar with Jimi Hendrix's military discharge and "Dear Scottie." I read all of Dear Scottie thinking "wow this random guy from the 30s was an excellent writer, though a shitty dad and husband!" It was fun to reread after the reveal, but I wish I'd gotten the reveal much quicker than waiting til the end of the book and deciding to read the whole appendix.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I thought this would be funnier—which is my fault for not looking closer before snatching it off the shelf.

Still, this was a bit of a depressing mess. I’m not entirely sure what Shapiro was going for in this collection—certainly not flat out comedy, nor do I imagine he intended it to be a straight up downer, mixed with a few mild chuckles and boring form rejections. Hope or inspiration, maybe? But then, you get near to the end, and you think, what good is a rejection to inspire hope without knowing if they made it to the other side of grief?

There are a few “what happened next”s at the very end, which does a bit to save it—but even then, this really just left me feeling a bit sad.

[Abbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure what this says about me, but I found this very encouraging. Seeing others struggle and sometimes harsh words spoken to (or from), reassures me that I'm not alone or unique in my failures/mistakes. I highly recommend if you need/want perspective especially if you are in a creative arena where rejection feels so personal. My favorite letter was one rejecting the author because the person didn't have that many rejection letters to share, and instead of being happy about that, took it as a lesson to risk more and put more out there. I think that will be my take-home as well. Dwelling on the rejection increases suffering, but moving on and upward is inspiring.

[Brave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for a flick through (shared misery since this whole buying-a-house process has been disappointment after disappointment), but nothing that will really stick with me. Also, this is not something for everyone, but it's something that could absolutely be right for you at a certain time in your life, and checking it out from the library would be advised.

I do have an interest in "found" type things, since I had a fairly big fascination with Postsecret and...was it found.com? in my middle school years.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I found some of the rejections in this book depressing (specifically ones written from children to parents or vice versa), but other ones I found truly inspiring like Arthur Gonzales’, Eleanor Roosevelt’s, Clay Anderson’s, Zoe Gayl’s, Andy Warhol’s, and Lizzie Larock’s. I do recommend this book for inspiring creatives constantly getting rejection letters (like me), it does inspire hope for eventually, one day, to receive a better outcome.

[Beth Pronger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This selection of rejection letters has been incredibly inspiring! It seems odd that a group of rejection letters could inspire anyone, or even more odd to think that I thoroughly enjoyed reading through them; but it has truly inspired me to not fear rejection, and believe it could be truly inspiring to everyone who takes the time to read through them.

[Megan Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of rejection letters from people and organizations. Some are rejections of job applications, others artistic work submissions, relationship break up, one is a request not to be executed, and another is refusal to be moved up in swim class levels. Interesting and some are actually encouraging.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it sad to have enjoyed reading these rejection letters other people received? Some were truly sad, but others a bit funny, and a couple a bit shocking. The book is very colorful, images of the original letters. I've wanted to read this book for a long while, and glad I finally did. It was a short read, got through it all in one day.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so fun. I had intended to keep it forever and ever, but I decided I just needed to read it, enjoy it, and send it on to someone else to enjoy.

This has no page numbers, is largely photos/scans, and well, it's just robust and fun.

[Khris Brand]

I loved this book! It had quite a few famous people who had gotten rejection letters and later they became famous! I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something out of the ordinary...

I give it 5 stars!

[Sophia Castillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing quick read --essentially the book form of a Reddit thread or a Buzzfeed article with a few historically significant rejection letters thrown in. I appreciated that several of the rejection letters were followed up with "epilogues" at the end of the book.

[Christine Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just what it says it is: a collection of rejection letters. Interesting concept, but boring execution. I read the first half and barely skimmed the rest.

[Amanda McFall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m truly not sure why this book got dogged so much on the reviews. I found it very entertaining and it’s perfect for when you don’t want to immerse yourself into a super serious novel.

[Helena · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stars

[Lori Gibbany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shock, awe, surprise with who was included in the list of famous rejected individuals. Best take away from the book: If you have never been rejected you have not lived.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books feel pretty voyeuristic, but they are fun. And sad all in one.