I don’t keep mine.
Oh, I keep track of submissions. But as for the actual rejection slips – I read them, I make sure I understand them, then I throw them away. Even the encouraging, personal ones – those I might read over a couple of times, but eventually I toss those too.
I’m not much of a saver to begin with. And rejection is such a negative experience, it just seems senseless to want to keep mementos.
That’s just me.
I agree. I have friends who decorate their walls with their rejection slips and I’ve always admired their fortitude, but I would find it depressing.
I do think it might be cool to create a coffee table shellacked with them, but then, I could also shellack it with New Yorker covers or tickets to baseball games and concerts, and that would be far more interesting.
For each project, and this is my second novel. I always frame the very first rejection letter. The rest get read and tossed. Why do I do this? I think it reminds me that rejection is part of the process and nothing to be afraid of.
However, if I were primarily a short story writer… I doubt I’d make wall space for all the letters I would be sure to get. I couldn’t write a good Short to save my own life. My mind is geared more toward longer works.
But I’ve enjoyed reading yours. You are quite good at it.