Brutal rejection letter from 1928 is every writer's worst nightmare

  • 08/12/2017
Brutal rejection letter from 1928 is every writer's worst nightmare
Photo credit: Twitter / @LettersOfNote

A rejection letter from nine decades ago has revealed just how brutal the writing industry can be.

The poet, Frederick Charles Meyer, was shown no mercy after he submitted his work to Angus and Robertson Ltd in Australia.

"Dear sir," the letter begins.

"No, you may not send us your verses, and we will not give you the name of another publisher.

"We hate no rival publisher sufficiently to ask you to inflict them on him.

"The specimen poem is simply awful. In fact, we have never seen worse."

The letter has only just emerged online on the letters of Note Twitter account, after it was sent in by Kylie Parkinson.

However, it seems the harsh words didn't put Mr Meyer off - he went on to publish Jewels of mountains and snowlines of New Zealand in Wellington.

So Mr Meyer either improved drastically - or New Zealand is a little more forgiving than our friends across the ditch.

Newshub.