I am not ashamed to admit that I was close to tears when I received my first rejection. But better sense prevailed and I took a good hard look at what I had written and realized that it might not have been a good fit for that publication. Happily the piece was published in another coveted pub and that softened the blow. But yes, I've learned many of the points you've mentioned the hard way. Thank you for the concise guide and takeaways. What I love is the daily learning and hopefully, improvement :-) And isn't it wonderful that there are so many options open to us?