I Forgot to Mention

I got my first rejection letter for one of the chapters/stories I sent out. I got a handwritten note, which I've been told is a good thing. The note said something like, "this is very fine work but not quite right for us." And I was encouraged to submit again. A few friends have read that chapter and the other that I've sent out as stories and I've heard similar feedback which is: "they're great! But I want to know what happens." This makes sense since they are really chapters rather than self-contained stories so I'm going to have to figure out if I want to invest the time to revise and make them really stand alone or just focus on the novel revision.

The feedback has been very positive (and includes one reader who has written two novels and is working on a novella) and gives me hope that I haven't been wasting my time. I try to remember that when I get impatient with my slow progress.