Rejections

As any writer that's trying to get published knows rejection letters are inevitable. I'm beginning to rack up a few too many for my liking, but there's nothing you can do, you've just got to keep chugging on and hopefully the right editor will like you stuff. Right now, I'm just trying to get a few short stories published. My novel's are still in varying states of revision. The thing that I'm finding frustrating about the magazines are that they want a polished complete work and won't help you edit it.
The good new though is when you start getting personalized rejections back! That happened to me yesterday. The F&SF editor told me that he liked the story I sent him very much, told me why he didn't take it (apparently the pacing wasn't what he was looking for) and wished me luck on fining a magazine that would fit the story. He even told me he liked how I named my dog Nynaeve and quoted (the character) then image of my dog pulling on her "tail" when frustrated. So he knows that I've read The Wheel of Time series. I put this into my cover letter because The Wheel of Time is a staple of fantasy and any self respecting editor in fantasy has (I assume) at least read the first book.
According to Brandon Sanderson (who finished The Wheel of Time for Robert Jordan when he died) I'm now a semi-pro writer. A writer that has completed fiction and is trying to get publish.
If you're interested in writing I would highly recommend the podcast Writing Excuses, in which Brandon Sanderson talks about everything you need to know about writing.