As a writer, I have received rejection in many forms. The latest is a letter rejecting a manuscript I sent to this publisher nearly 2 years ago. That's right. It took them nearly 2 years to reject the manuscript. I submitted it on July 31, 2007, and received the rejection letter today.
Of course I had submitted the manuscript to several other publishers in the meantime, but still...
On another occasion, I waited more than a year for the rejection of a full manuscript that was requested by an editor based on the first three chapters. Again, I continued to submit the ms to other publishers during that time -- but still...
What's my point?
TIP, TRICK & TACTIC #1: Don't expect a quick response. Don't sit around waiting for a response from one publisher before sending the manuscript to another one. Just keep on keeping on. As a writer-friend of mine recently said: "This job definitely ain't for sissies."