If you are expecting a bitter diatribe.... well maybe check in with me in four or five years. Right now rejection letters are novel and new, even the form ones. I've set my publishing bar high, I'm only going after pro markets, so I knew I would have to have the best stories. And I knew that the first stories I put out there might not be the best.
I have 2 in the rounds so far and between them (and the story I submitted in high school) I have half a dozen rejections. I think the stories are good, but I think I can do better.
Just submitting is motivating me right now. Writing Excuses has a podcast about "Fake it til you make it." So I changed my occupation for "blank" to "writer" on my online profiles and I'm pushing forward.
I've got one more short story I need to re-edit the ending and three more in process. I've found that I needed to pull back and do story on a small scale for a while to test out techniques and strengthen my skills. I'm still puttering away on the novel but a little more carefully.
