If its a no, just tell me...

I was sad to see a fellow writer have her work rejected, especially after getting positive feedback about her story, but it got me thinking that sometimes I actually crave rejection. Now please don't get me wrong (but you can think i'm crazy because thats an acknowledged fact). I DO NOT want my writing to be rejected. I cross fingers, toes and everything else crossable (you'd be surprised) in the hope my writing will be accepted. But the reality is not everything of mine is accepted and if its to be rejected I wish they would get on with it and give me the bad news. The rejections I can handle, its the not knowing that drives me insane. The worst scenario is months of waiting, months where you can only speculate that they are giving your work serious consideration and doing the calculations about potential sales using a ouija board, the dessicated bones of a small rodent and a mars bar and then they still turn around and say no. I blame the mars bar. Chocolate should never be involved in the decision making process. But maybe your ms is really only protecting their desk from coffee cup rings or propping up the ilustrations for some else's ms that got the nod, or lying muddied in the rear footwell of the publisher's car. I have no way to tell what is really happening. I will not stalk you if you reject me. I will not abuse you, harangue you or provide a 50 page letter explaining why your decision was wrong. I just want to know whats going on. And maybe if you don't want to publish it, someone else might - stranger things have happened. But the longer publishers delay a decision the bigger the delay before I can send my story out to someone else. And then the whole process begins again. And normal everyday people wonder why writers have a haunted air about them, drink copious quantities of alcohol, and get depressed so easily. Its simple. If its a 'no', could you please just tell me so I can move on with my life!