Most aspiring writers are no strangers to the daunting rejection letter; it is pretty much an inevitable part of trying to get your work published.
While it sucks to have your writing rejected, at least the majority of publishers inform you that you aren't the right fit without going out of their way to tear you apart.
But one aspiring poet was shown no such mercy in a letter from 1928 that could possibly be the most brutal rejection of all time, reports news.com.au.
The letter was addressed to Frederick Charles Meyer of Katoomba and sent from Sydney publisher Angus and Robertson on April 10 nearly 90 years ago.
A picture of the rejection letter was sent in by Kylie Parkinson to the Twitter page Letters of Note, where it was shared with the rest of the internet.
It appears that Meyer had sent the Australian bookseller a sample of his poetry and they did not hold back when telling him exactly what they thought of his work.
The reply is only short but manages to expertly rip Meyer to shreds, in a fashion that suggests letters like this are a routine occurrence.
"Dear Sir, no you may not send us your verses, and we will not give you the name of another publisher. We hate no rival publisher sufficiently to ask you to inflict them on him," the letter reads.
"The specimen poem is simply awful. In fact, we have never seen worse. Yours faithfully, Angus and Robertson Ltd."
Surprisingly, it looks like Meyer wasn't deterred by the harsh criticism, going on a year later to publish Pearls of the Blue Mountains of Australia, followed by Jewels of Mountains and Snowlines of New Zealand in 1934.
But Angus and Robertson weren't the only ones to think that he lacked some poetic skills, with extracts from his 1934 book featured in a "bad verse and awful poetry competition" held by New Zealand magazine Artscape in 2001.
A verse from his poem Maori Maiden was given as an example:
"I think — I understand thee well,
Rub my nose now for a spell!"
Lines from My Pet Dog were also cited, reading:
"Pluto! come here my dearest little dog,
Don't get mixed up with every rogue,
And do not run into a fog."
It just goes to show that even if you might not be the best, persistence can pay off.