Frustration with Publication

I finally received the editor's letter regarding a paper I submitted for publication. My heart was thumping really fast when I was opening it and suddenly, a hollow, icy feeling crept over me...the journal thought that my paper in its present form was weak in scope, method, and discussion. Oh well. I didn't go through a stage of defensiveness or anything like that, but I wanted to know exactly why it was rejected. After all, it wasn't something I just did for fun or for a week. It was a very laborious study (for me). I called up the journal's office so that I could clarify some things...then, after a couple of minutes of conversation with the polite staff member who attended my call (he tried very hard to nicely say that the reviewers thought my study sucked), I finally accepted the situation. At least, according to the letter, the editor-in-chief was willing to discuss my publication options in the future and suggested that I submit another paper. Maybe I'll set an appointment with the EIC, but not anytime soon...I'm still in mourning. Anyway, I jotted down a couple of possible studies I had in mind and maybe I'll be more thorough next time. All in all, It was a very good learning experience.