I'm a modern day Maxwell Smart, missed by "this" much.
Actually I had a really close rejection from a major magazine on a piece about a sniper wrought by a wrenching fear and a strong distaste for the talent lent to him which could only bring him grief and guilt as its reward.
They rejected it because it was unacceptable at the time, 1968, to paint a picture using only words depicting the emptying of one's stomach and soul in one spasmodic gasp just because I stubbornly insisted that the word, "puke", was itself the story.
I did get paid for several articles with pictures (quite the camera buff back then) printed in automotive magazines in 1969-1970 when I covered the TransAm series all over California.
My teacher told me that I wrote well for an untrained writer but I had to learn to write about what I know; ever since then, I have been a regular Francis Bacon, trying to learn all there is to know.
I failed, of course, so now I simply dabble, dipping the brush here and there and trying to leave enough white space to provide the light that separates the shadows.
Have you ever visited here?
http://www.writing.com/
I think you would enjoy it immemesely!
You can post your work there, and other writers critique it.
They also protect your work by copyright.
Enjoy!
Ms.B