Rejection: How to handle it?

Main point (bad news -Essay I):
"...On the basis of these reports, the Editorial Board of the XX Economic Journal has decided to reject your paper at this time."

First reviewer/referee:
This is a paper on a topic of potential interest to ..., but it has at least four severe shortcomings that must be remedied before it can be considered for publication.

..it fails to explain why it is appropriate to use industry-level instead of firm- or plant-level analysis in this case.
..no discussion of a potentially large simultaneity problem caused by the possibility that ..
..literature review is dated and poorly organized.

I (Who are you? How dare you?) thus recommend that the present version be rejected but that the authors be encouraged to resubmit a revision if they can successfully address the problems explained below.

Second reviewer:
The paper should also be credited for being well written and with a good and balanced analysis.
However, there is at least one serious problem with the paper.
As an additional general comment I think the paper would benefit from a discussion on the Malaysian context.

Immediate reaction:
Feels like banging my head on the wall - over and over again....

Sober up:
How to Publish in a Top Journal ( I wish that I knew!)
by Daniel S. Hamermesh, University of Texas at Austin
On hearing from the journal,
• Realistically chances are slim—but rejection doesn’t get easier with experience
• Rarity of outright acceptances, ubiquity of outright rejections
• JEP 1992 explains what to do about rejections, or almost rejections

P/s: It's that time of the year again - except that I'm not in the mood to celebrate -what with the kind of 'pressie' I had been given above - a day too earlier too but what the heck?

Talk about good news - Essay II
Dear Professor Adam,

Thank you for presenting your paper entitled "...", at the 10th International Convention of the held in Beijing on xx-xx November 2006.

At a recent editorial meeting of the XX Economic Journal, it was decided to solicit this paper for possible publication in the XX Economic Journal. If you have not yet submitted this paper elsewhere and would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please inform me at your earliest convenience. Since the paper will go through the normal refereeing process, please note that there is no guarantee the paper will be accepted for publication. However, once the paper is submitted we will try and ensure that it is dealt with as quickly as possible..

Not all hope are gone...Of course, I don't have to take the rejection personally but honestly I tell you - it hurt! So bad.. worst than being rejected in a relationship! They're all I've got! My babies..