HOW TO COPE WITH REJECTION – TUESDAY WRITING TIP

On Saturday afternoon I was on a panel with three other writers at the Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne.

Our topic was ‘Never Surrender’ and the topic was basically about rejection and how you cope with it. It got me thinking a lot about the writing process and the disappointment and self-doubt we all go through when our work is rejected.

Our session at the festival was packed out, and obviously, this was a topic that really resonated with writers. So I thought I’d devote this Tuesday Writing Tip to coping with rejection.

First and foremost, I really want to stress that rejection is NOT PERSONAL.

Publishers and agents are NOT rejecting you as a person, nor are they rejecting your ability as a writer.

Chances are that they have said “No” to your project for one of the following reasons:

• It needs more editing to get it to a publishable standard.
• They are not publishing/representing your kind of work.
• They may have just published/accepted for publication a piece of work that is too similar to the one you submitted.
• Their publishing/representing schedule is full for the foreseeable future.
• They have tried to market a book on the same topic and it has not been successful.
• Readers aren’t reading this sort of thing at the moment.
• They have been flooded with submissions for this genre

These are just some of the things I can think of. I’m sure there are many more reasons why publisher reject our work that have nothing to do with who we are as a person or the way we write.

Getting that rejection letter never gets any easier. It still fills me with doubts about my talents as a writer and my ability to meet the needs of the readers I  want to engage.

But over the years I have developed strategies for coping and I’d like to share them  in the hope that you might find them useful too.

1. I never pin all my hopes on one submission. I always have more than one submission out in the marketplace at one time. That way if one piece is rejected, I still have hope that the other will be accepted.
2. If the publisher gives reasons for the rejection I try to take them at face value and not look for a ‘hidden’ agenda.
3. I read a piece of writing of mine that I am happy with, just to reaffirm that I really can write.
4. I share my disappointments with a community of other writers who really do understand what It’s like to be rejected and can offer me the appropriate sympathy and encouragement to keep going.
5. I use the rejection as motivation to keep writing. The sort of philosophy, “If this isn’t good enough I’m damn well going to write something that is”. If I’m busy working on a new project, it stops me from ruminating about the one that just got rejected.
6. When I’ve got over the initial devastation, I look at the manuscript and try and assess where the rejection has merit. I fix anything that needs fixing and submit the work to another appropriate publisher.

I commend each and every writer for your bravery in putting your work out there – in submitting a ‘piece of yourself’ for scrutiny by others.

Letters to Leonardo took more than ten years from initial idea to publication.

It can be a heartbreaking, but such a rewarding process when your manuscript finds a publisher or agent who loves it as much as you do.

As a writer I still think there are things that can help your chances of being published – to limit the number of rejections that come through your letterbox:

• Always be professional. Vent your disappointment in private – have chocolate, wine, do yoga, have a mineral bath, do whatever it takes to make you feel better, but always maintain your professionalism in public forums whether it be conferences, social networking or simply meeting with other writers.
• Then MOVE ON – get your next project out there.
• Persist – don’t let setbacks dampen your enthusiasm for your writing.
• Focus on the things you HAVE achieved rather than the ones you haven’t.
• Measure your successes by what you have achieved personally as a writer – not by how much money you have made or by whether your work is now in bookshops.
• Celebrate each success no matter how small. An invitation from a publisher or agent to submit your work is something you should be pleased with – it’s the achievement of another milestone.
• If someone has offered you constructive criticism about your work, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended – use it to hone your craft – use it to become a better writer.

I wish you all the very best with all your works in progress, and hope that this post has given you some strategies to cope with one of  the hardest parts of being a writer.

Happy writing.

Dee:-)

P.S. If you’ve got other tips you’d like to share on how to handle rejection, please leave them in the comments section of this post.

Thanks.

NEXT TUESDAY 8TH JUNE, DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, WE’LL BE POSTING MORE TIPS ON “HOW TO COPE WITH REJECTION”.