Handle Disappointment With Class

Last night, K-State played Nebraska for the final time. For nearly a century, these two schools have battled it out on a one-hundred yard field. Admittedly, Nebraska has won the vast majority, but K-State has been on top a few times, too. Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 conference next year for the Big 10. So this final game was definitely a significant one. K-State was pumped up as were the fans. The stadium was filled to capacity and then over a hundred more. Anticipation kept our community on a high all week. Besides all that, it was our coach's birthday. The team planned to give him a special birthday present in beating the mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers.

We couldn't have asked for a better night for football. Perfect weather. But things didn't work out like we'd hoped. In fact, they didn't even come close. Nebraska, with its greater speed and extremely talented quarterback, managed to beat us soundly. An embarrassing 48-13 loss for the Wildcats. The fans were deeply disappointed, and I'm sure the team was, as well. I watched people as they filed silently out to the parking lot, passing the hordes of Nebraska fans cheering and jeering, but our fans handled their disappointment with class.

It's much the same when we writers get a rejection on our work. Submitting a piece of writing and then waiting a long time to hear from an editor opens us up for major disappointment. It's not so much anger as it is having our hopes dashed. When we read that message which tells us our work isn't right for whatever publication, we experience the gamut of reactions--disappointment, anger, frustration, depression. We might feel like kicking the nearest piece of furniture or throwing something at a wall, but what does that get you in the end? Not much other than a sore foot or a dirty, maybe dented, wall.

We need to learn to handle rejection with class every bit as much as those fans who grapple with a crushing game defeat. Sure, you'll still be disappointed, but pick yourself and move on to the next market. Don't ever stop submitting something you've written after one rejection. It may not have been a fit for the first one, but it could be for the fourth or fifth. Before you submit again, go for a long walk and do some thinking about what you wrote. Was it your best effort? Is there a way it can be made better? Go home and read it with fresh eyes and then find your next market.

A Step On The Road To Publishing

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.~Henry Ford

Quotes from noted people help me find ideas for the blog. While the quote above may pertain to Henry Ford's own life and his auto world, these wise words can be adapted to the writing life, too.

Substitute the word 'rejection' for 'failure' and perhaps substitute 'creatively' for 'intelligently.' Now, the sentence will read Rejection is simply the opportunity to begin again more creatively.

Every writer deals with rejections on work that has been done with blood, sweat and tears. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but they know they've worked hard, and then the piece comes bouncing back from an editor with one of those dreaded form letters. It says something like "doesn't fit into our editorial needs" or "we have recently published a similar article' or "we are sorry, but we cannot use this." What now?

You have two choices. You can get angry, dump the entire submission from your files, never to be looked upon again by you or any other editor. Or you can step back and look at the article/story/essay with an objective eye. Ask yourself why the editor didn't grab onto this gem immediately. And answer honestly! When you read it, does it grab you quickly? Does it make you want to continue reading? Does it flow well? Does the ending leave you feeling satisfied, or with a question answered? If you answer no to any of these questions, it's time to do some revising and become a little more creative.

Many times, I've read some of my writing of several years ago and I can see so clearly what it needed. Why I didn't see it when I wrote it is a wonder. But it's a common occurrence. It's another reason to let your work sit awhile before sending it to an editor. Wait several days and read it again, then ask yourself what you might do to zip it up a bit, make it sing rather than sink.

Rejection is not an end. Rejection is a step in the long road to publication. It's an opportunity to revise and create a better article/story/essay. Move on to the next step. It's all part of that perseverance and patience that I harp on a lot.