Writers, Rejection, and Lessons to Learn

 

This morning, I read an outstanding article at the Brevity nonfiction blog regarding why essays are rejected. If you submit your work for publication, there's an excellent chance your piece will be rejected. In fact, the odds of rejection are far better than acceptance. It's a part of this writing game that none of us enjoys. The slim chance of being published still shines brightly for writers, so we go for it. 

If you wonder why your essay was rejected, maybe you would like to read the article. I found it full of common sense and some advice that we might all take seriously. You can read the article on the blog at https://brevity.wordpress.com/author/brevityallison/t  If the link does not show up in blue, copy and paste. The author of the article is Allison K. Williams, who is an editor at Brevity. 

The article deals with essays, but rejection comes to us in poetry, fiction, nonfiction articles, and memoir submissions, as well. Some of the reasons our work is rejected have nothing to do with our writing. The publication might be full or overflowing, so they step back for a while. That has nothing to do with what you sent them. 

Other rejections offer us a lesson. Admittedly, the lesson is sometimes hard to find when we are still feeling the disappointment or hurt over the rejection. Let a few days go by, then go back and try to look for the lesson. If you're among the fortunate few, the editor sent a note with the rejection helping you to understand why your work was rejected. It only happens occasionally, so you will most often need to figure out the lesson on your own. 

When I read something I've written weeks, months or longer than that, I often see areas that could have been done differently, places that needed enhancement or clarity. Also areas that could, or should, have been cut. This is why I always recommend that you let a draft simmer alone for a few days, or more, before you begin to edit. You will see it in a different light and end up doing a better editing job, which only makes your odds of acceptance better. 

I think someone could write an entire book on the topic of 'writers and rejection.' Please do read the article mentioned at the beginning of this post. It might help you look at some of your rejections in a different light. 

When Your Writing Is Rejected

Yes or No? What will she say? Or is it, what will he say?

Yesterday, my Guest Blogger, Molly Flowers, gave a case for rejection. She had a viewpoint that many writers may not have considered before. Lots of food for thought. If you didn't have an opportunity to read it, check it out here.

The silhouette image above shows a man and woman, one of whom may have to deal with rejection. It's difficult to determine which one is the rejector and which the rejectee! It doesn't matter because rejection still hurts, no matter who is the recipient. These two people are not writer and editor, but most likely a couple about to break up. Haven't most of us been there at some time in our life? Were you the one to who hurt the other one, or were you the person who got hurt? If you've lived a few decades, you might have been on both sides at different moments. Maybe you wondered if you'd even live through the situation. You began to doubt yourself as a person. You didn't want to try for another relationship. Not ever again! 

Guess what? A writer who receives a rejection after submitting his/her work has many of the same emotions. Thoughts run through your mind, one tumbling over another. Things like:  That stupid editor doesn't know a good thing when he sees it. I'll never submit another piece. Not ever! Who needs to be hurt like that? I must be the world's worst writer. What's wrong with me? We all go through it. Get the thoughts out and then move on.

Once you're over the pity party (oh yes, we all hold a little pity party right after the rejection comes), ask yourself some questions. 

• Did I pick the wrong market?
• Did I follow the submission guidelines carefully?
• Did I send a clean, edited copy?
• Did I proof and edit more than once?
• Was my opening one that grabbed the reader?
• Did I have more telling or more showing?
• Did I use lots of active verbs?
• Did I have a beginning, middle and ending? Or was it a jumble?
• Did I over-emote?
• Did I use similes and metaphors to bring my story to life? 
• Did I spend enough time looking for a market to submit to? 
• Did I use sensory details to make the story realistic?
• Do I need to scrap this piece or revise and submit again?
• This is an important one:  Is it possible the piece I sent is just fine but the publication couldn't use it anytime soon? That they may have published something in the same vein in recent weeks?  

When you answer the questions above, try to be objective. Attempt reading that submission as if someone else had written it. How would you critique it? 

I wouldn't suggest answering the questions above immediately after receiving the rejection. Give it a couple days before you tackle it. 

Submit the revised piece to another publication when you feel you're ready. We all know stories about very successful writers who submitted a zillion times before finding that success. So, what makes us think we're going to hit the jackpot the first time out? It can happen, but it's nor the norm. 

There's a reason I stay with my two keywords, which are patience and perseverance.

Dealing With Rejection

Did you ever write something that you felt good about? Did you think it was destined to be published so you submitted it to an editor after you researched a market for it? Then the big wait began. Two months passed when the rejection letter arrived. And you?

You sunk into the depths of despair. You were so sure that what you'd written was good, maybe even one of the best things you'd ever done. The whole episode put you in a major funk. For days, you moped around the house, felt no desire to write anything, snapped at family members. You deserved some time to get past the rejection, didn't you? Maybe.

One rejection should not merit days of moaning and groaning and feeling sorry for yourself. Of course, you were disappointed but that piece you subbed is only one of many you have written or will write. Don't ever let failing on a first submission completely undo you. Remember that it was not you, personally, who was rejected. Maybe they'd already published something similar within the past several months.There are many reasons for rejections besides your wondering if it 'just stinks.' 

When you sent the story to the editor, you did it because you felt the story and the place were a good fit. Did you make a list of other places that might work, too? If you had, the first thing you should have done after receiving the bad news is to send it out again. And again. And again, if you keep getting rejected. 

You should also do another editing job on the piece before you send it out again. Try to look with objective eyes. Ask another writer to critique the piece. They can be far more objective than you can. Maybe they'll find a major flaw or a few minor ones. Or perhaps they'll tell you that, yes, this is a good piece of writing and you should submit again soon. 

It's a fact that writers receive far more rejections than acceptances. With that in mind, don't let yourself sink to the bottom of the writing barrel when your submission comes back to you. Move on. I was once told that the average is 1 acceptance for every 12 submissions. You know what? That means 11 rejections. 

I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't be disappointed. You will and you should when a sub doesn't work. The key here is to allow yourself a little time to be disappointed, then move on--either to re-subbing elsewhere or writing something new. 

New writers take rejection harder than the seasoned ones. Those who write and have subbed over and over again grow a hard shell. They learn to deal with the disappointment and move on more quickly. 

The poster above gives us some good advice. Ponder on it awhile. 

Writers Learn On Their Journey

Easy enough to say but maybe not a piece of cake to find a lesson when life dishes out seeds of sadness. I do think we can learn from harsh moments in our lives. Also in our writing journey.

As writers, it sometimes feel like we set ourselves up for facing unpleasantness. We are well aware that by submitting our work, we may face rejections more than acceptances. Why in the world would be subject ourselves to the nasty feelings that accompany being told our writing is not worthy of being published? Even if the editor who rejected you did not say so in exact words, that's the message we pull from it.

We've all been there. Our reactions range from disappointment to anger to shedding tears to throwing something across the room. Sounds like a little kid who's been told NO, doesn't it? When we're upset, or hurt, we do seem to revert to childish reactions. If it serves to get the disappointment out of your system, fine. Go ahead and rant to a friend or let a few expletives fly.

Once you've calmed down, it's time to consider if there is a lesson to be learned. If you're lucky, the editor will give a reason that your work was not accepted. That gives you a head start in fixing the piece and submitting it again.

When you work on revising before submitting again, try to use objective eyes. Being too close to what we write is a major sticking point for many of us. Those are our precious words that the stranger didn't want. We toiled over the story, or article, a long time so why was it rejected? Oh, oh, there we go again--reacting like a kid. Step away from your submission for awhile before you start reworking it. You'll do much better if you let it alone for a few days.

There are also lessons to be learned when we're writing a story that doesn't feel right or appears flat when we read it over again. Ask yourself why? What is missing? Try a checklist to see what is or is not there. Use things like sensory detail, active vs passive verbs, too many adjectives etc in your list. Plot, theme, lesson learned--are all these positives or lacking? On occasion, I've written 1500 words and when I read it over, my reaction has been This is boring, drivel, or worthless. Then, I'm disgusted. Not over the story but with myself. Time to go back to square one after going through my mental checklist.

What if we submit a fine piece but don't follow the submission guidelines?  The story might bounce back immediately. One question to ask yourself is Did I follow the guidelines? Your rejection could be because of a simple thing like that.

There are myriad lessons to be learned from those harsh moment in our writing journey. It's up to us to sift and sort and find the lesson, then move on with newly acquired knowledge. The more lesssons we learn, the fewer rejections we'll have.

About the first part of today's quote, where it says When life is good, be grateful, pay close attention to those fine words.

Thoughts On Being Rejected

When you receive rejection after rejection, it's pretty hard to think positive like today's poster recommends. With each new disappointing return, we sink a little lower into the muddy puddles of rejectionville. We feel so alone, so abandoned by the world, like no one else has ever been where we are.

But consider the rejections given people other than writers. Look at this list and you might not feel so alone:

• artists
• sculptors
• playwrights
• architects
• musicians
• athletes
• politicians
• inventors
• dancers
• actors/actresses
• salespeople
• job seekers

I'm sure there are others that might be added to the above. Note how many are in the creative arts world. One thing we must keep in mind is that we chose to pursue this field of writing because of several factors--passion for writing, a talent we feel we have, a way to make some money, searching for success. We didn't choose to be writers so that we could be rejected over and over. That little addenda just happens to come with the territory. Nevertheless, we did choose to write.

There is probably no job that is totally free of negatives of some kind. Set your mind to the fact that rejection is a part of a writer's life and you're going to have to deal with it. Plan on how you're going to do so. Make positive thoughts and positive action a part of your plan. 

Note the heart balloon at the bottom of the poster above. Remind yourself that, despite many rejections, there's love from your readers many times, too. Also, know that others do care. Whether you keep those rejections to yourself or tell, even rant and rave, friends and family is another choice. Maybe if you share your disappointment, you'll receive some welcome sympathy. Only another writer can actually empathize; they are the ones who have a better understanding. 

We know that we aren't going to get an acceptance on every submission. We know that and, even so, we experience disappointment each time a sub comes sailing back with a No answer. Just don't let it fester and become a wound that will never heal. Check today's poster often for a good reminder of which is the better direction in your writing life.