Rejection . . . So What?

Writers are engaged in a process that invariably leads to rejection. Indeed, acceptance and rejection could be likened to the pairing of salt and pepper. In other words, you can't have one without the other.

Interestingly enough, Pearl Buck received a rejection for one of her short stories the very week she won the Nobel Prize for Literature! This dual process is just part and parcel of being a writer.

In fact, if you can't handle rejection, writing may not be your particular oyster. Rejection, to a seasoned writer, just means submitting a piece elsewhere.

Rejection isn't always a sign that your writing is poor. I've had experiences where one editor hasn't liked something I've written, only to have the same submission praised by another editor and subsequently published. Editor's opinions are like belly buttons: everyone has one.

Sometimes a manuscript is rejected because a similar article or story has just been published by the publication you have targeted; other times, space constraints mean that a piece that was slated for an issue of magazine has to be dropped (if you are fortunate, you will be paid a kill fee); still other times, an editor may be biased against information you are presenting, or simply not be in tune with your style or your particular writer's voice.

For whatever reason, this doesn't necessarily mean that your writing is weak or that your topic isn't timely. It just means that you will need to send it out somewhere else. Another editor just may snatch it up.

When you think about it, if you send out something that has been rejected and it is published later, this is a vindication of sorts. So, believe in yourself and in your writing. If your instinct tells you a piece is good, don't toss it on the burn pile or delete it based on one or two rejections. Instead, send it out repeatedly.

Rejection should be viewed as a mere drop in the bucket--a slight ripple that may be disturbing but that will not prevent you from going where you want to go . . . in fact, if you allow it to, it can propel you forward.

* Rejection: Rising Above it
* The Writing Life
* Misconceptions About Writers