This week I received a rejection. And I’m not going to say it was fun. Rejection never is. But whenever I receive a rejection I always try and remind myself that publishers don’t like to reject writers any more than we like to receive them.
Being the rejecter doesn’t feel any better than being rejected. I’m sure you’ve been there. You’re on a date and the guy’s totally into you, but you’re just not feeling it. Rejecting him isn’t fun.
Being rejected is part of the publishing game. I always want to say it doesn’t affect me, but it does. Every author puts their heart and soul into their writing. No one ever likes to hear anything negative about something so dear.
But there are some positives to being rejected. It allows you to grow and improve. It can send you into a direction you never saw before, or at least tell you something isn’t right.
Since my entire career has been in the epublishing world I’ve been fortunate to receive very few form rejections. Almost every rejection I’ve received has given me some idea of why my work was being returned to me, given me a direction of what needs to be improved for the next time I submit. I’ve even been thankful enough to receive a few rejections that gave very detailed critiques and encouragement to resubmit.
Learning to take the positives from a rejection and growing from it is one of the things that makes a good writer into a great writer. It’s easy to sit on high and think you’re work is the great, but to take the time to really listen to what others are telling you and to use that advice to improve takes time, dedication and honest introspection.
And that’s exactly what I plan to do with this most recent rejection. I plan to take their advice and improve for the next submission. They’ve given me some ideas on how to improve my work no matter what house it falls under, and sometimes just having a direction to move forward in feels like a prize in its self.
Being the rejecter doesn’t feel any better than being rejected. I’m sure you’ve been there. You’re on a date and the guy’s totally into you, but you’re just not feeling it. Rejecting him isn’t fun.
Being rejected is part of the publishing game. I always want to say it doesn’t affect me, but it does. Every author puts their heart and soul into their writing. No one ever likes to hear anything negative about something so dear.
But there are some positives to being rejected. It allows you to grow and improve. It can send you into a direction you never saw before, or at least tell you something isn’t right.
Since my entire career has been in the epublishing world I’ve been fortunate to receive very few form rejections. Almost every rejection I’ve received has given me some idea of why my work was being returned to me, given me a direction of what needs to be improved for the next time I submit. I’ve even been thankful enough to receive a few rejections that gave very detailed critiques and encouragement to resubmit.
Learning to take the positives from a rejection and growing from it is one of the things that makes a good writer into a great writer. It’s easy to sit on high and think you’re work is the great, but to take the time to really listen to what others are telling you and to use that advice to improve takes time, dedication and honest introspection.
And that’s exactly what I plan to do with this most recent rejection. I plan to take their advice and improve for the next submission. They’ve given me some ideas on how to improve my work no matter what house it falls under, and sometimes just having a direction to move forward in feels like a prize in its self.
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