Why Rejection Is A Good Thing
ByYour short story has come back rejected. The novel you spent months writing is returned from the editor with a form rejection stating that it’s not quite what the publisher is looking for at this time. Your screenplay was returned unopened … not even good enough for a look from the agent.
Rejection is part of the business of writing. You need a thick skin to survive it. More important, you need to make rejection slips your allies and not your enemies.
How?
First, by understanding their value. If you submit a short story to an editor and it’s rejected, especially without comment, then you come away without knowing much. It may be that the story doesn’t work. Or it may be that it wasn’t right for that publication. It could even mean that the editor was having a bad day and it didn’t matter what you sent her it was going to get rejected. You just don’t have enough information after a single rejection to be able to judge its value.
So send it out again.
And if it comes back rejected, send it out one more time.
If it comes back a third time, with no notes or input from the editor, it’s time to accept that the story might have a problem. Don’t waste your time fretting over why it was rejected or if the editor has something against you or if you aren’t good enough. Be professional. Take responsibility. You now have something concrete on which to stand. You know there’s something wrong. At the very least, before you send it out again, you need to take another look at your story.
You’re going to be surprised, I promise you. Even if the story had sold and the editor had sent you the page proofs, you’d be surprised when you read them. Time away from a story presents you with an entirely new perspective when you return. If you’re fortunate, you’ll be able to spot the weakness almost instantly. If it isn’t apparent to you, then you can do a couple of things. First, you can put it aside for awhile longer and put some distance between you and your story. It’s often helpful to step back a bit. Writers invest so much of themselves in their work that it can create blind spots to a story’s deficiencies. Second, you can have someone you trust read it and offer you feedback.
Once you’ve reworked the story, then go ahead and send it out again.
Now, if during your story’s journeys an editor was kind enough to respond with a note … consider yourself fortunate and pay attention. Your story isn’t the only one to land on her desk that day. Editors always have a new stack of manuscripts arriving. This is why you’ll commonly receive the standard, printed rejection form instead of a nice, handwritten note explaining why your story was rejected.
No matter what she says about your story, don’t waste her time and don’t waste your time by responding. She offered her insight hoping to be helpful. Accept it as a gift and be gracious, even if you disagree with her. Writing back and telling her why she was wrong will serve no purpose. She’s already moved on to other manuscripts. You should move on to evaluating what she had to say about yours.
Rejection is painful. No question about it. But it’s not the rejection that’s important, it’s your response to the rejection. Don’t let it get you depressed and deflated. Use it motivate you.
Each and every story rejection puts you one step closer to publication.
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