Jerusha Bosarge

As a MWG member, you may already have discovered the one thing that all writers who seek publication (whether just beginning a writing career, or already seasoned, fried, and ready to stick with a fork) have in common…rejection. It comes in many forms:

The Good Rejection:
“I really loved your manuscript on the Private Lives of African Bullfrogs, and although I really fought for you in the acquisitions meeting, my boss simply couldn’t see beyond the fact that we just offered a contract to the author of a much less-wonderful story about frogs. Please send us another manuscript as soon as you write it!”

The Form Rejection:
“Dear add author’s name here , Thank you for submitting your manuscript, _______add manuscript title here__________________, to us for review. We regret that _______add publisher’s current name here _____ is unable to publish it at this time. Sincerely, _______add current editor’s name here______.”

The Bad Rejection:
“We are not interested in your manuscript at this time. Please read our submission guidelines in the future, so that you may avoid wasting your time or ours by sending us a manuscripts similar to this one entitled Bugfoot:: The Adopted Alien Step-Child, when it is clearly stated there that we only publish non-fiction.”

The Disgruntled Editor Rejection:
“You have got to be kidding me. This is so bad, that I wish I had the energy to rip off my own leg just to have a heavy object to throw immediately at your stupid, fat head. Luckily for you, after suffering the torturous review of your horrible manuscript, I feel completely raped of any motivation at all. Never, and I mean NEVER EVER, send me anything of yours again.”

So, what’s the good news? The truth is, rejection doesn’t have to be that bad! Next time you float that manuscript out into the turbulent sea of mailbox dreams, try a few of these tips...

Forget about it! That’s right…forget your baby that you just sent out into the cruel world all alone, and write something new. You are a writer, after all. Now’s your chance to prove it by really throwing your heart and soul into a whole new subject. It is not a betrayal to your other manuscript to move on with your writing life…your manuscript would have wanted it that way.

Expect the worst. That’s right, save all other advice you hear about “keeping a positive attitude,” for the writing table. It is good for the free-flow of words during creation, but it has no place at the mailbox. Out on the street (or by the street, anyway), a healthy dose of pessimism can be an effective shield against the initial shock of rejection. After all, isn’t shock often the worst part of any traumatic experience? I’m no psychiatrist, but it seems to me that less shock = less pain.

Now, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t believe wholeheartedly in the true and (obvious-to-any-decent-person) merit of your masterpiece. I am simply suggesting you realize that EVERYONE…even (fill this space with your very favorite and most infallible author of all time), experiences a certain amount of rejections before that first contract (and often even between contracts). So, realistically…what makes you so different?

Redefine your experience. If you simply cannot stomach the thought of actually expecting the all-but-inevitable, then at least change your definition of the rejection. Instead of thinking of it as a personal blow to the core of your soul, try this on for size: receiving a rejection letter from a publisher is nothing more or less than completing a necessary item on your list of “things to do to get published.” Enjoy the accompanying sense of accomplishment as you check it off your list.

Prepare a new submission. Don’t just stand there by the mailbox…the postman will think you’re a stalker. Instead, go back to your computer, and immediately find another publisher for the piece you just sent. Print a cover letter (or query, or proposal, depending upon your particular manuscript), put it in an envelope with the usual SASE, stamp it, and place it into a drawer labeled ‘stand-by’. When the dreaded (and eagerly anticipated) rejection arrives, do not wait! Go straight back out to the mailbox, and drop in the old stand-by. You will be shocked at how fast the pain in your heart lessens when it is replaced by hope-renewed.

If all else fails, at least go back to the first sentence of this article, and remember that you are not alone. If you want to get published in today’s competitive industry, rejection is simply one of the many gut-wrenching hurdles all authors have to conquer. Whether you laugh at rejections, collect them, burn them, or share them with others, always remember that your rejections are not the first… they will not be the last... and they do not define who you are as a writer. It is simply one step in the process. So, write on! And keep those submissions flowing!