Feeling better about rejections

suzan

suzan

This may be old news to all you Brits, but an article just appeared in The Australian (quoting The Sunday Times) which described how the paper sent out the opening chapters of a few Booker Prize winning books to leading literary agents...and they all came back with Thanks but No Thanks replies!!  On the one hand it made me think "so,what chance have I got?"...but on the other hand, it was strangely satisfying and I will definitely bear it in mind when my next rejection is received!!!

moira

Rejection is not always negative, I had one a couple of days ago for the wicca book I'm working on and the letter said something like, we enjoyed reading this work and it is well written however, unsuitable for our lists.
Okay, they said no, but they gave me written proof that I can write well and added to my confidence to do so. Knowing that my writing is good enough gives me a huge boost on days when I feel like giving up.

suzan

Yes, I was reading a book the other day that talked about climbing the ladder of rejections.  The bottom rung is the standard 'not for us' type, then above that is the 'we like this but it isn't for us'.  Then there's the 'this is not for us, but send us something else' and then, of course, you head on up to that elusive 'yes'.  So, well done for climbing up a rung!

Betsie

Never view a rejection slip as being negative.  It means at the very least, someone had the guts to write something and submit it which is a lot more than others manage.  It also means they are actually practising their art which can only lead to better things.

Howard

I have some rejections I've become quite fond of! One gave me lots of good advice in very humorous fashion and another was so kind I was touched by it. (But not as touched as I would be by the ultimate rung on the ladder!)

Susan

I really needed to hear this. I'm one of those that Betsie mentioned. I haven't recieved any rejection slips because I haven't sent anything anywhere to get one. Thank you! Now I'm looking forward to my first.

Jacey

Thinking of each rejection as a step forward/rite of passage has helped me. You have ruled out a publisher/agent that wasn't a good match for you. That makes you closer to finding the right one.

Jan

Apparently, I am one of the lucky few to receive rejection letters containing constructive reasoning.

Several submissions have been returned with explanations of why content was wrong for publication. Process of illimination should result in my writing eventually meeting criteria acceptable for their needs.