How to handle rejection

 

We’ve all been in relationships and we know how it is to be dumped. The feeling of floating soon turns to a churning gut and a dizzy feeling. At the time, nothing has hurt anymore and you’re pretty sure nothing ever will. And depending on your life, it might be one of the most difficult things. But as a writer, you’ll soon learn the rejection hurts more when your story is the subject of the email or letter.

When you receive your first rejection it feels like you’ve been stabbed in the gut. If you need proof, read my post detailing my first rejection. I went through a short depression and I began to question my skills as a writer and if I would ever be good enough. I wanted to quit, well at that time I called it “a momentary break”. Now you’re probably thinking, “why is he telling me this depressing story when his post is titled ‘how to handle rejection’?” That’s a good question my friend. The reason is the days following a rejection are some of the most important in your writing career.

First, you must keep writing. Even if you’re discouraged, keep writing or editing in some form or another. Use the rejection as motivation to continue. You’re one step closer to an acceptance when you receive that rejection. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it is true. When you see a rejection you get motivated to improve and soon those rejections turn to acceptances.

And trust me, the first rejection is the hardest. The following ones hurt, but nothing compared to the immense self-doubt you experience the first time. Also, as you’re working on improving your story, look for other markets. Make sure your story is not only a good fit, but a perfect fit for the market you are sending to. If you don’t know many markets, check out the website, Duotrope. I have a link posted on the sidebar if you’re interested.

The most important thing is to not deleted or shred your rejections. Hear me, DO NOT shred or delete your rejections. Each rejection is motivation to continue. Deleting it just gives it more power. It’s not like getting rid of it means it never happened, be strong and face it head on.

Remember, you’re not alone in this journey and if you ever get discouraged, email me or send me a comment. Hearing successes and failures from other people remind you that you’re not alone. Thanks for reading and I wish you the best of luck with your future stories. 🙂

 

Face meet palm…Facepalm!

So last night, I was submitting one of my stories to an online magazine. Everything was going fine, other than the fact that my printer quit working, forcing me to do all my editing on my word document. Anyways, I had finished my last round of editing, and began the submitting process.

I made sure I was sending the right story and spelled checked my cover letter five or six times. I even made sure to check if my author’s website had the correct address, not this site, but the current work-in-progress once I move along in the writing world.

So, everything had been checked and double checked, so I eventually hit send. About an hour later, I was reading my cover letter and saw where they asked for author website. And there, staring me right in the eyes was a typo, in the web address.

I feel pretty silly about that and I hope to not make that mistake again. This has probably been the most embarrassing mistake I’ve made when submitting and I hope to clear it up. Which leaves me with one more, hopefully simple, question. What has been the most embarrassing thing you’ve done when submitting work? Misspelled name? Wrong  address? Anything that made you want to hide away until the heat from your cheeks subsided.

Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope to have my One Lovely Blog Award post up later as well as a review for Fright Night (2011).