Rejections

Sometimes as writers, we expect that everyone will like everything we write. We have such a strong desire to be published that we are angered when the plain white post card with a stamped, "We can't use your work at this time. Thank you." drops into our mailbox, (email or post), and announces that yes, you are a crappy writer and this rejection note proves it.

Then we might pout, or call a fellow writer to try and suck some sympathy from them. We just know that there is a cad on the other end of that rejection letter, some jerk who probably didn't even read the wonderful piece of prose we wrote!

But what I've found, already, in my short career is that as a writer, we must listen, absord and understand what the rejection letter really means. It's not a personal attack. It is a rejection of the work. Maybe it was not aptly suited for the place to which it was sent. Maybe it was not written in a format that best displays the work. Maybe it's been done. Maybe the poor publisher is so overwhelmed that they just can't read one more work!

I had such was a rejection just a couple of weeks ago. At first, my disappointment was palpable. I say that, because I was alone and I swear I could feel the blood thumping through my veins as I read it. I was hurt, as a rejection of any writer's work cuts to the bone, (even though we won't admit it). Then I read the rejection again. I was the lucky writer who had an editor tell me what they didn't like about my story. They gave me helpful insights of what was expected for their publication. They were brutally honest! But they gave me something more. They gave me a second chance to write it!

Guess what? I did. I rewote the article. I received a reply that it was accepted! So, I guess the moral to this story is, save all the rejection postcards as you'll need them to remind you that as a writer, you will be disappointed. Not everyone will like everything you write, but write anyway, or maybe it's better said, rewrite anyway!

Have a good week!