Rejection Letters - Next Step Motivation
I wrote this little article a couple years ago as a way to help the new authors in the writers group I had been a part of at the time. There were, and still are, some authors that are a part of that group, and many others, who have let rejection letters stop their career in writing before it has ever started. So to help, I wrote this article. I hope it continues to help others who need a bit of motivation.
The Rejection Letter. The most feared correspondence known to aspiring authors. So feared that we have formed a love/hate mentality with regards to it. We love the fact that someone, finally, has seen our work, but hate that it wasn't accepted. We have also come to like, even grudgingly appreciate, the helpful comments, while in turn find the critical ones depressing. Of course, even the helpful ones can bring us down at times. Especially when we have polished that manuscript to a mirror shine and out of the ten submissions sent, all were rejected. Not a good feeling when we know we have a great story needing a home and an audience to appreciate it. So what do we do now? Give up? Call it quits? We've tried our best and it just wasn't good enough?
Absolutely not!
You don't give up a dream because of a little adversity. And you certainly don't throw in the towel because of a few rejections. If that happened, then we wouldn't have half the number of great writers we do today.
Writing has been a passion of mine since early school age, but I didn't get serious about it until eight or so years ago. I knew I wanted to write Romance and I knew what genre I wanted the Romance to be in. Knowing that, I did a little research on the market, joined the local chapter of RWA, and got the tools and help I needed to get my manuscript finished, submit it, and, God willing, get it published. What I failed to factor in was the number of rejection letters I would receive before that monumentous day occurred. It was an eye opener, to say the least.
Now, I had heard a few of the horror stories, and a few of the good ones, before my first submission, but you really don't understand until you receive a letter of your own. And I got my share, good and bad. But the thing is that with every one I received, it didn't feel like a rejection, per se. I mean, yeah, the house I submitted to didn't accept my story, but they took the time to explain why, and in some cases, even going so far as to give valuable advice. Advice that they didn't have to give that I in turn used to make my story stronger so I could send it out again with the hope that my next submission would result in the coveted contract. Of course, I'm not saying that all the advice I received I used, no, just what I thought would make my manuscript better. And like most advice, you take it or leave it, but these people are professionals. Most have been in the business for years, so it would be kind of ignorant to just ignore the words of one so experienced.
Continuing to use these tools, I stopped thinking of the rejection letter as a "Rejection Letter". To me, they were the next step toward further motivating myself to get that manuscript out there. And let's face it, the more motivation we have, the better. So, I renamed the rejection letter, Next Step Motivation. Not exactly catchy, but when your trying to keep your spirits up against such odds, well, every little bit helps.
Thus renaming a negative to a positive, I started to really think about the varied feelings most authors have concerning rejection letters (next step motivation). And I could see the obvious, no contract offered for whatever reason. But what we all have failed to notice is that in receiving one of these letters, it really is the next step. That having received it, we have gotten our names out there, someone has seen, and even read, our work. It's, in a way, our foot in the door. So the contract wasn't offered this time around, doesn't mean that it won't next time, or the next time. But you still got someone to notice your work and see your name attached to it. And getting someone to look at our work is half the battle.
Talking with different authors, I came to understand that not many realized this. I certainly didn't. I thought like most. Oh, my manuscript wasn't accepted and all I got was a few critical comments for my efforts. Yes, I was professional and thanked them for their time, but after a while, it finally started to click that, hey, they actually took that valuable time to look over my manuscript. And after attending several workshops and lectures, I discovered that this wasn't the norm. My submission was just one of thousands, thousands, so to have it actually looked over, and even read, well, that was a feat in itself. It was also a good feeling in a way. My manuscript was really read and commented on when it could have went to the slush pile without any comment at all, just a sorry, not interested at this time. Kind of depressing getting a reply like that, but why not use it, and other comments, in a positive light? Apply them to make my manuscript better, stronger? Use the advice as the tools they are? It certainly couldn't hurt. I even went so far as to purchase a cork board and pin all my rejections to it for further motivation. I know, sounds more like being a glutton for punishment, but by pinning the letters up, they let me know that I may not have achieved the goal of a contract yet, yet, but I have solid and undeniable proof that my work is getting out there. That someone is looking at it, seeing my name attached to it, and even taking the time to read some of it. And that feels good; to be acknowledged though the house I submitted to didn't offer a contract. It also feels good that the more I send, the more I know, the more I learn of this business. So this house wasn't interested in the manuscript I sent, but liked my voice and could I send something else. Sure, I have something else. Who knows, that something else could be just what they were looking for.
This is a tough market and knowledge is power. So all you aspiring authors working hard to get published, use your rejection letters (next step motivation) as the tools they are. Use them to make your work stronger, to motivate yourself to keep sending your work out there. And realize that nothing worth having was ever gotten for free. All the major published authors were once in our shoes, they too struggling, getting their share of rejections. No doubt they felt just as down with every one. But they persevered and we should too. Examples of that perseverance are found every time we pick up a book from our favorite author. So use your rejections as the next step and keep at it. Believe me, the reward is worth it.
Kimberly Hunter
The Rejection Letter. The most feared correspondence known to aspiring authors. So feared that we have formed a love/hate mentality with regards to it. We love the fact that someone, finally, has seen our work, but hate that it wasn't accepted. We have also come to like, even grudgingly appreciate, the helpful comments, while in turn find the critical ones depressing. Of course, even the helpful ones can bring us down at times. Especially when we have polished that manuscript to a mirror shine and out of the ten submissions sent, all were rejected. Not a good feeling when we know we have a great story needing a home and an audience to appreciate it. So what do we do now? Give up? Call it quits? We've tried our best and it just wasn't good enough?
Absolutely not!
You don't give up a dream because of a little adversity. And you certainly don't throw in the towel because of a few rejections. If that happened, then we wouldn't have half the number of great writers we do today.
Writing has been a passion of mine since early school age, but I didn't get serious about it until eight or so years ago. I knew I wanted to write Romance and I knew what genre I wanted the Romance to be in. Knowing that, I did a little research on the market, joined the local chapter of RWA, and got the tools and help I needed to get my manuscript finished, submit it, and, God willing, get it published. What I failed to factor in was the number of rejection letters I would receive before that monumentous day occurred. It was an eye opener, to say the least.
Now, I had heard a few of the horror stories, and a few of the good ones, before my first submission, but you really don't understand until you receive a letter of your own. And I got my share, good and bad. But the thing is that with every one I received, it didn't feel like a rejection, per se. I mean, yeah, the house I submitted to didn't accept my story, but they took the time to explain why, and in some cases, even going so far as to give valuable advice. Advice that they didn't have to give that I in turn used to make my story stronger so I could send it out again with the hope that my next submission would result in the coveted contract. Of course, I'm not saying that all the advice I received I used, no, just what I thought would make my manuscript better. And like most advice, you take it or leave it, but these people are professionals. Most have been in the business for years, so it would be kind of ignorant to just ignore the words of one so experienced.
Continuing to use these tools, I stopped thinking of the rejection letter as a "Rejection Letter". To me, they were the next step toward further motivating myself to get that manuscript out there. And let's face it, the more motivation we have, the better. So, I renamed the rejection letter, Next Step Motivation. Not exactly catchy, but when your trying to keep your spirits up against such odds, well, every little bit helps.
Thus renaming a negative to a positive, I started to really think about the varied feelings most authors have concerning rejection letters (next step motivation). And I could see the obvious, no contract offered for whatever reason. But what we all have failed to notice is that in receiving one of these letters, it really is the next step. That having received it, we have gotten our names out there, someone has seen, and even read, our work. It's, in a way, our foot in the door. So the contract wasn't offered this time around, doesn't mean that it won't next time, or the next time. But you still got someone to notice your work and see your name attached to it. And getting someone to look at our work is half the battle.
Talking with different authors, I came to understand that not many realized this. I certainly didn't. I thought like most. Oh, my manuscript wasn't accepted and all I got was a few critical comments for my efforts. Yes, I was professional and thanked them for their time, but after a while, it finally started to click that, hey, they actually took that valuable time to look over my manuscript. And after attending several workshops and lectures, I discovered that this wasn't the norm. My submission was just one of thousands, thousands, so to have it actually looked over, and even read, well, that was a feat in itself. It was also a good feeling in a way. My manuscript was really read and commented on when it could have went to the slush pile without any comment at all, just a sorry, not interested at this time. Kind of depressing getting a reply like that, but why not use it, and other comments, in a positive light? Apply them to make my manuscript better, stronger? Use the advice as the tools they are? It certainly couldn't hurt. I even went so far as to purchase a cork board and pin all my rejections to it for further motivation. I know, sounds more like being a glutton for punishment, but by pinning the letters up, they let me know that I may not have achieved the goal of a contract yet, yet, but I have solid and undeniable proof that my work is getting out there. That someone is looking at it, seeing my name attached to it, and even taking the time to read some of it. And that feels good; to be acknowledged though the house I submitted to didn't offer a contract. It also feels good that the more I send, the more I know, the more I learn of this business. So this house wasn't interested in the manuscript I sent, but liked my voice and could I send something else. Sure, I have something else. Who knows, that something else could be just what they were looking for.
This is a tough market and knowledge is power. So all you aspiring authors working hard to get published, use your rejection letters (next step motivation) as the tools they are. Use them to make your work stronger, to motivate yourself to keep sending your work out there. And realize that nothing worth having was ever gotten for free. All the major published authors were once in our shoes, they too struggling, getting their share of rejections. No doubt they felt just as down with every one. But they persevered and we should too. Examples of that perseverance are found every time we pick up a book from our favorite author. So use your rejections as the next step and keep at it. Believe me, the reward is worth it.
Kimberly Hunter
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