SURVIVING REJECTION

In writing, as in life, rejection is frequent. Pro-active writers, in particular, are more likely than most to face rejection. At one time I had 47 consecutive manuscript rejections, while my annual acceptance rate varies from ten to thirty percent. Despite this, I have managed for many years to make a living from writing.
There are numerous reasons for manuscripts to be rejected. The quality of one’s material might not be up to standard.  A manuscript might have problems with length, style, tone and/or subject matter. Or it might simply be that any given editor is having a bad day. Alternatively, it could be a case of bad timing: another manuscript with a similar theme might recently have been selected. The odds of having a manuscript picked up from a slush pile suggest that writing on spec is a gamble. As with all gambles, it’s impossible to have a 100% guarantee of success.
There are other ways in which a writer faces rejection. It might be that a book is published, but it’s unfavourably reviewed, or that it’s simply not reviewed. Being overlooked can be more difficult sometimes than having one’s work harshly judged. The best way to respond to bad or outrageous reviews is to just put on a brave face and move onto the next project. If your work is overlooked by reviewers, the only revenge is to try harder to promote your title. Writing articles about how the work came to be published and submitting it to whichever market will take them – paid or unpaid – is one way of having one’s work noticed, as is making use of social media.
Some authors face rejection when their book – favourably reviewed --- is not listed in literary awards. Again, this is a matter of putting on a brave face and just being thankful to at least have your book published: so many writers have never found a publisher. Tell yourself that not everyone can be short-listed, let alone win awards. If you don’t find yourself in the final half dozen, reassure yourself that although it’s good for one’s ego to be an award winner or ‘listed’, what ultimately counts is commercial sales. Sometimes an author who misses out on short-listings can find that their title appeals to the mass market and might even be short-listed (or win) reader choice awards. In the children’s book industry, names such as Jennings, Griffiths and Ball come to mind: the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) largely ignores their books, but these same authors often figure in children’s choice awards.
If you are in the book industry for the long haul, then you need to develop strategies which will reap acceptance and/or success. Probably one of the best ways is to diversify. This means writing more: the more projects you have on the go, the more likelihood there is of publication. Write for different markets. Write non-fiction as well as fiction. Write short stories as well as novels, plays as well as articles. You can also recycle previously rejected material. Re-work it into a different format so that it can be submitted to another market. Give old material new angles. Detouring to new projects can give one renewed enthusiasm. Re-writing, in order to create work of high quality, is yet another way of working towards publication and/or short-listing.
Taking rejection personally and complaining about judges’ and publishers’ bias or ignorance is futile and self-destructive. One needs to be thick-skinned and determined. Persistence and self-belief are the keynotes. Time and again I have succeeded as an author because of these qualities. For example, it was my 16th submission of The Last Refuge manuscript that saw success when it was taken by a publisher: I had re-titled it and recycled it to the very first publisher to whom I had submitted, and it was that publisher which ultimately accepted it! (It then went on to be published in translation and to win a book award.) Recently my friend and colleague, Edel Wignell, succeeded in placing a manuscript on her 65th submission! Now that is persistence!
Reassure yourself that your manuscript is of high quality but maybe there are reasons beyond your control – political or financial, for example -- that stop publication. Instead of using your energy to complain and carp, work harder and smarter. You, too, can survive rejection!© Dianne Bates
Dianne Bates has published over 130 books for young people – but she still has at least 10 unpublished children’s book manuscripts, all of which she believes are publishable! Her most recent book is a children's poetry anthology she compiled: Our Home is Dirt by Sea (Walker Books Australia). Di’s website is www.enterprisingwords.com.au