REJECTION: LESSONS LEARNED
I was recently invited to revise and resubmit a manuscript to a very well-known publisher. After months of wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming each night of a book deal--ahem, I was REJECTED. Below are three lessons learned.
1. Be Objective
The revision letter was pages long, and even though I was basically told to re-write the whole novel (which I did), and after meeting with a well-known, multi-published, award winning author who told me to follow the revisions since receiving that chance from this publisher was rare, and even after fighting for months because I didn't want to revise, I did it--only to be rejected--I've come to my first conclusion: The pigeon hole may not be that small. Look, a publisher is looking for something specific to meet their line; it doesn't mean my story isn't going to work for another publisher. The editor was kind enough to say in her rejection letter that my writing would definitely "make a splash."
Taking an objective look at your writing is what we all need to do as we grow and perfect our craft. I was happy to have done so, even though I received a rejection after months of waiting--not bitter, trust me. :-)
2. Don't Misread Your Gut
When I finished revising, I had an insane feeling of accomplishment. I thought, this is going to be accepted . I had written a far better novel and there was NO WAY this would be rejected, at least by this particular publisher. HAHAHAHA. Look, instead of thinking "this is the one," say to yourself, "this is the better novel that I should have written first." This definitely helped in softening the blow of rejection because I now know I would have had to fake it 'till I made it never queried/submitted the other version if I had also had this totally new, cool one.
3. Tomorrow Is Another Day--Or Just End This One With A Bang
The same day I received that rejection, I had four more publishers lined up. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Would I have loved to say I was offered a contract by that publisher? Absolutely. Have I lost my shot at accepting a contract? Absolutely not. Other publishers are out there just waiting for your work. I felt re-energized, re-vitalized even, now that I could move forward. I'm psyched to be submitting my work to other publishers; you don't know what kind of doors will be opened.
Oh rejection, where is thy sting? Hmm, that's not it--oh, wait...YES, IT IS.
Have you had the pleasure of being rejected? If so, what lessons did you learn?
1. Be Objective
The revision letter was pages long, and even though I was basically told to re-write the whole novel (which I did), and after meeting with a well-known, multi-published, award winning author who told me to follow the revisions since receiving that chance from this publisher was rare, and even after fighting for months because I didn't want to revise, I did it--only to be rejected--I've come to my first conclusion: The pigeon hole may not be that small. Look, a publisher is looking for something specific to meet their line; it doesn't mean my story isn't going to work for another publisher. The editor was kind enough to say in her rejection letter that my writing would definitely "make a splash."
Taking an objective look at your writing is what we all need to do as we grow and perfect our craft. I was happy to have done so, even though I received a rejection after months of waiting--not bitter, trust me. :-)
2. Don't Misread Your Gut
When I finished revising, I had an insane feeling of accomplishment. I thought, this is going to be accepted . I had written a far better novel and there was NO WAY this would be rejected, at least by this particular publisher. HAHAHAHA. Look, instead of thinking "this is the one," say to yourself, "this is the better novel that I should have written first." This definitely helped in softening the blow of rejection because I now know I would have had to fake it 'till I made it never queried/submitted the other version if I had also had this totally new, cool one.
3. Tomorrow Is Another Day--Or Just End This One With A Bang
The same day I received that rejection, I had four more publishers lined up. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Would I have loved to say I was offered a contract by that publisher? Absolutely. Have I lost my shot at accepting a contract? Absolutely not. Other publishers are out there just waiting for your work. I felt re-energized, re-vitalized even, now that I could move forward. I'm psyched to be submitting my work to other publishers; you don't know what kind of doors will be opened.
Oh rejection, where is thy sting? Hmm, that's not it--oh, wait...YES, IT IS.
Have you had the pleasure of being rejected? If so, what lessons did you learn?
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