Having someone say they don’t like what you wrote hurts a lot. It makes you feel discouraged and disappointed and puts you in a vulnerable state knowing that you’ve put in a lot of effort into the work. But, you must understand that rejection is part of a writer’s life.
Any writer who doesn’t have a finished novel has nothing to be rejected. However, facing rejection is proof that you’re closer to achieving your goal. Whenever your work gets rejected by publications, novel apps, or publishers, do not let it stop you from writing. Rather, learn to view rejection as a journey to success because only those who have a completed novel ever get rejected.
Moreover, there is no standard for measuring quality writing. So, rejection may not always mean that you are a bad writer. Most editors, organizations, and judges only turn down writing projects based on their preference, history, or knowledge level.
Nevertheless, it is important to develop resilience and know how to handle rejection whenever it comes. Instead of viewing rejection as failure, see it as an opportunity to evaluate and improve in your craft. So, below are tips for dealing with rejection.
Develop Thick Skin
Do not let rejection make you feel downcast. Try your best to develop thick skin not only as a writer but in other aspects of life. Many people go through rejection daily. They experience rejection in their relationships, schools, jobs, etc. Also, most notable writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.K. Rowling were rejected by writing agencies at some point or another yet they persisted in their craft. So, rejection should make you strong and not sulk.
Give Yourself Time
There’s nothing wrong with feeling hurt or less motivated when your manuscript gets rejected. Such an experience can be discouraging and difficult to take in. Anyway, feeling emotionally distressed makes you human. You can take a break from writing. Take proper care of yourself, get rejuvenated, and return to your craft.
Share your Feelings with Others
If you want to easily get over rejection, share your feelings with a trusted friend. Ensure that whosoever you share your rejection story with is also a writer at your level. This will enable him/her to easily relate to how you feel. Talking to someone helps to ease your burden and is a quick step to your healing.
Be Objective
Learn to be objective whenever your writing project gets rejected. Do not make the rejection about yourself. Do not see it as an attack on your personality. Rather focus on the issue, not your person. Separate your personality from your writing. This will help you easily get over the hurt that rejection brings.
Be Sincere to Yourself and Spot Your Flaws
Rather than taking rejection to heart, be sincere to yourself. Sit back and think about why your work was rejected and where or what you might have missed out on. Go through your work to look out for your mistakes. Spotting your flaws will help you improve your writing, thus, preventing future rejections.
Accept Feedbacks
Feedback is an important tool for learning, improving, and refining your skills. So, it’s a good thing if your rejection note comes with feedback. This will give you a specific clue on why your work was rejected. Therefore, it is important to accept feedback. With feedback received, you can easily take note of your errors and work on them.
Take a Different Route
If your story manuscript has been rejected more than once, take time to study your work and spot your flaws. You may need to change your writing pattern if you’ve been using a particular style that is consistently being rejected. Taking a different writing route is a step in fixing any issue that caused rejection.
Learn New Things
While you take a different writing route, it is necessary to learn something new. Look out for novels written by notable authors and study them. You might be able to detect their writing secrets. Pick salient keys and infuse them into your writing. You can also learn new things by joining writers’ communities. These would help you learn from others while you fix errors that led to the rejection of your work.
Be Determined to Stay on Your Passion
Determination is the key to success. If you wish to succeed as a novelist, then you must be strong-willed. Do not give up on your passion because your work was rejected. Let your passion for your craft be your driving force irrespective of the rejection you face. Never quit writing. Continue in your craft while you focus on achieving your goal.
Conclusion
Rejection isn’t the end of the world neither does it make you a failure. Rather, it is an opportunity to learn, improve, and re-strategize in your craft.
Rejection can happen to anyone so it’s important to be prepared for it. Always give out your writing projects to multiple writing outlets instead of submitting them to just one. This will help you remain stable even if it gets rejected by one.