Creative Writing: Dealing with Rejection

By Laura College

I am often approached by clients who have been trying for years to write their own books, but haven’t got anything to show for their efforts except several drawers full of politely (and not-so-politely) written rejection letters. So how does a writer – or any artist, for that matter – deal with the pain of rejection?

First of all, there is a reason why rejection is felt much more strongly in the arts than anywhere else. Having a manuscript rejected by a major publishing company is akin to telling your best friend of ten years that you are in love with her, only to be shot down. Writing is an expression of everything that is personal to you, everything that matters. When something into which you have put your heart and soul is rejected, you are bound to be affected by it.

So when you are faced with multitudes of rejection, it is time to evaluate your goals and determine what is most important to you. Examine what each of the rejection letters have said, if they have specific comments about your work. Have several publishers or agents made the same comments? Are the points of rejection minor or major? And do you feel as though you can improve upon your work to the point where it will finally be accepted?

There is one sad fact that everyone should know about the arts: there is a reason why everyone doesn’t do it. If everyone could write well enough to be published, it wouldn’t be any big deal at all. But since writing is a talent that few people possess, you must be able to objectively evaluate your skills and decide whether or not it is something that you should pursue.

Unfortunately, most people aren’t able to face their work objectively. Your friends and family are not proper sounding boards either because they won’t want to hurt your feelings. Your best bet is to have an experienced editor read your manuscript and give you his or her honest critique. It isn’t expensive, and it’s better than wasting the next ten years of your life beating a dead horse.

That sounded harsh, didn’t it? The point is that rejection is harsh, but writers who make it in the publishing world have notoriously thick skin. We don’t mind when someone bashes our work because at least that means our work is being read, and we have received assurances in the past that we aren’t talentless.

Take heart, however. There are plenty of bestselling books on the market that went through hundreds of rejection letters before finding a publisher that would take it on. For example, I wrote a book for one of my clients that took nearly six months to complete. When I finished, he sent the manuscript to 154 literary agents and 24 publishing houses, trying to get a book deal. Rejection letters poured in by the dozens, but he didn’t give up because he knew the book was good. Finally, the 155th literary agent he queried agreed to represent the novel, and two months later he was offered a $1.5 million advance for its publication. It sat on the NY Times Bestseller list for several weeks, and one thirteen literary awards.

The moral of that story, my friends, is that if you have talent and are sure of your potential success, please don’t give up. Make adjustments as they are suggested to you by professionals and keep sending out those queries.

Laura J. College is a professional ghostwriter with more than ten years' experience writing fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Her work can be found all over the Internet, and she is currently accepting ghostwriting clients. Check out her website at http://www.laurajcollege.com