Rejected: How to decipher those letters and still stand tall

You spent hours—no—days, working on an article for a particular magazine. Crossing your fingers, you submit it to the editor. It’s perfect. You read the guidelines, were inspired as you constructed it, and think it glows.

Five minutes later the editor responds. “No, thank you.”

What?

What?

Perhaps you write novels and have honed one to perfection, sent it in and received a rejection letter that says it is too sad or too juvenile or just too, too much.

Discouragement sets in. You eat your weight in your favorite flavor of ice cream.

Rejections are not something most writers thrive talking about. Rejections cause us to sink into a vile mood and pound our heads against the wall, asking, “What is wrong with me?”

I’ve learned that rejections don’t have to be the end of the world. In fact, you can gain some perspective and peace of mind through those seemingly endless, “NTY” (No, thank yous). And a rejection is a rejection is a rejection is just not true. Some are lazy, some are stellar. The truth is, rejections can be rated.

Who’s going to rate them? You will. The more you receive, the more you’ll be skilled at making a rejection work for you. Now, how does that make you feel? Empowered? I hope so!

Wipe your tears, stop hitting your head against the wall and take a look at what the editor has written. There are types of rejections and with each one, comes a new knowledge.

First, there’s the simple and concise, “No.” No explanation is given. Just that the editor says no. Well, do you wonder why? Maybe your piece was too good for the publication. Huh? Yeah, well, maybe. The plain “no” doesn’t rate high in my book because I have no idea why the editor decided on not accepting my work.

Then there’s the type with more meat. This one explains why your piece has not made the grade. The explanation includes sentences such as: “This is not well-written” or “It’s too brief”, or “Too wordy”, or “Sorry, but someone has already pitched a similar article which has already been accepted”. These are my all-time favorites because on them I can build. If I submit three chapters of a novel and the editor replies with reasons it doesn’t work for her, she (the editor) has given me a gift. I can read my submission and might even think, “Aha, she is right, this is too contrived or needs a more believable flow!” and from there, I can use her comments to improve my story.

No rejection should be cruel and yet, yes, some editors do neglect their manners and send out the absolute cruel one, which boils down to your interpretation of it, which is: “Never write again!” If you get one like that, remember that this editor hasn’t had enough love in her life, is probably discouraged because she bided on a product on e-Bay and didn’t get the bid, had a cockroach in her shoe, or saw a three-headed python on her way to work. Basically, you can just be glad. Glad? Yes, be glad you aren’t in her shoes.

We’ve entered a new year. I hope you’ll be published many times. However, remember this: You can’t be published until you submit, and with each submission comes the possibilities. You could be rejected. And you could be accepted.

You’ll never know until you try.

Here’s to trying, falling down, and standing tall once again!

Until next time,
Alice