Things You'll Need:
- positive self image
-
Step 1
First, you need to be prepared and accept it. You're going to get rejection letters. It's just a part of the process. If we all got accepted with every article that we wrote then there would be a lot of poor written articles, articles not pertaining to the topics or articles that just do not fit in with the genre they're published in. So accept it now. Tell yourself that you will hear rejection. It's just part of life. Know that publishers are rejecting the work, not you and that its not personal. Do not take it as a personal attack or even an assault on your writing. It probably just didn't fit in with that particular publishers style.
-
Step 2
Learn from them. Some editors will tell you the specific reason they rejected your work. Learn from this and adapt with it. If they told you that it just didn't work for them, well now you know what they're looking for (or not looking for as the case may be). If they gave you specific points to look at in your article or things to fix, then give that considerations. Try to make each rejection a learning experience.
-
Step 3
No big deal...move on. Whenever you do get rejection notices brush them off. It's time to move on. Take from them what you can and move on to the next publisher with that piece. You can make notes on that specific publisher or if what they're looking for totally doesn't mesh well with your style then make a note of that and keep going.
-
Step 4
Motivation. The key to getting published and creating a lucrative writing career is to be motivated. If you take the rejections to heart and give up then you are never going to become published. A writing career takes time, motivation and dedication to succeed. Remind yourself that you are a good writer and this writing career is your dream and keep going!
Comments
FrazzledNanny said
on 1/15/2009 Great advice. Thanks for the article. Very informative. 5*s
miasavc said
on 1/9/2009 Love this article. It keeps my hope up!
PajamaMommy said
on 8/6/2008 All very true. I really needed to read this today as I was feeling a little down about a particular rejection I received. Thanks for reminding me it's all just a part of the process.
JesaLynn said
on 7/26/2008 Super helpful and very motivating! Thanks!
SeventhSibling said
on 7/23/2008 As others have mentioned, this article is motivating. And the volume of responses shows that all we writers (and wanna-be writers) share occassional let-downs, whether from a publisher we have submitted work to or a low-producing eHow article. We learn from our shortcomings and trudge on to future success.