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How Rejections Can Help You
By L.J. Bothell
Rejections. I get them, you get them, and we loathe them more than the flu bug
or credit card payments. What good are they except as downers, cat-box liners,
spitwad material, etc.? A lot, actually, depending on your perspective. And in
today's publishing market which experiences smaller profits, fewer educated
readers, and booming numbers of hopeful submitters, we need to use rejections as
constructively as possible. This starts first and foremost by changing how we
perceive and act upon them.
The first perception to change is the word rejection. Your work was not
selected, rather than rejected. The difference seems minute, but is not.
Editors select whichever stories fit their criteria, and weed out those falling
outside their scope (word length, subject or genre matter, etc.); those having
subtle or obvious flaws in reasoning, plot, setting, character, and originality;
and those which don't compare with all the other submissions. Rejection suggests
'failure,' whereas in structuring an idea for publication, you have in no way
failed. Your submission simply did not meet that specific publication's needs,
and has every chance of finding its home elsewhere.
Remember, a few dozen magazines can publish perhaps a few hundred stories a
quarter, and they receive thousands. They must select what they can market, and
your submission may not hit the right magazine the first time, the fifth time,
the fifteenth... You can’t let yourself get frustrated because you’ll
wash yourself right out of the business. You are reading this article because
the author just wouldn’t quit. Remember, YOU are in control - you must
perceive even these "rejections" to be to your benefit.
Next, use the editor's answers constructively. For instance, carefully consider
generic form letters which decline your work while saying little of substance.
These doubtless result from the editor's lack of time; in the future, consider
offering that editor form query letters summarizing your work and asking if
he/she would like to see it. This will save you time and postage. However,
if your form rejection reflects a brush-off attitude (such as "not for us,"
"sorry - no," or "doesn't cut it"), you should wonder about
the effort going into the publication itself. These also indicate the editor has
little interest in contributors, just in the "product." When you
receive one of these ungracious kiss-offs, don't ever sweat it, because the
editor sure doesn't sweat you. Submit again only at your own risk.
Other rejections can include a checklist, two or three comments indicating why
the submission was not selected, or personal comments by the editor. The editor
may be busy, but he/she has at least offered you specific reasons why your
submission was not selected. More importantly, these can tell you what the
publication does/does not need, and can offer you improvement ideas. Try these
editors again to see what happens.
Finally, you might receive a personalized letter, specific ideas for developing
your story more effectively, and/or other markets for you to attempt. This
feedback shows that the editor values contributors and their potential success
with the publication. Seriously listen to these editors' reasons, and definitely
consider them in developing your work, especially if more than one editor has
made similar observations. Offer work again and again to these diamonds and
build up a rapport with the editorial team.
Use editors' feedback constructively, even if you don't feel it is
constructively handled. Structuring and writing for publication takes enough
energy without wasting it on nonproductive rejections, so work with the
constructive editors and REJECT the useless ones.
L.J. Bothell is a graphic designer & writer with nearly four dozen
stories and articles accepted/published, including in Net-Temps’ Crossroads
newsletter, Today’s Careers, The Career Source, The Magic Within (anthology),
Speculations magazine for writers, and the 365 Scary Stories anthology (Barnes
and Noble). Questions or comments? Contact bastmedia@aol.com
with "Article Comment" in the subject line.
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