How to Deal with a Book or Article Being Rejected

When you are dealing with writing then you should probably know that you are going to get rejected from time to time. Most writers will tell you that it is almost always true that you will see a lot of no no's before you may see a yes. The key to writing is to not give up just because some of your work is rejected. With rejection also comes the ability to learn from your mistakes. You may receive a rejection and then end up getting five more published just because you took the time to read over your work and correct all of the common errors that you once made.

Why was I rejected?

Their can be a million reasons as to why you were rejected. Your work may have not been what the agent or publisher's were looking for, or it could just simply be that you had some errors that need to be fixed. If you are not sure why it was rejected, then feel free to ask. You will never know how to correct your work until you know the flaws and the reason for them.

Justify rejection

When someone is rejected, it may feel as though they are being picked on for some reason that is unknown. Don't let rejection bother you too much. Having a story or article that you wrote, rejected, does not necessarily mean that the writer was a bad writer or that your work was terrible. A lot of famous people where rejected before they ever became published. You should never take this personally. They are only doing their jobs and their is always room for improvement.

What if I have never been rejected?

Well, good for you. Not to burst your bubble or anything but don't be surprised if you ever do happen to be rejected. Some writers are lucky enough to never have any of their work rejected. The reality for most writers though, is too have a piece or two rejected at times. You don't ever want to say the word never because this may happen to you and you may feel a bit worthless when it does happen. The key to being rejected is to always learn from what you have done and to try to not do it again.

Now that you have been rejected, how do you deal with it?

Some writers may go months or even years without one rejection and then on that unlucky day a rejection letter comes. The writer may feel torn and may even feel that the world is about to end. Some writers may not even care and just throw it in the trash along with the rest of the rejection letters. These writers move on without even thinking twice about it. The real way to deal with rejection is to take it one step at a time. You don't want to ponder on the idea of a rejection for too long or you might drive yourself insane. Pick up the pieces and move on.

You might want to look over the rejection letter and see if it was an error on your part that you can correct easily or if it is something that they just did not like about it. You should learn to love critics, they are what teaches you the good and bad in your writing. Try having as many people read over your work before you send it in. You need people to be honest with you, so getting your mother to do it may not be a good idea. Your mother loves you but sometimes she loves you too much.

Changing your work

You may need to revise your work a little to meet the publishers demands. Sometimes the rejection letter comes with a side note explaining what went wrong and how you should fix it. Take this note into consideration, after all they know what they are looking for, and sometimes you need a little extra help to make it just right. Don't get upset if they ask you to do this. Remember it's their money that is paying for this so they can pick and choose all they want since your, the one who is getting paid.

Always, resubmit when you receive a note explaining what they thought that should or shouldn't have been written. This is the publishers way of telling you that they liked what you wrote but they want it written a little different.

You know that this time around you will beat the odds and it will become published. What if it doesn't? You could always start on something else, or edit it again. The choice is yours. You should never give up especially if this is your dream. Writing can seem frustrating, difficult , or even plain dirty at times but keep up the work and you will make it just fine.