Let’s Talk About Rejections

Let’s face it, we all hate receiving the words, “Thank you for sending in your submission, but we didn’t accept it.”

You might get an explanation for the reason why, or you may not. If you received the reason then check it over carefully. Do you understand what they are trying to tell you about your story? Did you try to make sense of it, or did you just get mad and throw it away?

Hopefully, you didn’t get mad and throw it away. At least save it. Put it with a copy of your story and put it away for now. Here are a few tips to help you with rejections.

·         Take a deep cleansing breath and GET OVER IT! Don’t let it take over your every thought. Don’t let it stigmatize your thoughts and fingers to continue writing. Don’t speak negatively to yourself. Think positive thoughts… “That’s just one person’s opinion.”

·         Did you follow the instructions to the key? Did they ask for a Cover Letter and you didn’t comply? You must make sure you follow instructions that each publisher requests. Now all publishers are the same. Maybe it was rejected because it didn’t fit their magazine/ezine. Did you see if they have a theme you must write about?

·         Think positive. You’ve rewritten your story and it’s perfect. Now look for a home for it. There are many online paying markets you can find. Here’s one for freelancers: https://allfreelancewriting.com/writers-markets/ If you want fiction markets: http://www.fictionfactor.com/markets.html I like Fiction Factor because they have a plethora of different genres to choose from.

·         Send to more than one publisher the same story. But make sure the publisher will accept submissions to other publishers. You can probably bet that someone will like your story or article. If not, keep submitting until one does accept it, or you write a new story/article. Sometimes, it’s just getting it in on the right day, when the editor is in a good mood. *smile*

·         REJECTION – Is just a nine-letter word that can either stunt you from your writing, or push you to better heights. I’m betting you’ll be pushed to your highest level and move on. Don’t fear that word, but learn from the editor’s that may take the time to give you great feedback. We can only hope!

Keep writing and submitting. You’ll forget that nine-letter word when you receive a better word, ACCEPTED. You'll be smiling all the way to the bank.

Linda Barnett-Johnson, is a Virtual Assistant for authors and enjoys writing poetry, short stories, and making up quotes. Many of her articles and poetry have been published. She’s a former editor, former assistant editor of Long Story Short ezine, former administrative director of Long Story Short School of Writing. You can locate her website here: www.lindabarnett-johnson.com She also posts new books, writing articles and author interviews on her blog:  http://lindabarnett-johnson.blogspot.com/  Always looking for guest bloggers that would post writing tips, articles and anything to do with writing.