Rejection and Dejection

I lucked out when I began the long road toward publication of my first book…I was used to rejection.  In my years as a freelance writer, I got used to the word “no.”  I developed an elephant-like skin. So why did it hurt so much when my first book proposal was repeatedly rejected in acquisitions boards at the best publishing houses?

Part of it was pride.  It was a blow to be almost to the finish line, then told I couldn’t have my pretty prize.  Part of it was shock.  I had put everything I had into this proposal.  Why didn’t they like it?

At the time, I didn’t realize that rejection is part of publishing.  All those truisms about not leaving five minutes before the miracle and a professional being an amateur who didn’t quit?  True.

I’ll repeat, just for good measure:  rejection is a part of publishing.  If there’s one piece of information I’d impart to a new writer, it would be the one you just read, followed closely by don’t take it personally.

The acquisitions board’s reservations about your book’s broad appeal?  Not about you.
A reader’s complaint?  Not about you.
An editor’s red mark?  Not about you.

The moment you open yourself up to the world and send a word out into the ether of the Internet or the sea of postmarked letters, your work is no longer solely yours.  You trade your sole and complete stake in your work for the opportunity to reach an audience, to be read.  The time to feel passionate about your words and your work is before you send it out.  That’s not to say that you can’t be your writing’s most passionate advocate, but know that by letting others into the process, you must project a certain professional demeanor in return.

Don’t take it personally.  Rejection is a part of publishing.  And it’s what you do after the rejection that really counts.