It happens to all of us, usually fairly often. Stephen King’s Carrie, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Joseph Heller's Catch-22, and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series are just a few of the hugely successful books that were turned down multiple times before publication. One writer friend recently said his rejection letter was one step closer to being a professional writer.
So what does it mean when your work is rejected and how should you react?
Some rejections really won’t mean anything. I once submitted a manuscript according to publisher guidelines, by email. I hit send and immediately received a form letter rejection that was time stamped the minute before the email was actually opened according to the receipt my email client provides. This company apparently decided to deal with a sudden influx of submissions with auto responses.
Even if your work is rejected after having been viewed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your writing is “bad”. A publisher may be looking to fill a void in a different genre, your writing style may not be representative of what their audience wants, it may be too similar to another recent submission, or the queue of upcoming publications may be full. Of course the submissions editor may not like your finished product, but then again do you like every book or magazine that your local book store sells?
Slush pile readers and acquisition editors wade through loads of unsolicited offerings and despite the wounded feelings of rejected writers, most of them don’t have the time to be particularly nasty or mean. If they’ve used anything more than a simple form letter, they may tell you what their reasons were for not accepting your effort. Sometimes a submissions editor may even make a helpful suggestion or offer constructive criticism.
Some comments can be invaluable. Comments like “there wasn’t enough story” after reading only three chapters doesn’t mean that your story isn’t interesting, but what it does mean is that it doesn’t hook a reader enough to keep turning pages to get to the “interesting” part. Your manuscript may not be suitable for their particular audience – did you take the time to study their publication or line-up? You “head-hopped” – you may have switched your point of view too frequently without any clear break in the scene and it was too confusing.
It pays for you to consider and re-evaluate your writing when you receive constructive comments. This does NOT mean that you need to make changes, but do take a look and honestly consider if you can make your prose tighter, more consistent and more riveting. If you don’t see changes you feel should be made, then find another market to send your manuscript to and send it according to submission guidelines. If your book is rejected multiple times and the same reasons are listed repeatedly, then chances are you should make changes.
You will also come across the occasional acquisitions editor who apparently has had a bad day and chooses to pass along the bad vibes. Don’t let these rare letters destroy your ambition or your confidence. No matter what, do not engage in a hissy fit and accuse the editor of all sorts of evil intentions; for one thing the editor may be well connected or you may have to come back to that editor at a later date. And if you choose to make your complaints public, you will be making a name for yourself that just might not earn you the respect of readers, editors and other writers. At all times keep it professional.
Writing exercise: Pick ten people, any ten – write one sentence (each, 1 through 4) about each of them that (1) tells you who that person is, (2) what their dreams are, (3) what their educational background is, and (4) what is most memorable about the person.
Writing prompt: Imagine you’ve arrived at an empty cabin in the woods. You need to take shelter from the impending night. While you are inside you discover a locked door. Out of curiosity you “play” with the lock and it breaks. The door slowly swings open – what is behind it?
