No one likes rejection.

It’s even worse when it’s something you’ve spent lots of time on, writing and re-writing until you think you’ve got it just right. Then the publisher, agent, editor, or competition judges say ‘no thanks’. What do you do?

First of all, it’s perfectly okay to be upset. Take some time to work through your feelings (and have a cup of tea, it works wonders) and they will diminish over time. Don’t take too long, though!

Once the initial hurt has passed, remember this: the rejection is not personal. They aren’t saying that you’re not good enough, but that particular piece of writing isn’t right for them. As Litopian Ruth2 says, “It’s just a business, after all.”

There are a few things you can do to move forward:

Don’t over-analyse
Learn to recognise a form rejection when you see one (eg. ‘Your submission does not fit our needs at this time; or ‘Our list is full’.’) and don’t read anything into it, because there’s nothing to be gleaned.

Submit the same piece to other places
If it’s not right for Publisher A, try submitting to Publisher B and/or Agent C. If they all come back with straight ‘no’s, perhaps that piece’s structure and/or plot is bad. You’ve been so close to it that you can’t possibly have an objective opinion. Ask members of your writer’s group or online community (Litopia offers critiquing fora to Full Members) to read your work and offer unbiased feedback.

Write something else
You might want to put a bit of distance between yourself and the work that has been so recently turned down. Turn a fresh page and start again, as it were. The time may come in the future when you look at your original work and realise how much work it needs or how unsuitable it actually is!

It was a near-miss
The publisher, agent, or magazine editor said no, but they also took the time to talk to you about your submission. This is actually a positive thing. Most of the time, they are far too busy and just say no. If they felt they had to give you feedback, that means there were good things about your submission and they are likely to explain why they have turned it down. Make sure they’re on your list when you send out a new submission.

Unpublishable doesn’t equal unreadable
Publishers and agents have to decide if prospective authors have a career ahead of them — and may reject submissions if they don’t see a long-term income stream (or at least one huge smash hit). This does not mean that your writing is poor. You may already have a community of readers who enjoy your work, and this may be a hint to try the alternative — niche publishing. There are many very small publishers who specialise in particular topics or genres; while they aren’t big names who rely on million-selling mass-market titles to turn a profit, you may have just what they’re looking for.

(Litopians provide lots of advice and opinions on publishers, small and large. Many are experienced at spotting scams, too.)

If none of these are making you feel any better, how about this little anecdote from Litopian MagicMan:

“The hit TV show CSI was pitched to Fox, ABC, NBC by Touchstone. All three rejected the screen play. Even at CBS, it barely escaped the reject bin, but they were paying [William] Peterson whether or not he did a show and the drama department felt it might complement the forecasted big hit show The Fugitive. CSI obtained the time slot following the planned smash hit. The Fugitive aired for one year.”

A final note on self-publishing
You’ll notice that we haven’t mentioned self-publishing. It can work for some authors — there are a few notable stories of self-published authors who have gone on to financial and professional success. They, however, are few and far between. Please be very careful with self-publishing as it can cost a tremendous amount of money and time, and provide very little return — the company you use to self-publish has no obligation to edit or market your work.