Rejection
You Are Not Alone
Most people experience rejection when querying. Beatrix Potter, author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, got so many rejections she ended up self-publishing. Now, over 45 million copies have been sold world-wide. Rudyard Kipling was told that he didnât know how to use the English language. F. Scott Fitzgerald was told heâd have a decent book if he got rid of that Gatsby character. J.K. Rowling was advised to get a day job. Stephen King famously pinned his rejection letters to the wall. Sylvia Plath said: âI love my rejection slips. They show me I try.â
It Only Takes One âYesâ
Rejection can hurt, especially in the early days of querying until your skin thickens. Time and again, I hear interviewed authors say that perseverance is key. Itâs okay to get demoralised sometimes â weâre human after all â but if writing is your passion, donât give up! Take a break if you need to. Perhaps write another book while youâre querying, or when you feel like youâre getting nowhere with the current book and youâve exhausted all possibilities. So many authors do not get their first book published or even their second, third etc. Writers write, so write!
Experience
I wrote my first novel when I was twenty-seven. I was forty-one when I was offered representation by a literary agent. That book has been rejected several times by publishers (and counting). Iâve written a book and a half since I got my agent. One of these days, the right book might land in the right editorâs inbox. It may take another fourteen years, but so what? I write for the joy of it, the joy of creating characters, their world and their story. If it takes a long time, it doesnât matter. Iâll be writing regardless.
Final Thoughts
If you feel comfortable sharing, whatâs your experience of rejection?
How do you deal with it?
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