 |  |
        | By: Jyotsna Sreenivasan Many new writers are deathly afraid of rejection. A rejection letter, they fear, means that they are somehow not talented, or not suited to be a writer, or that they don�t have the "connections" to make it into print. New writers sometimes fear rejection so much that they hesitate to send their writing out. And if they do screw up their courage enough to send something out, and then receive that dreaded rejection letter, they memorize every word of it, dwell on what they might have done wrong, and decide that, after all, their kind of writing is not suited to the marketplace. In fact, rejection is something that a published writer courts. We don�t actually enjoy getting rejection letters, but we realize that we can�t get published without sending things out � and that when we send work out, it often is rejected for reasons unrelated to the quality of the writing. I have been published in many venues, yet I still receive a lot of rejections. In fact, one day recently I received eleven rejections! That was probably a record for me, and I certainly did my share of complaining and feeling sorry for myself. But I tried to remind myself that the reason I received so many rejection letters in one day is that I have a lot of things circulating out there. I regularly send short stories to literary magazines. I have three fiction manuscripts which I am trying to place with an agent or publisher. I have a nonfiction book proposal and nonfiction articles circulating. On those days when I seem to be inundated with rejection, I try to remember that, among all the rejections I receive, I do also get positive results. Here is one somewhat silly thing I do to �soften� the impact of receiving a rejection letter. You may know that, when you send a story to a literary magazine, or a query letter to an agent or publisher, you must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for their reply. Before I send out my mailing, I go to the post office and pick out some pretty or unusual stamps. I use these for my self-addressed, stamped envelopes. That way, when I receive my replies (which are generally rejections, since acceptances often come via phone or e-mail), I can at least look at a nice stamp! Of course, before sending your writing out, try to make sure that it is as good as it can be. Have others read it and help you improve it. Consider taking writing classes. Also, make sure you are familiar with the market in which you are trying to publish. But once you are sure of these things, I would challenge you to work towards acquiring 100 rejection letters. You can even plan to reward yourself at certain milestones, such as 25 rejections and 50 rejections. Send out your writing so widely that you can�t even remember who rejected you. I would bet that, in the process of collecting 100 rejections, you will also collect a number of acceptances! Jyotsna "Jo" Sreenivasan is the author of fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, including two novels for children: The Moon Over Crete and Aruna�s Journeys. She also helps individuals and businesses with writing needs: http://members.aol.com/writebook64 For a list of books which help kids break out of gender stereotypes, see her site: Brave Girls and Strong Women Books, http://members.aol.com/brvgirls Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jyotsna_Sreenivasan |
Web design and site © 2006 copyright Vicky Helmink | Articles © copyright to their original creators