Where are all the writers? I have been looking for their websites to read their experiences about writing. I find a few, but what about the others? Where have you’ll been hiding? I need to see your websites and read what you have been writing lately. So, before I give up in frustration, I just have to find them one more time. This time I used “rejection slips” as a search term to try to locate them on the Internet. Suddenly, BINGO! The google search engine returns several pages of the list of writers (well not all of them real writers) writing about rejection slips! Aren’t I lucky! I am about to write a topic about rejection slips and learned writers are so generous in sharing their experiences of receiving them.
We writers have one thing in common. We try to avoid receiving rejection slips like a plague. No one likes to be rejected – even if you are not a writer. I haven’t published my writing in the English language yet, so, my previous experiences writing and getting published in the Malay language doesn’t count. I never received a rejection slip when I was published in Malaysia. I got lucky at that time. My creative nonfiction writing was mostly from a psychological perspective. It was a heavy subject to deal with, but with my background in psychology and literature, I have the authority to write on this topic. My editor liked it and convinced me that “I have something to say”, while others, “have to say something”. I never forget what he told me. It meant so much to me as a new writer.
Yet, readings about all the experiences from writers who received rejection slip make me feel uneasy. I am sure I will feel disappointed and angry just like them. Will it stop me from writing though? Hell, no. Rejection slips will never come between my writing and getting published in the future. I will continue to shape my writing and find the right opportunities to get it publish. For writers who receive this uninvited mail or email of rejection, getting to know how to handle it in a positive way is crucial. Here is some advice I’ve read:
- 1. Try not to take the rejection slip personally. Sometime, your article or novel you have submitted is not what the publisher is currently looking for. You can get published if you find the right publisher for the material you have.
2. Accept the fact the rejection slip is part of the game of getting published. You shouldn’t get discourage receiving it, but use it to motivate you to make the right type of changes necessary to get published in the future.
3. View it from the bright side and use the rejection slip to find out how to improve your writing (if the publisher told you the reason they rejected your piece is due to the writing not reaching their standard).
4. Receiving a rejection slip doesn’t mean it is the end of the world. At least you send your manuscript or required portion of it and received an answer. It is far better than never having sent it at all.
5. Lighten up! And don’t give up. You will get published if you keep on trying and get smart about it.
In concluding, don’t let a rejection slip minimize your interest in writing. Keep your head high and submit to the right publisher. You can make it. Trust me.
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