Monday 11 March 2019

The Art of Rejection

by Jayne Kingsley

Rejection is hard to take. You spend hours, blood, sweat and tears, pouring words out of your soul to create your masterful romantic manuscript, only to send it off and after waiting patiently, (or if you’re like me, not so patiently!) to receive a thank you, but no thank you. 

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It’s hard.








I’ve been writing now for about three years, and I’ve spoken to many published and unpublished authors, all who have said rejection is part of the business. And no mistaking it – becoming a published author is a business and should be treated like one. Last year I took the plunge and finally pitched a manuscript at the Romance Writers of Australia conference, I received a request for the full manuscript and dutifully sent it off a few days later. 

I waited and waited. I followed up, and then about 8 weeks later I received a very pleasant, and encouraging, No. I won’t lie, at the time I was upset, and allowed myself to wallow for about five minutes, (ok, internally I maybe wallowed longer than that) then I got on my treadmill and I sweated my way into a more positive mood. I decided this was to be a stepping stone for me on my road to publication. Which is what it is. 


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Very few authors gain a publishing contract on their first submission. What is important, is how you view the rejection and what you learn from it. Writing romance is a creative craft, and the best authors I know have all said it’s a continuous journey, one where learning is constant and necessary. 

For my part, I set aside the rejected MS and decided to work on a smaller project. A friend had shared an anthology call out – themed Kissing in the Rain – Springtime in America. I love the idea of kissing in the rain, running in the rain; really, I just love rain, so this was a perfect theme for getting those creative juices running. 


Image courtesy of giphy.com
And I’m happy to say that project has received a more positive response. 

So: I’ve gone out and done a little digging on what others think about rejection – I’ve found this quite interesting and hope you do too. (Please note I have included only constructive comments here – I figured ‘drink copious amounts of wine and eat chocolate for three days’ was a given, right?) 

-      Take it as a learning
-      Were there specific comments? Are they true to your voice and your branding?
-      Persistence is key. Writing is a long journey, multi published authors all say this, the first deal does not mean instant success for life. It may do for a select few, but for most of us, turning writing into a profession means a lot of work. And persistence. Did I mention persistence?
-      Accept the fact that though you love your work, it may not be suitable for a particular publisher, and that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with it. Publishers reject manuscripts for a multitude of reasons that are outside your writing control:
o  Their publishing calendar is full
o  They’ve just signed something very similar
o  The sales dept has said sales in that genre have tanked
o  The timing was just plain wrong. 
-      Just keep writing. Write something new but keep writing. 

How about you? Have you any fabulous suggestions on how to handle rejections in the world of romance writing? 


I love to love... 
starting a new story idea.
I love to laugh... at myself. Yes, I do this quite often.
I love to learn... how many rejections other amazing authors had before they became multi-published. Really, go Google – it’ll make any rejection feel loads better.



15 comments:

  1. What fabulous advice, Jayne, you are an encouragement to us all! We are cheering you on! Pick yourself off, yes to the wine and chocolate, and carry on. Marvellous idea!

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    1. Hoping for 5th time lucky on trying to reply here - have to laugh, blogger is rejecting my replies to comments on rejection. Now where is that wine and chocolate ☺️

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  2. Rejection is like a right of passage isn't it? I think your advice is gold for anyone who is in the process of pursuing publication or has already had rejections. If you really want it you have to keep at it and as you said learn from the rejections. If an editor or agent gives you feedback you are already ahead of the game. Good luck with your next submission Jayne.

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    1. Exactly! After my moments of sadness there was a part of me that felt elated to have taken an important step in my career as a writer. Just need to keep trying ☺️ Thank you!

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  3. You’re right Jayne, very few authors have never had a rejection. Think Stephen King and J K Rowling. The important thing is that they believed in themselves and kept submitting. As they say ...the rest is history!!
    Enisa Haines once gave me a sign that’s still on my writing room wall - dream, believe, achieve!!
    I think it’s been a great mantra.
    Good luck with your writing and NEVER give up!! x

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    1. Thats a lovely sign with excellent advice! I'm a big believer in putting up inspirational quotes, especially for those days when it all seems just that tiny bit harder. I wont be giving up anytime soon, too many story ideas clamouring to escape! :)

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  4. Rejection is hard, as you say, Jayne, but if you really, really want to be published then you can't let it destroy your dream. Sure, you can give in to negative feelings - I think every writer who's had a rejection will have felt upset, anxious, defeated, angry, hopeless and so on - but give in to them only for a little while. Then take a fresh look at the rejection letter and see if you can read between the lines at what is really being said and take that advice and use it to improve your next work. And your next work after that. Writing isn't easy but when we want to be published we work hard.

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  5. Great post, Jayne! Any sort of rejection is hurtful but if you can learn even one thing from it, then it's served a purpose. How have I coped in the past? I've done the wine thing and the chocolates thing (but then I do those to celebrate, too ;)). Basically, I did what you did - wallowed till I got it out of my system and then moved on.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Marilyn :) It is certainly something that needs to be processed and then onwards and upwards! I've finally sorted my blogger commenting issue :) Just needed to persevere hehehe

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  6. Lies on the floor in a darkened room...

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    1. Time to come out of the dark room Fiona :) I bet good news is coming your way very soon!

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  7. Great advice Jayne. Not easy to implement, but so important.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon, and yes not so easy to implement. But having a lovely writing group and friends certainly makes it much easier :)

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