Writing Rollercoaster needs a Seatbelt for Rejection

Writing is such a rollercoaster. I recall a big rejection of a project that looked very promising. I plunged. Gnashed. Wailed. All that sort of thing. Then by the next day, I was more philosophical. There were many reasons that the mss could have been rejected and the quality of the stories was only one of them. Climbing again. Two days on, an email arrived from another publisher talking about a potential illustrator for a picture book project. The portfolio illustrations are wonderful. Soaring to the top. Not signed yet. Just a maybe. But a fine maybe. Ah yes, the rollercoaster of writing

Talking to other Authors

Authors and Illustrators come together at SCBWI. During a winter afternoon, two member speakers talked about their experiences in the industry. Each had a quite different way to keep them on track. One of the members kept a folder of all achievements, no matter their size. When she feels low, she looks through it and reminds herself of the journey. The other keeps a file of rejections, also recording the journey as the outright rejections become revision requests and eventually acceptances.

Does rejection get easier?

Amongst the many topics discussed by authors, we talk about rejection and whether it gets easier to take. My experience is that no, rejection doesn’t get any easier. What changes though is the time it takes to bounce back. I bounce back to feeling okay much more quickly than I did when I started writing. I can move on, whether that’s to send that ms out again quickly or to acknowledge that more work is required. Either way, I’m back on track sooner.

Another rejection. And it hurts. I was sure this manuscript was a good fit for the publisher and my agent agreed. Conventional wisdom suggests not spending a night in the same house with a rejected manuscript, but this one will be sleeping here at least tonight.

The seatbelt

A fresh conversation about changes to an accepted manuscript and a request to submit supplementary material for another book. I am heartened by a conversation with a writer friend who has just placed a manuscript. She reports that the story began in another form and underwent several metamorphoses before this sale.

And that’s the seatbelt.

More roundabouts and swings

I have been known to mope about after a rejection, even soliciting the sympathy of my middle son. What would you do if you didn’t write? he asked. Get a waged job. And then what? he asked. Be less happy. Hmm. He’s right of course. Time to soldier on.

On with a draft of a new short story. I’m happy with it too. And then a phone call came offering me a gig at a festival. Back on track.

One of the trials of being a freelancer is the uneven nature of the work. Feast and famine. Feeds the emotional roller coaster too. Rejection can feel so personal when it seldom is. It’s business.

I was sharing tales with friends today about one of my picture books in production long ago and telling them that by the time it was released, it was 12 years since I wrote the first draft. It made them feel better about progress on projects of their own which are taking longer than planned. And it earned me a glass of wine!

A Valuable Insight

It’s always difficult to gauge the effect your work will have in the market. Some years ago I received a three-quarter-page response to a poem I’d written. The editor had read my very personal poem about how challenging it is to accurately and honestly represent a person to someone who has never met them. The editor however interpreted it as me attacking the entire male population! We had some great conversations back and forth after I’d cleared up that confusion. And yes, he published my poem. But it was a powerful lesson…once your work is out there, the audience will bring their own interpretation, based on factors the author cannot imagine. So the author must believe in the writing because they cannot control the reading and they cannot ‘know’ the reader.

Resilience, Chocolate, and Other Essential Tools

I listened to a ‘Just a Minute….’ session which asked attendees to share what they do when they receive a rejection, citing the example of one writer friend who ‘kicks a chook of a fence!!

Below are some of the answers:

Walk dogs. Eat Chocolate. Keep writing
Sulk- fire off an email for sympathy, Eat, Rework, and resubmit
Play Spider on the computer over and over until numb.
Sit down and read one of my older accepted books, or some of my older acceptance emails to remind myself that I’m not such a bad writer.
I reread my submission and remind myself that it’s really VERY good – I tell my kids I got a rejection and they remind me that I’m really VERY good. Then I sulk for a while and tell hubby we need to get takeaway for dinner because I can’t bring myself to cook.
Because there have been so many (but luckily quite a few acceptances too) I just toss it aside and move on.
Say Bugger! – not just once, Put the envelope and ms where I can’t see it, Days later look for it and see if I can improve the ms.
I actually expect to be rejected so am not surprised when I am – can move on quite quickly. Tend to send stuff out again immediately as I like to live in hope.
The last time I was rejected, I agreed with the editor’s assessment of my work and asked her if she wanted me to have another go. She didn’t.
When focused and positive, I send out another story or send the same one to someone else. If I get too many rejections at once, I just get disheartened. I debrief with others.
Complain bitterly. Then put it aside.

The rollercoaster of being an author can be a wild ride. Fasten your seatbelt, keep your resilience, chocolate and some essential tools on hand and get yourself a new letterbox ready to accept mail. Make sure it is bright and shiny and big enough for A4 envelopes. Where there are words, there is hope.