Rejection and the Writer – Part 2: Responding to Rejection

Last time, I wrote about ways to help deal with the rejection you’re bound to face as a writer. But once you’re past the shock and the sting, what then? Even if bad news doesn’t faze you, and you’re filled with the hope of a small child and the patience of a Jedi master, a rejection can still trip you up if you respond to it the wrong way. Today, we’ll examine the right ways, and the wrong ways, to respond to bad news.

Responding to Rejection

So, you’ve just gotten a letter in the mail, addressed in your own handwriting. There’s no question that it’s from an agent because you remember licking the stamp yourself. You rush inside to open it, your heart racing with the possibilities, and you pull out the piece of paper inside.

It’s bad news. But, hey, at least it’s bad news with your own name on it and a real signature from the hand of a real person. Or maybe it’s just a “Dear Author” form letter with no signature at all, or maybe a fourth-generation photocopy of that letter, so faded that you have to squint at the text. Just as rejections come in many kinds, so too do your possible replies. Let’s look at your options:

No Reply at All. More than just a Genesis song, this is usually your best response. When you send a query to an agent, you’re requesting a chance to open up a dialog. When the agent politely (or not so politely) declines, then the dialog is at an end. There’s little need to follow it up, because the agent isn’t expecting you too. When you take the cost of postage into account, along with the fact that you’d need to include another SASE to get any additional response, you’re better off putting those stamps on another query letter.

The Quick “Thank You”. This one is best suited to email rejections, especially those that give you a little insight into the reasons why your work was rejected. A little note to the agent saying, “Thanks for your time. I appreciate the feedback,” costs you nothing and may even encourage the agent to give more feedback in every rejection he sends. In this case, the worst that can happen is that your thank-you will be ignored. There’s little chance, if any, that a polite thank you could ever be wrong.

The Request for More Information. Requesting more from an agent who’s turned you down is tricky, and more often than not, not worth the trouble. This kind of follow-up is best used in those rare instances where the agent’s letter leaves the door open to you (even if just a crack), with a request to see a different project, or a suggestion that your material may need a rewrite. In these cases, it could be appropriate to request clarification, or even ask that the agent allow you to resubmit your work with revisions. Just use your best judgment, and a little caution.


The Argument. The agent rejected you, but surely there must be some kind of mistake. If she’d just take another look at your work, she’s bound to see the error of her ways. Besides, the feedback she’s given you is way off base. If you just explain it to her and ask her to read it one more time, she’s sure to want to represent you. Right?

Wrong.

Oh, so wrong. Like the commercial says, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Concentrate your efforts into making a better query and a better presentation to the next agent you approach.

The Insult. I find the siren song of this kind of reply to be loudest when I get a rejection that’s downright dismissive. The aforementioned fourth-generation photocopy, with bonus points if it’s on less than a full sheet of paper, and extra credit for ragged, torn edges. It never fails to get me fired up to write a letter that begins with the words “Dear Jerkface”.

But I don’t write that letter. Okay, maybe I do write it in my head, but I never put it down on paper or in an email. Why? Because “Dear Jerkface” letters never work. All they do is prove to the agent in question that he made the right decision in rejecting you. It tells him you’re not professional, far too emotional, and likely to be a bad client. Channel your righteous indignation into something positive, and put that energy into your writing.


That’s all for now. Stay tuned until next time, when I talk about some big changes that are on the way. In the meantime, get back to writing!

Christopher Hawkins
LitMatch.net

Rejection and the Writer – Part 1: Coping with Rejection

Publishing and rejection go hand-in-hand. The minute you let your work out into the world, you need to be prepared for the fact that someone will turn it down. It’s a tough reality to face, but how you respond to that reality, both personally and professionally, is one of the factors that will help define your writing career.

Today, in the first of a two-part posting, we’ll look at ways of coping with rejection when it happens to you. Next, in part two we’ll look at how responding to rejections in a constructive and professional manner can help your mindset and your career.

Coping with Rejection

If you’re a writer, and you’re trying to get published, you’re going to get rejected at some point in your career. That’s an important thing to come to grips with, so take a minute and let it sink in. Every writer gets rejected (except for maybe Michael Chabon.) And by “every writer”, I mean you, too (unless, of course, you happen to be Michael Chabon.)

It’s painful, yes, but it doesn’t have to be anything to get worked up over. Being a successful writer doesn’t mean being universally loved. Even the greats have their detractors. By that logic, getting a rejection--or a dozen, or even a hundred--doesn’t mean that you’re a bad writer. Often a rejection has less to do with the quality of your work than it does with the individual tastes of the agent (or publisher), the vagaries of the market, and just plain luck.

With all that in mind, the fear of rejection doesn’t need to be something that stops you from seeking publication, nor should the fact of it be something you spend too much time dwelling on. Don’t take it personally, and don’t take it to heart. It’s only one person’s opinion, a result of consequences that are beyond your control, so don’t sweat it.

Easier said than done, right?

So, what do you do when you’re short on Zen and staring down the barrel of a rejection letter? The first and most important thing you should do is to set that letter aside and send out another query. Like the old adage about falling off a horse, you need to replace any sense of disappointment or failure with one of hope and excitement. Better yet, send out two. Focus on the future, not the past, and don’t allow one setback (or a dozen, or more) to deter you from your goal.

Next, think about this old business trick: For every successful sale that a salesperson has, they might go on ten appointments. For every appointment, they might have to make ten calls. So, for every sale, they have to call a hundred people. When one of those calls says no, that means the salesperson is 1/100th closer to his goal.

Now, apply that to your queries. You might assume that it will take 10 requests for partials before you sell your manuscript, and you might estimate that it will take 20 queries for each partial. Change the numbers to suit your own expectations; they’re really not what matter. What matters is that you stop thinking of a rejection letter as a failure, and start looking at it as one step closer to your goal.

Finally, ask yourself this question: “Do I believe in my work and in my abilities as a writer?” If the answer is no, then you need to figure out why and address it if you’re going to have any hope of success. But if the answer is yes (and if you’re at the point where you’re seeking publication, it should be), then there shouldn’t be anything that anyone else can say that will stand between you and your goal.


Next time, we’ll look at responding to rejections constructively, and how a little professionalism can go a long way. In the meantime, keep your chin up, stay positive, and remember, above all, that the best way to respond to rejection is to get back to writing.

Christopher Hawkins
LitMatch.net