No writer hasn't been rejected at least once, and many writers have enough of those lovely form letter slips to wallpaper entire rooms. How do you deal with that awful term, rejection, without taking it personally? How to maintain a modicum of dignity and confidence in your abilities when you get one, or horrible to contemplate, more(!) of those awful letters in your mailbox?

Take every bit of information stated in that letter, whether a form letter, a form letter with slight notations, or, even better yet, a rejection written personally by an editor, and put it to good use. Now, one may wonder what’s to cheer about when reading a personally penned rejection letter.

Well, you’ve succeeded in capturing an editor’s attention, enough so that he or she felt compelled to offer you either advice or encouragement or criticism personally. More often than not, those preprinted form letters with snippets of handwritten info on them are to be hoarded and gone over with a figurative magnifying glass, for they may provide you with a bevy of helpful information.

Like what? Well, for starters, a comment like, “While your writing style captured our interest, the topic of this piece is not right for us”, tells you that your work is professional enough to be considered, but that your query or proposal didn’t pique their interest. You just need to keep seeking the right agent/editor/publishing house to grab it. Take that as encouragement! 

On the other hand, a comment like, “While your story idea seemed intriguing, your writing style needs work”, may lay you low for a day or two. Still, look at what was said and analyze it. Okay, your story is appealing, there’s a plus. But your writing needs work… hmmm, what did they mean by that? Check your manuscript or query for spelling errors. Read your work aloud to see how it sounds to your own ear. Are your sentences short and choppy, or do you tend to go the ‘run-on sentence’ route? Do your POV’s switch back and forth so fast your head starts spinning? Take an objective look at your work and read it like you’ve never seen it before. Never be satisfied with what you’ve written. Always lean towards improvement.

What about a comment like, “While we liked your idea, we just don’t feel this is something we can market at this time”? Do you toss the manuscript into a cupboard and forget it? No way! Send it on to the next publishing house or agent on your list. Remember the old adage, “Different strokes for different folks”.

Are rejections something to get angry about? No. Do they sting? Of course. Can you maintain your dignity after receiving rejection after rejection? Definitely. How? By maintaining your determination to become published. Don’t get swell headed and think that your manuscript is perfect and that everybody else doesn’t know a good book when they see one. They do. Don’t ever think your book can’t stand another edit or proofing, because if you do, you won’t grow as a writer.