How to Handle Rejection

By georgelthomas on 24 Jan 2023 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well and managing to be creative and productive! Today, I’m talking about rejection and, more specifically, how to deal with it.

How to Handle Rejection

Rejection is as much a part of being a writer as putting pen to paper. We’ve all been there. Whether it’s our writing getting rejected by agents, publishers, or even readers, the gut punch of the word “no” can be devastating. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some tips for managing your expectations and turning rejection into success.

Try to be Positive
When dealing with rejection, it’s important to look at the situation positively. Instead of focusing too much on others’ opinions, think about your writing, and try focusing on how you could improve. Ask yourself questions such as: What did the agent/publisher/reader not like about my work? How can I make my project more interesting? By thinking about these issues head-on and learning to take constructive criticism well in your stride, you can turn rejection into an opportunity to become a better writer.

Learn from Your Mistakes
Rejection is not only a sign that you need to improve—it can also be an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and grow as a writer. Take time to reflect on what you think went wrong with your project and identify any areas that could be improved upon. Did you focus too much on your plot instead of developing character arcs? Did you forgo a round of editing so you could put your content out as fast as possible? When you have identified any areas needing improvement, take the necessary steps to ensure they don’t happen again in your future projects. This will help to minimise future rejections and increase your chances of success.

Rejection is not Personal
Rejection is not about you as a person. I know you think it is – it certainly feels like it, but it is simply a part of the writing process. We all receive rejections at some point—even successful and established writers! Don’t let rejection define who you are as a writer; instead, use it to motivate you to continue honing your skills. A rejection does not mean you are bad at writing—it just means that someone else didn’t respond positively to something you wrote. It happens; you can’t please everyone. Don’t give up when things get tough. Push forward until something sticks – and it will!

Writing is hard. You will have days when you feel like you are getting rejection after rejection, and you’ll want to give up many times. You will feel like nobody will ever ‘get you’, but remember, there is always a way to fix and improve things.

Keep writing, and don’t give up!

As always, thank you for stopping by to read my words. It means a lot!

Until next time,

George