If you’re suffering through a field of rejections, keep reading…
It took awhile, but eventually I found a pace, my zone, an ability to actually push through my anxiety and create articles I was proud of. But more importantly, got paid for.
That was a great feeling, but I didn’t sit in my laurels for long before I had a desire to venture outside my comfort zone and towards the writing I dreamed of creating. Writing for children. Writing personal essays. But in the slog of writing green, I’m gaining a ton of rejections, which can be demoralizing to say the least.
Every day, I get through another piece. Every day, I get another email: “Thank you, but it’s not a good fit for our publication. Best of luck sending it elsewhere.”
How do you persevere in spite of all the rejection? Here are five strategies that keeps me going when I’m ready to throw in the towel.
- Change your mindset. Turn rejection into a rite of passage. This is one more no getting you to a, “Yes.” Successful writers experience thousands of rejection slips. Create a goal of one hundred rejections and each one will be easier to swallow because it’s getting you to your goal.
- Find the positive rejections. If your scrappy, you’ll eventually get a few “positive” rejections. Even if it’s critical, it’s a good sign you’re getting closer. Any extra time spent on sending you feedback means your writing warranted attention.
- Remove your self from the equation. It’s difficult not to identify with your writing. But take everything personally and you won’t be able to survive long-term. If you’re going to put your writing out there, there will be risk involved. Think of your pieces as business projects rather than your children, and you’ll be able to work on shaping it without unnecessary heartache.
- Keep working on other stuff. Focusing on new projects gets you focused onto something else. Distraction in the form of exciting new ventures can stop the inner critic from harping on what you did wrong.
Rejection is inevitable. It’s never easy. But once you learn it’s part of the process not evidence you’re a failure, you’ll be able to focus on how to get better rather than on why you should stop.
