Writer, Reject the Rejection
By Martin Wiles
He was a washed-up, rejected
shoe salesman.
In the Andy Griffith episode, Those Gossipin’ Men, Aunt Bea and a
friend sat in the local drug store, enjoying a cool drink. A stranger startled
them when he came in and timidly, but unsuccessfully, tried to sell them a pair
of shoes. Little did he know he would start a war between the ladies and the
men of the town over who were the worst gossipers.
How do we as writers deal with
rejection in a healthy way?
Accept Rejection as Inevitable
Rejection will come. Even
best-selling authors have weathered it. As we are turned down for promotions,
teams, dates, marriage proposals, jobs, projects, clubs, and community
organizations, so we will be turned down for writing assignments and book
proposals. And if we’re seeking an agent, the stakes are high that we won’t be
accepted by the first one we query—or perhaps on the first time we query them. If
we don’t expect rejection, our writing careers will end before they ever begin.
Learn from the Pain of
Rejection
Rejection hurts. And since acceptance
is one of our basic needs, rejection really hurts, especially when it comes at
the hands of those who have the power to move our writing endeavors forward. Not
every publication will accept our devotions, articles, or manuscripts.
Unfortunately, most rejections do not come with an explanation. Sometimes, only the silence lets us know. This makes them like other life rejections. We can take heart that most rejections relate to the number of submissions an editor has received or because they have recently published something similar to our topic. Although a rejection could say something about our writing, this type is probably rare.
When we’re fortunate enough—as
I have been on only a few occasions—to have an editor give us tips, we should
accept them, learn from them, and improve our craft. Rejection makes acceptance
more exciting by giving us something to compare it to.
Move Beyond the Rejection
If God has called us to write,
He will never reject our writing—even if He only sends it to the person beside
us or into our souls for catharsis so that we become healthier people
emotionally and spiritually. When we stay the course, God will open the right
doors at the right time. And we’ll understand that a rejection of our writing
has nothing to do with our worth.
Let your writing glorify God,
even if it never sees the light of publication.
(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, digitalart, and sattva.)
TWEETABLE
What an inspirational message! Yes, even if our writing is rejected, we can learn from what we have written. God may want that writing just for us or the person beside us. Thank you for this encouragement.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. No one likes rejection, but it does come with the territory, and we can learn from it.
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