Dealing with Rejection

Dealing with rejection notices or unfavorable reviews is no worse than dealing with being turned down when you ask someone out on a date. You don’t walk away thinking, I’ll never do that again! Instead, you forge ahead and keep trying until it pays off; eventually, you’ll meet the love of your life. The same is true with writing; sooner or later someone will leave you an amazing review or a publishing house will send you a letter of intent.

The key in both love and writing is to never give up! The number of times you have been turned down should only serve to strengthen your resolve. Persistence pays off in the long run.

Rejection DOES NOT mean that you are a failure; it simply means that someone has failed to recognize your worth. Take that one to heart. It is their loss, not yours! Every time you get a “no,” you should be thinking, I’m one more “no” closer to a “yes.”

To illustrate my point, let’s take a look at the number of rejections some amazing books received before finally getting a book deal:

Dune had more than 20 rejections.

Gone with the Wind was rejected nearly 40 times.

Fourteen literary agents rejected Twilight.

Harry Potter was rejected 12 times.

Chicken Soup for the Soul received over 130 rejections.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was rejected so many times that Beatrix Potter decided to self-publish.

Twenty-four literary agents turned down The Notebook.

Alex Haley (Roots) received almost 200 consecutive rejections!

The list literally goes on and on. Successful people do not accept failure and consider the word “no” as simply a precursor to the word “yes.”

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

Abraham Lincoln

My advice to you: When someone says no, find someone who will say yes.

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