10 Ways to Handle Rejection Letters

Well, drat. You just received a(nother) rejection letter from an agent or editor. You can spend the next 48 hours sulking, watching Netflix, doom-scrolling, or threatening to move to Belize and take up watermelon farming. Or… you could try one of these methods of dealing with rejection instead:

1. Use it as a trigger to immediately send your piece to someone else.
2. If it’s a form rejection, remember that odds are good the editor or agent was too busy to read their queries and they’re just clearing out their inbox. Send your piece to someone else.
3. If it’s a personalized rejection that says it was nice, but just “not right for us,” send your piece to someone else.
4. If it’s a personalized rejection that offers actual advice, like “I didn’t connect with the protagonist” or “I don’t think the stakes were high enough,” take time to seriously consider whether those comments have merit. If you’re hearing those comments repeatedly, they may be worth a look. If you think you can make meaningful edits to address them, do it. If not, ignore them. Then send your piece to someone else.
5. Ask your critique group or trusted writer friends to give you honest feedback on your story. Carefully consider their thoughts, and revise if you think you can improve your manuscript. Then send your piece to someone else.
6. Refine your list of agents or editors to make sure you’re targeting those most likely to be interested in your story. Make sure they haven’t moved, retired, or run away to join the circus (it happens). Then use your shiny, new, updated list and send your piece to someone else.
7. Remind yourself that most published—even famous—authors count their rejections in the dozens or hundreds before they found the right home for their stories. Then send your piece to someone else.
8. Don’t take it personally. Everyone has different tastes and expectations. You could make the world’s greatest recipe for Brussel sprouts, and my husband will still refuse to eat them, because he hates Brussel sprouts. It has nothing to do with the quality of your Brussel sprouts or your recipe. You can’t control my husband’s taste, just like you can’t control this editor’s or agent’s taste. If they didn’t love your work, so what? Someone else out there is bound to love your Brussel sprouts. Send your piece to someone else.
9. Write a new story. Then send your piece to someone else.
10. Remember, the publishing game is often 10% talent and 90% persistence. Send your piece to someone else.

[Photo by Thomas Park https://unsplash.com/@thomascpark on Unsplash]