Reading the Scoreboard on Rejection

I’ve received five rejection notices in the past six months. Being rejected at anything hurts. However, it seems to hurt more when you’ve created something and dipped into a very personal side of yourself to make it happen. Perhaps worse, when you’ve followed all the available rules, formatted it and sent it off in a timely manner only to be whacked by the subjective hammer, a rejection can seemingly serve notice that, perhaps, badminton would have been better use of your time.

But a rejection notice isn’t end at all. Rather, it’s a beginning or a continuance of the beginning. While there are any number of philosophies about receiving a rejection notice, mine is to read it, internalize what I can from the message and move on. As I’m also a sports fan, I also try to remember that scoreboard is scoreboard. Regardless of how many home runs are hit, how many yards are gained or how many penalty minutes a winger chalks up, in the end, the statistic that matters is wins and losses. If you lose or win, move on.

Sports analogies aside, creative people like writers personally  invest themselves into their work. There are plenty of writers I know who turn their manuscripts into the cow the child gives a name; the one that’s soon to be slaughtered. Even though the thing will end up on the dinner table at some point, it gets a name like Betsy or Mabel. It gets a bell and a bow. Eventually,however, that cow gets slaughtered. So, the reality is that manuscripts are heads of cattle. They get slaughtered — by you and by publishers. The good ones get eaten. The bad ones go elsewhere.

There’s also the notion that given all that work, from character creation to writing to editing, that there’s a sense of entitlement. “Someone must want to read this,” or “someone will publish this.” However, doing all the right things and shoring up even the best manuscripts only means an opportunity to audition. And ask a few professional actors how many auditions they’ve gone to without landing a job. Then ask how many of them are still waiters. Check, please? I’m entitled to write a book and I’m entitled to have the chutzpah to see it through to a publisher. Beyond that, no one is obligated to see my work.

Rejection notices are a catalyst to write more, to keep querying and to stay motivated. If your fundamentals are rock solid, if you can write and if you can prepare a query letter based on even notional standards, then you’re probably better than 90 percent of what’s appearing on editor’s desks. From there, it’s simply a matter of personalities, timing and the right karmatic wind blowing through an editor or agent’s office.

Be a shark and keep swimming. The examples are out there about J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and others who got rejected numerous times before someone finally latched on. The opportunity exists to succeed following the counsel of the thousands who have come before you. Also, regardless of how flowery and noble yout intent may be, realize that getting published is part of the bigger entertainment business where people are more interested in profit margins than the margins settings of your draft. Business is business and knowing the players, playing field and rules of that game can also make the effort easier.

More rejects are coming for me, but I’ll keep pushing until the right opportunity comes along.

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