Braving the Slings and Arrows: Dealing with Rejection

It's going to happen- probably pretty often. It's also going to hurt for a while. Putting your work out there means taking risks, and learning how to deal with a whole lot of "no". Here are a few suggestions to help ease the sting:

• It happens to every writer, even the really amazing ones. Harper Lee braved 27 rejections before getting To Kill a Mockingbird accepted. This is the book that won a Pulitzer, spawned a work of cinematic genius, is taught widely in schools all over North America, and is considered a modern masterpiece. According to J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was chucked into the bin on a regular basis too. You can imagine the collective curse that rose from all of those editors when it redefined children's literature and made its author richer than the queen.
• Editors receive thousands of submissions every year, and usually only have the budget for a handful of actual publications. They're also given pretty hefty restrictions about the type of material they can accept. Even if your manuscript is amazing, it still has to fit into their marketing plan in order to be published.
• There are lots of different types of rejection letters. Some editors just send things back without any comment whatsoever. Some rely on impersonal form letters. Once in a while, you'll get something with comments. If you get any personal feedback at all, your work is at least half decent enough to read through to the end. Take it as a compliment!
• Some authors hang onto all of their rejection letters. This may be a little masochistic, especially if you're really attached to your work. I keep a computer spreadsheet of what's where, and make note whenever something comes back. Then I recycle the offending letter, print another copy of the manuscript, and make another submission before I have a chance to let it bother me.
• Even rejection letters can take months to show up, meaning that you will have had a little time away from your work. Take the opportunity to read it with a fresh pair of eyes, and make a few new additions or changes. If you do get feedback from an editor, take this into consideration too. This isn't to say that you should completely re-write a manuscript every time you receive a few comments, but if a professional has made suggestions, they're at least worth thinking about.