Learn to Love Your Rejection Letters

Hi,

Hope you're not taking as long as I am getting back in the "writing" saddle this year. I have one excuse, I'm in the middle of a moving and building a house, both of which have to be completed by the 29th. I keep telling myself, "Stephen King wouldn't let a little thing like this keep him from writing."

Loads of Rejection Letters

While packing last night, I came across my rejection letters. When I started writing scripts over 20 years ago, one of the ways I stay motivated was to reread my rejection letters — and I had a LOT! They filled a three-ring binder.

They ranged from the harsh rejection, "NOT FOR US!" to the less painful, "Contact us again after the next draft." My favorite is the tiny rejection letter (1" x 2") that read, "Not interested" on one side and had the agency's address printed on the other.

My Buddies

Since I write for a living now, I decided it was time to move on and recycle the letters. It's not like I could sell them on Ebay or anything. So, off they went. And I was actually sad (still am a little) to say goodbye to them.

Why? They were my buddies for years and kept me writing. I know it sounds strange, but I figured only writers get rejection letters. People who think about writing, plan on writing, consider writing, or talk about writing, do NOT have rejection letters. And probably every famous writer out there has had his share of rejections letters. It's part of the journey. And I wanted to get going on that journey.

In short, every letter confirmed I was a writer.

Granted, getting published and produced is more fun than receiving a rejection letter, but I will always have fond feelings toward those pieces of paper. I may have to dig out an especially nasty one from the recycle bin to keep me company on my next phase of the journey.

di

Accepting Rejection Letters

The badge (or should I say badges) of a real writer are rejection letters. You can't become a writer without receiving them — probably a box full. You don't have to like them, but everyone gets them, even the big guys.  It's just how the game's played. 

I try to have a little fun with them — rating them  by their pain factor. 

Least Painful

If they aren't going to buy my story, I prefer the generic: "Thank you for your submission, but it doesn't meet our needs at this time. Good luck." Unfortunately, the letter doesn't give me much insight into what they didn't like about my story, but it's easy read. 

More Painful

"Not interested" scribbled across the cover page is worse. On the bright side, it's green — it doesn't waste paper — and it does get the message across, but why so angry? What's wrong with "No thank you"? 

I once received a rejection from an agent on a piece of paper about half the size of a business card. It came in a standard size envelope and on one side read, "Not interested" and on the other was printed the name of the agency.  The sorry piece of paper looked liked it had been copied a 100 times. I could easily imagine 100's of these tiny rejections printed on a sheet of copy paper and some poor receptionist cutting them out and mailing them off. 

Dagger to the Heart

The most painful letters are those that go into detail about what's wrong with your story. Oddly, these are the best letters. They give you much needed feedback, and show that the publisher/agent/producer really cares about the story.  If you get one of these, smile and celebrate -- that's after a good cry. You're making headway.

Horrific

Of course, once in a while you get an agent that just has to tell you just how terrible your story/idea/writing/character really is. Not much you can do about these, but save it so you can can rub in that person's face when you're famous.  

To cheer me up, I like to read Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. You'll find  great rejections dished out to everyone from Emily Bronte to Dr. Seuss. If memory serves, Dr. Seuss received over 80 rejections before being published. 80!! One of his rejections read:  "too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling."

So join the club of writers. Collect your badges of honor and keep writing! 

di