Overcoming Rejection

Dear Dallas, How do you deal with rejection? It can be very discouraging.

Rejection is something that all writers share. I could wallpaper all four of my bedroom walls with all the rejection letters I have received from editors! The important thing is not to take it personally. For whatever reason, you or your writing just wasn’t a right fit for that publication at this specific time. That doesn’t mean that they won’t love the next piece you send to them! When I get a rejection letter, I first read the comments to see if there is any advice I can glean or ways I can improve for next time. Then, I submit my story or essay or article somewhere else. It took me more than a year to find my literary agent. A year of rejection, rejection, rejection – until finally, I found my perfect match. My agent understands my writing and has faith in my career. I just had to have the patience and perseverance to find her! Instead of focusing on all the possible rejection the future holds, I like to imagine that I am holding a puzzle piece, and I am just searching for the editor or reader who is a good fit for me -- who holds the interlocking puzzle piece that fits with mine.

My best advice to you is to read and write as much as you can, and to enjoy the process. What type of writing do you like to do? What draws you in? Write that! Whether it's poetry, comic books, love stories, fantasy, realistic stories based on your daily life ... or a mixture of all of the above! Write what you enjoy writing and what you would enjoy reading. I think the most important thing about being a writer is pleasing yourself and finding your own fulfillment through what you write.

Never, ever give up!