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May/June 2003 WRITING: The Rejection Blues by Christine Jette, RN, BA

The first step in facing a publisher’s rejection of your manuscript is to acknowledge that it happens to all writers at some point, including the literary lions. Feelings of anger or failure are normal. You are not the exception and you are in good company. Just ask Stephen King.

The second step in coping with rejection is to determine if feelings of failure are triggering old thoughts about being inadequate, dumb, a flop, etc. Does a rejection slip start an old tape of failure in your head? If this is the case, please seek the help of a professional counselor to work on the underlying causes.

Let's say you know the editor is wrong and you believe your work is good because you have studied the markets and polished every word. Your gut tells you that your manuscript is the best that it can be. Take action on your own behalf: stop arguing, and drop the bozo publisher that doesn't recognize good work.

Try different publishers until you get the results you want. Other options include self-publishing, (not to be confused with vanity publishing), reworking the idea from a different slant, or starting a new book. Don't over emphasize the importance of this one manuscript.

Consider that the editors are right to reject your manuscript. (Yeah, that's a tough one.) I wrote a manuscript flop about living through the Roe vs. Wade era of the '70's. After I received rejection letters from thirty publishers and ten agents, I realized it was too somber and would inflame the pro-life/pro-choice controversy. I dropped the project and moved on.

Because publishing is a business, we writers have two choices: We can ignore the business and stubbornly blunder along; or, we can acknowledge the fact and be informed by it. It doesn't mean we have to sell our souls to the highest bidder, but it does mean that we study the markets and decide how our skills and expertise overlap with current reader interest.

It isn't a sell-out to your integrity to think about the market. It forced me to take a hard look at the direction of my writing. If, after careful deliberation, you discover the editors are correct to reject your manuscript, rewrite it or start another one.

If you've never published a word, or have published nine books and can't get anywhere with the tenth, remember two things: 1) Don't take rejection personally because publishing is a business, and 2) If you love to write, don't stop writing. The "sure cure" for the rejection blues is to keep your pen moving and be the very best writer you can be.

• Pen to paper: What does a publisher’s rejection of your writing mean to you? If your manuscript is rejected, what will you do next? What can you learn from it?

Coming next issue: Sizing Up the Competition (Knowing the market)