How Reading Rejection Letters Leads to Better Writing
3 Tips for progress, not perfection.
You have something to share with the world. You’re filled with a sense of hope and passion. You have a gift and talent to work with words.
You feel you can contribute to a cause greater than yourself. You want to write, and be a writer! Most importantly, you want to be an amazing writer!
That’s my goal. Perhaps you share similar feelings.
You fill your time reading and learning from all the top writers! You sign up for some of their email lists. You salivate while waiting for the next nugget of information that comes to your inbox. You crave more!
Then you write a story. Astonishing, it gets accepted and published.
And then you write another, and then another. You’re on a roll!
Then BAM! An editor rejects your next story. You were hoping to contribute your time and words to this specific publication. You crashed headfirst into a brick wall. And you didn’t have on a helmet.
They wrote, “Thanks for submitting, but we’re going to pass. Consider us for the future”. Or something to that effect. Your supercomputer (your brain) is fritzing, blitzing, and shorting out. One of your eyes is twitching.
You receive a few more rejections. Now you are cut and bleeding.
“I suck. I shouldn’t write anymore”, you think to yourself.
Shut up, brain. Yes, you can!
Rejection hurts. It’s damn painful! It causes some level of mental anguish. But don’t beat your poor supercomputer into oblivion with a baseball bat just yet.
Rejection letters can help you write better.
Allow me to explain.
Read the letters
I actually keep and file all the rejection notices I receive. I go back and read them often. It helps take the sting away.
Read them for as many times as you can. But don’t read them when you’re upset and disgruntled. If you do, practice deep breathing.
Read them when you are calm and relaxed. Read them out loud even.
If you must, put on some relaxation music. I recommend steering clear away from angry music. It will only fuel the fire. And you need to dowse those flames.
Read the letters with a rational and accepting brain. Be gentle on yourself. You are still growing as a writer.
Getting rejected isn’t a bad thing.
Sure, it's frustrating at first. But it’s not the end of your writing world. You will write.
After all, you want to be an amazing writer, no?
Go back and edit
Once you’ve read the rejection reports and felt the pain, allow your “writer’s scar” to heal a little bit.
Do go back and re-read your article. Don’t give up on it. See if you can make any improvements. Clearly, there is something missing.
Like race cars are getting adjustments and improvements, writing will need the same.
You are the driver of your article. Some adjustments and fine-tuning are in order. Maybe your title isn’t as strong. Perhaps your piece is more about you than your reader.
We’ve all read about the major elements needed to get the attention of editors. I call them the “Big 3”:
- A memorable title (and subtitle, when necessary) with proper formatting
- A sharp attention-grabbing photo
- And that all-important first sentence or paragraph
I came across this headline analysis tool that helped me improve my headlines. It‘s’ free to use, and doesn’t need submission of your email address.
When I can, I try to use my own landscape photography. It’s also great to use the stock photos made accessible to us. Make sure it is eye-pleasing and attention-grabbing. Don’t do boring. Save boring for something else, not your writing.
Make sure your grammar, spelling, and sentence-style are up to par. I know this has been mentioned before because I’ve read about it in other articles. But I get the sneaky suspicion that some people don’t believe it. It’s fact.
If you want to write, and write well, it’s not going to come to you in a dream. You have to practice and make some potentially small investments.
One other suggestion: find a writing mentor. Find someone who is higher up in the writing food chain, and reach out. Make sure they are already successful. Don’t take advice from someone who is at or below your current level.
If you don’t want a writing mentor, find a group where you can submit your work for constructive feedback. Learn from others. There are some publications that host groups on Slack. Join one of those, and start learning.
Get real determined
You need to set some specific writing goals. Your story isn’t going to write itself!
If you don’t set specific goals, you’ll most likely never get to where you want. You’ll find yourself reading more rejection letters. You accept failure. You won’t progress to becoming a successful and amazing writer without defined goals.
It is in setting goals where action takes place.
When action is taken, results are achieved. When results are achieved, progress is made. Once progress is established, you can begin to fine-tune your articles. See how that works?
It’s a cascade effect.
It starts with getting both serious and determined to be a successful writer. Determination takes practice. Skill comes with practice. Plain and simple.
“You might not write well every day, but you can always go back and edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page” — Jodi Picoult
Pearls of wisdom
Read the rejection letters. Embrace and accept them, regardless of how painful they may be at first sight.
Go back and re-read them. The pain will subside, and be more accepting.
Revisit your rejected article, and make adjustments. Edits must be made. Otherwise, if it were perfect, it wouldn’t have been rejected in the first place. Know that even some of the best writers make mistakes, and have to make adjustments.
Have another person (or group) look at your piece. Allow for feedback. Allow room for improvement. That is where growth and learning take place.
Constructive feedback is not meant to be negative. It’s meant to be positive and help you develop as an amazing writer.
Find the motivation and determination to dig in your heels. Get serious about your writing. Set specific goals. How many stories do you want to have published in a week, a month, a year?
And most important, it’s progress… not perfection.
Feel free to reach out and contact me via Medium, or shoot me an email: [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you!