Summary

The author, an experienced writer with a substantial following, faced numerous rejections while submitting 20-25 articles last month, emphasizing the importance of embracing rejection as a path to improvement and reaching potential.

Abstract

The author discusses the challenges of creative rejection, having faced over 20 rejections in the past month despite being an established writer with a significant following and accolades. Despite the personal nature of the work, the author argues that rejection is a necessary step towards refining one's craft and achieving one's creative potential. The piece underscores the importance of self-talk in overcoming the fear of rejection, the need to be proud of one's work, and the pitfalls of striving for perfection at the expense of actually publishing and sharing one's creations with the world. The author encourages creators to embrace rejection, maintain pride in their work, and understand that not all work will resonate with everyone, advocating for the value of putting work out into the world over endless refinement.

Opinions

Rejection is an inevitable and beneficial part of the creative process, indicating a willingness to take risks and develop one's unique voice.
Self-criticism is valuable up to a point, after which it becomes an obstacle to publishing and sharing one's work.
Creative work is inherently subjective and will not please everyone; the focus should be on reaching 'your people' rather than a broad, non-specific audience.
The pursuit of perfection can hinder the creative process and lead to diminishing returns, with the author noting that longer-worked-on articles may perform worse than those completed more quickly.
It's crucial to recognize when a piece of work is ready and to have the courage to release it, even if it's not flawless.
The author believes in the importance of self-talk to navigate the emotional challenges of rejection and to maintain motivation and confidence in one's creative abilities.

I Got Rejected 20+ Times Last Month

3 pieces of self talk to deal with creative rejection.

I wrote 20–25 articles last month, and you’ll see ten of them that are published. My articles have been submitted, rejected, re-submitted, re-rejected, not replied to, criticised, and rejected again.

And hey, I’m not a new writer. I’ve got all the vanity metrics, I’ve got a few thousand followers, I’m a top writer in a couple of topics, I’ve got a decent-sized email list — none of it matters.

When you put so much effort into a piece of work, launch it out into the world, and see it get rejected, it’s hard not to take it personally.

Because it’s you, it’s your stardust on a page, it’s your baby.

But hear me when I say this; if you want to improve, if you’re going to reach your potential, if you’re going to create better work — you must welcome rejection.

Yes, welcome. Not being ‘open’ to it, but becoming excited about it.

I got rejected many times for a reason, and I’m sure some of it was because it wasn’t good enough, but there was more to it.

I was writing for myself, in my style, and taking a chance on me. That’s not a catch-all — it’s particular.

It’s the same with anything that has a chance of failure.

Pitching your business for funding.
Selling your product.
Asking someone on a date.

It’s not going to be for everyone, you’ll get a lot of no’s, but the more you do it, the better you get at it. Eventually, you’ll find someone who realises the value and says yes.

After you’ve done the best you can, it’s a numbers game. And because of this fact, I published more articles than I’ve ever published in a month.

To play the numbers game, self-talk is essential.

Get out of your own way.

The little voice in your head that says, “maybe the work isn’t good enough.” is playing you. Self-criticism and awareness are fantastic, but there’s a line.

If you’ve already worked those things into your routine, read and re-read, edited on a different day, looked at it with fresh eyes, got someone else’s criticism, proud of your work — then just get out of your own way.

Your article is ready. If you get rejected once and fear it so much that you won’t show your work to any other soul again, you’re doing it wrong, move the feeling to the side.

Your article, video, music, business, art — it’s ready to be seen.

You’re in your way if you:

Fear rejection and don’t publish.
Constantly refresh the metrics instead of creating more content.
Worry more than you create.

Take off your worrying hat, and put on your creative one, it’s what you’ve been built for so why not do more of that?

Be proud of your work.

Never attempt to publish something you’re not proud of creating.

Looking back on your old work and cringing at how bad you were is a part of the process. Looking at your current work and doing the same — that should be unacceptable to you.

It’s okay to not be Stephen King or John McPhee.

If you’re proud of your work and you keep creating and publishing, you’ll get better, you’ll learn, and you’ll find your people.

Seth Godin has a great quote.

“It’s impossible to create work that both matters and pleases everyone”

Your work isn’t for everyone, it won’t be loved by all, it’ll get rejected by more people than people who are fans — and that’s okay.

Accepting your work for what it is will allow others to as well.

Be proud of your work; be proud of the people you serve.

Avoid making your work perfect.

My work’s not perfect; your work’s not perfect. You can produce fantastic work without going above and beyond.

You’re allowed to strive for 110%. But in the end, you should settle for finished rather than a masterpiece in progress.

If you’re proud of your work, it brings value to the table, and you’ve done the best you can in a reasonable time — it’s done.

Anything more is overkill. After a certain point, I find the articles I work on for ages to perform worse than ones I can write in 2–3 hours.

After that point, I’m getting in my own way again.

If I’m not proud of the work, it’s taking a long time, and I can’t seem to finish it, it might be that I’m writing about a topic that I shouldn’t be.

But if I’ve got something to say, I’ve said it as best I can, and I’m biting my nails thinking if there’s a better way to say it for the 12th time — it’s ready to be published.

Avoid perfection. An imperfect published piece of creativity is worth more than a thousand drafts.

These pieces of self-talk have been instrumental in publishing more and making sure my work gets out there.

I hope you can share in the benefit with me.

Best of luck,

Sah