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It’s a gray Sunday afternoon, and I’ve been vacillating between working on three projects.

First, I’m writing the first draft of a non-fiction book that is part history/part true-crime. More on that project in a moment.

Second, I’m flailing around for a good topic to write a dynamite query for a magazine article.

Third, I’m thinking about pulling that dusty old novel out of the credenza to see why it was rejected in the first place. I thought it was great!

Who enjoys rejection?

In a wonderful post today, Anne Wayman of The Golden Pencil, discussed why rejection is part of every freelance writer’s life in her post entitled Freelance Writers and Rejection!

Her point is important–every freelance writer will experience rejection. Repeat, every single one of us who attempts to write for publication will experience rejection. Not one of us will escape the dreaded “R” word.

So, who enjoys rejection? The answer is surprising–all writers should take some degree of satisfaction in rejection. Why? You cannot be rejected if you don’t take the important first step of actually putting words on paper and sending those words to an agent, editor, magazine or other source of publication. So, take heart, you writer you. You have gone further down the literary road than 99.9% of the general population. You need only take the next step to convert that rejection into an acceptance.

How do you convert a rejection into an acceptance?

Well, Anne’s point is that there are generally 3 reasons why a piece of writing is rejected. First, the writer may not have understood the market well enough. Did you write a piece on training a puppy to sit, but submit it to an automative magazine? Well, if so, that may be the problem.

Second, the writing may not be good enough for publication. Gulp. That’s hard to hear, much less to contemplate. Is my writing of publishable quality? Well, in my opinion and experience, most people who have a burning desire to write and to see their work published have more than enough ability to write publishable material. One need only read some of the poorly written (but published and often popular) books that are out there to re-gain a sense of optimism about one’s own writing.

Still, if you receive a rejection, it does make sense to take a cold, hard look at the words on the page. Could they be better?

Finally, Anne points out that sometimes the reason a piece of writing gets rejected is simply unknown. Why did that slob down the hall get the raise and not you? It’s one of life’s little mysteries. Why Magazine A decided to pass on your masterpiece of literary genius may just be a puzzling and irrational act of someone with more power than you. Get over it, and send that masterpiece out to someone else.

How am I using rejection today?

Back to today’s project. On a chilly, gray Sunday afternoon like today, it would be much easier to take a nap or watch the basketball game (I may watch a little, anyway). But, I know that the rejections I have had are only the first step toward publication of the pieces that were rejected.

The non-fiction project combining history and true-crime was rejected by several literary agents. I prepared a book proposal and sent it off to the absolute best literary agents I know of for this type of book. Although none of them agreed to represent me on this project based solely on the strength (or not) of the book proposal, several indicated an interest in the project if and when I write the book.

Now, I didn’t want to have to write the book first, but I have taken the rejection of the book proposal combined with an express interest in the project to give me incentive to write this book and see it published.

The dusty old novel manuscript is another story. A very well-known literary agent and a top editor both expressed interest in the book based on a query and sample chapters. The full manuscript, however, failed to impress them to a sufficient degree.

In one case, the short version was not good enough; in the other case, the short version got my foot in the door, but the full work didn’t help me close the deal.

I take from this two lessons. First, the non-fiction project is interesting enough to produce several personal letters from top agents who want more in the way of a manuscript. Moral: the story is good, so just write it and they will come (I love movie allusions).

Second, the novel is not well-written enough in its present form to be publishable. I need to spend time editing it. Still, a short version was good enough to attract attention, so, with careful and thoughtful editing, perhaps the revised manuscript will find its way into bookstores someday.

So what am I going to work on today?

I have opted for the non-fiction project. The reason: I already have a completed novel; I want to get the first draft written of the other book before I spend time editing the novel.

Or, it could be that writing is more fun than editing. That will be the topic for a future post.

Later on, I’ll brainstorm a little on that magazine article. I have some ideas, but if I don’t get some writing done on that non-fiction book, it won’t write itself.

Have a great Sunday afternoon. And remember, read, read, read. And write, write, write.

–Jack Sundown

Filed under: Editors, Literary Agents and Publishers, Jack Sundown's Writing Diary |