Wednesday, June 29, 2011

REJECTION IS RIFE BUT ....

As optimistic as I try to be (I'm one of those people who strive on turning a negative into a positive) the last couple of days have been a true tester of my resilience. Not one, two or three, but eight story rejections! That has to be some kind of record - perhaps that is the positive? I don't think so.

The increase in writers and the dwindling of magazines publishing stories is making it increasingly difficult to secure that elusive acceptance. What are the options?

Option 1 - Accept that the battle is already lost and hang up the pen. This option I would prefer other writers to take, which in theory should reduce the supply of stories therefore increasing the demand for my stories (laughing).

Option 2 - Focus on giving my stories the edge. Write to create a story which stands out from the rest, for all the right reasons. Revise and edit until I am true to myself and know it is a publishable story. Resubmit my stories. As I remember it was only a couple of weeks ago the same story I sent three times to the same publisher  was finally accepted, there is a glimmer of hope.

I choose Option 2.

So, in conclusion, I will continue to be optimistic and I will turn this negative into a positive by using those rejections to challenge myself to become a better writer.

At the end of the day, despite the dwindling short story market and the mountain of rejections, I know what I want - I want to write!

Keep on writing ....

10 comments:

  1. Last year I sold a story that had been written way back in 1982. I'd always had faith in it and every few years would send it off again. Finally it paid off. The lesson - trust your own instincts.

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  2. Excellent advice, thank you Lynne.

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  3. Sorry to hear about those, Diane - but you have the right, positive attitude. We can only keep trying - sometimes it just takes the right editor to read a particular story.

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  4. Sorry you got so many rejections around the same time, Diane.
    You'll keep writing and submitting because you need to.
    Even editors have off days...

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  5. Sorry about the rejections, but you've got a great attitude - keep trying :o)

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  6. If it's any consolation, I've had a stack of rejects over the last week or so. Good try with your option 1, but I'm not doing that! ;-)

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  7. Appreciated all your comments and encouragement. Thank you Rosemary, Carol, Karen and Patsy. Good to know I'm not the only one Patsy, and LOL about Option 1... can't blame a girl for trying ;-)

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  8. Hard luck on all the rejections, Diane. One thing all us writers need is a thick skin. Plus the ability to pick ourselves up and try again.
    You have the right attitude - Good Luck!

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  9. I really struggle with this too. Thanks for your encouragement and I will take your advice.

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  10. Thank you very much Sally and Sharon for leaving a comment. Absolutely right Sally, pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. Keep on writing... :-)

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