What has been the impact of rejection on your view of writing, publishing, and the future?

Layla Nahar

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I finally got the gumption to submit my writing a few years back. After 3 Rs I stopped writing for 14 months. Even though I can drink coffee as black as my heart over at SYW, clearly I still need to figure out how to develop a thick kin...
 

Enlightened

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Its a good performance indicator, I found - rejections mean that you're actually put yourself out there, and getting a greater his rate of acceptances means that you've either become a) better at writing or b) Learned to chose your markets correctly...

^ Awesome!
 

Kensi99

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To be honest, it's made me seriously reconsider writing fiction. I just may not have the chops for it. I'd been traditionally published in the past and have made my living in journalism and opinion and trend pieces for 20 years. I'd had four different agents for different projects. I never had too much trouble getting them. Then I turned to fiction and the trouble began.

My novel got quite a few requests - but the ones that came back with any degree of feedback I could use all said the same thing, "This doesn't fit neatly into the genre conventions." I was horribly naive about them and had taken that advice (from Maya Angelou?) to write what you want to read. I guess that works if you want you want to read happens to fit the genre conventions exactly.

So I've written another that is more in line with the tropes/conventions - but still takes a wild turn in the middle that will probably be its death knell. If it doesn't go anywhere, I have to accept that I either don't have an affinity for marketable fiction or I don't have an affinity for writing genre fiction. And my stuff tends to be far too plot oriented for LF.

So there you have it.... :)
 

Gen5150

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Rejection helped me realise just how subjective the industry is.

Very relatable. You would think that conclusion would be intuitive, but I think that most writers anticipate unhappy readers. We know that everyone won't love our books, but we assume that agents and editors will be more objective. "I don't love the MC, but the writing is beautiful and its marketable so I'll sign onto it." In reality, marketability isn't really everything. Agents will reject novels for solely subjective reasons, and that is something that will shock new writers.

So I've written another that is more in line with the tropes/conventions - but still takes a wild turn in the middle that will probably be its death knell. If it doesn't go anywhere, I have to accept that I either don't have an affinity for marketable fiction or I don't have an affinity for writing genre fiction. And my stuff tends to be far too plot oriented for LF.

Unorthodox narratives are my favorite to read and create. The worst feeling is when you are confident that you can find readers, but the industry isn't convinced. We see that constantly in film. No one could have imagined that a film like Get Out could become a popular culture phenomenon. We need all writers, agents, editors, and filmmakers to take more risks.

It sounds weird, but I'm all in favor of rejection. It stings like hell, but it can have great results if it causes us to go back, time and time again, to a ms. that is almost but not quite where it needs to be.

Agreed. I love constructive criticism, but I wish the industry was not so overcrowded and busy that rejections are almost always generic and unpersonalized. (Great book cover, Barbara!)
 

Charke

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I've made about 1000 submissions with zero success across several novels. Now the super hero genre is notoriously difficult and niche so it should not have been a surprise. I was behind the 8 ball before I started but that's the story that came out of me so I wrote it down. I'm a little bitter about the industry but it that really bothered me, I would have quit years ago. The most terrible thing is wondering why I never got an acceptance. That can eat you up. Or you can turn that around and make it force you to change. I started self publishing. I have 4 finished novels with no home, 12 in progress, and, I am very sick to death of reading pages of painful requirements threatening me if I don't format exactly their way, never to get a reply. I turned to self publishing. Maybe it's not the professional approach someone could get with an agent or publisher, but after years of dead ends, it's progress. And you must keep moving forward.

- Mark Charke
 

April Days

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I've thought about this since the thread was started, but I didn't want to come across as a downer. I queried my first novel and got nothing but rejections. In retrospect, the novel wasn't good...at all. My second novel, however, I loved (and I actually still do). I must have submitted to every agent who reps my genre, and got one request for a full. Alas, the agent didn't connect with my MC. After pouting for a couple of months, I started a new story, and it was moving along nicely. However, I began to question why I was doing it -- all the rejections had worn me down; convinced me that I could never write anything good. Who knows? I may pick it up again one day, but maybe not. Today I find that blogging satisfies my need to write; and I pursue other creative activities as well. I still would like to be a published author, but I'm realistic, too.
 

halion

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For me, it's a mixed bag. I don't mind rejection since I would rather the story, which I know is great, be reflected by the words. I cringe reading some of what I wrote months ago. That being said because the process is so machine like, I don't even know if there are fundamental flaws. Odd as it may sound I would like an agent to go: Rewrite from scratch!, rather than leave me in a limbo state. Then again, would I have continued if my very first query had been rejected so harshly...

haha did I just go full circle?!
 

Cargo

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I think it's ruined me. I can't write as freely as I used to, unless I'm writing fanfics. Don't get me wrong — I usually have fun while writing, but then I think about the querying process, about whether the story is marketable, etc.

I was always a slow writer and one of the greatest procrastinators of this generation. Rejections have only made me slower and way too cautious, and I'm not even sure why. I mean, I'm 99.999% sure I'll never get traditionally published at this point in my life, anyway. I've officially lost all faith, yet can't stop writing. Yay.........