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On Dealing with Rejection: Guest Post by Jennifer Lawler

Today I'm delighted to have the fabulous Jennifer Lawler as a guest poster. She talks about something all writers fear--rejection. Enjoy!   

Despite the fact that I’ve been a working writer for *cough* years, I still get rejected. I get rejected all the time, no matter what I do to minimize the chances. One thing I know about writing and publishing is this: if you’re not getting rejected, you’re not getting published.

So, because for me “getting published” equals “I get to keep a roof over my head, yay!” I have to deal with rejection. I’ve developed a thicker skin over the years, but seeing that “no, thanks,” still makes me flinch. Lately I have been doing more work that is near and dear to my heart, and that makes the “no, thanks,” even harder. I mean, when someone rejects “Seven Ways to Organize Your Garage,” it’s hardly the death of a dream. But rejection of work that is deeply meaningful to me can feel that way.

I deal with rejection in two steps. First, I accept it. Rejection is part of being a writer. It just is. I don’t try to tell myself, “Someday when I am Super Famous, I will never be rejected!” Because that’s not true and I know it’s not true. But I also don’t try to pretend that it doesn’t hurt. It does. So, I let myself feel that: “Well, ow. I really thought that would be a match. I’m so disappointed that it’s not.”

But I can’t let the “oh, ow,” derail me. If I’m not careful, “oh, ow,” results in my curling up on my bed, thumb in mouth, rocking back and forth and wondering if it’s too late to study accounting. (Don’t ask me how I know this.)

That’s why I have step two. Step two is actually step one, because it comes first. It comes before I even hit send on a query. Here’s what I do: I plan for rejection.

Here’s why the plan is important: it’s easy to give up on an idea, an essay, a novel, when it’s rejected, especially if it’s rejected more than once. But I don’t want a computer full of ideas, essays, and novels that never see the light of day. If I have a plan in place, I am more likely to keep my work out there, and keeping your work out there is what results, eventually, in success. Taking your toys and going home after one or two rejections doesn’t do you or your work any favors.

So, before I send my first query, I make a plan. If it’s something big, like I’m trying to find an agent for a book, then I make a spreadsheet, and I research agents, and I come up with the names of one hundred people (yes, that many) who might be a match. Then I send the query out in batches of ten. I may tweak the query if no one responds. If I get requests for material but no offers of representation, I may go back to the material and make edits, but I never do this lightly and I always have a plan (with deadlines).

For smaller items, like an article idea, I’ll come up with a couple of places where the idea might work ifI tweak it. I prioritize according to what’s important to me for this piece: the market where I have a great contact who’s likely to accept it; the place that pays the most; the magazine I’ve been trying to break into and this may just be my ticket in. Then I figure out a few more places to send it if my first choice says no. For example, a piece for writers may be suitable, with some changes in slant, for Writer’s Digest, The Writer, or Romance Writers’ Report (the magazine of Romance Writers of America). 

I make a note of this loose plan in my to-do file, and if a rejection comes in, then I just look up my plan, make whatever changes are needed, and send the query on its way again. Like Kelly, Inever let more than twenty-four hours pass before sending out a new query afterreceiving a rejection—something I actually learned from her!

Rejection is never pleasant, but if you have a plan, you don’t have to let it stop you.

**This post courtesy of Jennifer Lawler, the author or coauthor of more than thirty nonfiction books as well as sixteen romances under various pen names. Her publishing experience includes stints as a literary agent and as an acquisitions editor. She just released the second edition of Dojo Wisdom for Writers, the second book in her popular Dojo Wisdom series. She also offers classes in writing book proposals, planning a nonfiction book for self-publishing authors, and writing queries and synopses for novelists at www.BeYourOwnBookDoctor.com (under the “classes” tab).

Want to Write a Book Proposal But Have No Clue? Help is Here!

Want to write and publish a nonfiction book? Your first choice is probably a traditional publisher, which pays you an advance for the right to publish your work. (Or you may choose to go POD, or print-on-demand, where you pay a company to publish your book--or opt for an electronic version instead.) 

Well, if you want to sell your nonfiction book, you'll have to write a book proposal. A proposal typically contains the following elements: 

                  The overview of the concept and a brief statement of your qualifications;

                  The audience, which describes the target market (in other words, who will buy your book);

   The “about the author” section where you highlight your “platform”;

                  The competition analysis, where you list books that are similar to yours and describe how your book is different from (and better than) competing titles;

                  A marketing and promotion section that describes how you will use your platform and media connections to help sell the book;

                  An outline of the book, which includes brief chapter summaries and other material the book will include (i.e., foreword, appendix, and index); 

                  At least one sample chapter; and

                  Relevant attachments, such as magazine articles you’ve written about the topic. 

Sound like a lot of work? It is. My book proposals usually take four to six weeks to write, depending on the subject matter and amount of research I have to do, and run between 30 and 60 pages. One coauthored proposal, which included detailed chapter summaries, weighed in at more than 120 pages. (I did get paid $15,000 to write it, but it was still an enormous amount of work. And then it didn't sell...bummer.) 

If you're new to writing proposals, I have good news. My colleague Jennifer Lawler, a veteran author, freelancer, and editor is offering her popular online class, Write your Book Proposal e-Course, which starts in September. I've known Jennifer for years, and she's not only smart and successful, she loves helping would-be authors make the transition from wanna-be to published author. She's also the person behind Be Your Own Book Doctor, so get in touch with her to learn more about how to get your book in print and/or pixels.

**Want to write and get paid for it? Check out my latest two books, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets and Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, second edition. If you prefer print (like I do), order directly from ImprovisePress.com. Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps/no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order! 

Guest Post: 5 Reasons You May Be Getting Rejections--Thoughts from the Editor's Side of the Desk

Getting rejected and don't know why? Today's post is for you, a guest post from longtime freelance writer, author, editor, and all-around publishing pro, Jennifer Lawler: 

In the course of my career, I’ve been a freelance writer and book author, a magazine editor, a book development editor for nonfiction, and, most recently, an acquisitions editor for fiction. Now that I’m a freelance writer again, I wanted to share some thoughts about why you may be getting rejections instead of the acceptances you’d much rather receive.

1. Quality of the submission. Since editors don’t want to get into a heated debate over your pitch or your manuscript, they’ll just reject a poorly written query with a “not right for us, thanks!”—that is, if they respond at all. The black hole of silence is often what greets submissions that just aren’t up to par. The problem is, perfectly good submissions can also get eaten by the black hole of nonresponse, so how can you tell which is which?

If you’re getting mostly rejections or radio silence, it’s time to ask someone in the business for their opinion. Do this at arm's length—someone who isn’t published in your field can’t really help, and friends and family have too much invest in their relationship with you to be able to give it to you straight. Writers’ groups and online communities can help you understand where you’re not hitting the target.

2. Not a fit. When I acquired for a romance imprint, we got submissions for nonfiction books, children’s books, and the like. It didn’t matter how good they were, I wasn’t going to publish them. What a waste of everyone’s time. This is easy to fix—spend a small amount of time researching the outlet before you pitch!

3. Too similar to something we already have in the lineup. This is especially difficult at magazines that run a lot of information on the same topic. Women’s magazines always want articles on losing weight and saving money. So how is your article going to be different from all the others?

Sometimes there just isn’t much you can do about this problem. I once acquired a novel about a woman who was turned into a black Lab by a witch and not a month later got a submission from another writer about a woman who ... you got it. Now, what are the odds? And even though the second book was different from the first, it was too similar for me to acquire.

There’s not much you can do about this problem except pitchanother outlet. Fortunately, if your work is otherwise solid, the editor will often explain this reason for a turn-down, and then you can know what to do.

4. Coming across as a prima donna or a pain to work with. If your pitch letter comes along with demands (“I expect an answer by Friday”) or you sound otherwise unprofessional (“I’ve never done this before so don’t really know what I’m doing ....”), that’s going to be a ticket to nowhere. Make sure your interactions with editors are friendly but professional.

5. Not being flexible. When I worked at a custom publication, I’d get queries from people who had good writing skills but didn’t quite understand that at a custom publication, the client calls the shots. So I would sometimes respond to a query with, “I like this idea, but we’d need to take this approach,” only to have the writer withdraw the pitch in a huff.

An editor who suggests a different approach is trying to help you succeed. Don’t respond with a knee-jerk reaction. Think about what is being said and recognize that such flexibility is crucial to a successful freelance career.

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Thanks, Jennifer, for this insightful post! Lawler runs www.BeYourOwnBookDoctor.com and offers classes for fiction and nonfiction writers, including two classes coming in June. If you have questions for her, comment here and I'll ask her to answer them. 
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Find this blog helpful? How about a whole book's worth of advice? Check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, second edition, and Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps, no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order.