Wiscon Day 2: A Thousand Times No–Handling Rejections

[cathschaffstump]

As is evident from the title, this panel was about handling rejections.

Panelists: Cassie Alexander, S.N. Arly, Anne Leckie, Caroline Stevermer

The writers on the panel remind us that a rejection is not a condemnation of a work. For a story to be accepted, there are generally three factors:

The right editor at the right time looking at the right story.

The old chestnut of only worrying about what you could control, writing, and sending out the story, surfaced. Anne mentioned that she has a rule about not allowing a story to spend a night at her house.

Regardless of how prepared you are that rejection is part of the writing process, rejection by its very nature hurts. Many authors give up too soon. Don't do that. An anecdote was related that one story had to go out 38 times before it hit the right editor at the right time.

In regard to longer manuscripts, it was suggested that yes came right away. If six months have passed in silent, it's safe to assume no.

Harper "Fuckin" Lee got rejected all the time.

Cassie relates a rejection concerning her just published book. "Vampires are over." Sometimes your moment of glory will come.

Sometimes you will be accepted at places where you have been previously rejected. Caroline relates that her agent rejected her ten years before she took her on.

One acceptance does not mean that the rejections will not continue.

Initially, writers can sometimes sell a story because they sound like someone else. However, they might have trouble selling in that same market because practice helps us individualize our styles, so you might have to try to sell somewhere else.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.