You slave over your manuscript, pouring countless hours into developing, editing, and fine tuning. When you finally mail your masterpiece out, you hope and pray that it will meet with success. Weeks, even months, go by. Then one day you finally receive an envelope from the publisher. You have one shimmer of hope as you tear the envelope open, only to find a form rejection letter saying something to the effect: “Thank you for your article. Unfortunately it does not meet our current needs.” You sigh, grab a tack, and pin your rejection letter onto the wall amidst countless others.

As writers we all face rejection. My submissions list shows all the manuscripts and articles I have sent out to various editors with the majority of them having been rejected. I used to get discouraged until my best friend reminded me, “A rejection letter just means you are one step closer to publication.”

If I choose to look at the negatives of my rejections, I will feel as if I wasted my energy. I can wallow in my disappointment and my productivity will slow down. If I look at my rejections in a positive light, then I feel I am one step closer to my goals. Each manuscript I work on helps my writing develop, so eventually I know I will match someone’s ideals. I will not give up.

One way to handle rejection is to write something for fun and for free. Write an article for a newsletter or Sunday School class. Volunteer to help write the school play. Find some avenue to exercise your writing so that when your rejections come (and they will come!), then you can still have an area where someone appreciates your work.

Writing isn’t easy. But if you know it is your calling, then you must learn to deal with the rejections. Keep positive. Keep trying. One day your dream of becoming a writer will become the reality you have been waiting for.

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