Handling rejection part 1: the anger method

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July 25, 12:42 PM

by Guy Incognito, Writing Examiner

 

 

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And then, six to eight weeks later you receive a letter (if you're lucky) or a slip of paper that informs you in no uncertain terms that your piece doesn't measure up.

I'm not going to pretend that this gets easy. It's never easy to be rejected. Furthermore, it's unlikely that the piece you've had handed back to you was something you believed in. If you didn't, why go through the hassel and heartbreak in the first place?

So rather than offer you empty platitudes, rather than reminding you of the silver lining behind the cloud, I'm going to tell you the truth.

Rejection ticks you off. It makes you want to bite the heads off nails because you're so infuriated that some guy in a cubicle decided your work was unworthy.

And, in its way, this anger can be good. For one thing, it's proof that you really do care about what you're doing. Even if you pretended to be nonchalant in sending your writing for publication, having it rejected could very well prove how much your work means to you.

But more importantly, this anger is fuel that will get you through the hurdles of being rejected again (and possibly again and again and again). Because let's face it, the alternative is crushing depression, which never did anyone any favors. Moping about because you think no one likes your work isn't going to further your career.

Becoming bent on proving everyone wrong by showing them what you're made of, however, can have surprising results. And since you're using this anger in a constructive way, it's not totally bad for you.

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