Dealing with Rejection in Writing: An Experience

I haven't submitted hundreds of articles to publishers or magazines, but I've still had my share of rejections, even just after an initial query. I try to think positive about the situation, to believe in my writing, but dealing with rejection is one of the harder parts of the writer's profession. Some of us lack the talent, but is talent really needed? I think the old adage of "99 percent perspiration 1 percent inspiration" applies best to the writing field. Writing down an idea in your notebook is just the beginning.

I know I'm not the most talented writer. Still, I have improved from those initial stories I sent out. One of the first places I ever submitted to is Glimmer Train, which publishes short fiction and pays $700 for published fiction. I submitted a couple stories that were just terrible; now I wonder why I had the gall to send them out at all. It was important that I submitted in the first place: I would have had no chance if I hadn't submitted them.

I learned another old story in the field of writing: Always study your markets. I hadn't even picked up a copy of Glimmer Train, and I sent them a few genre stories that would be intended for horror anthologies or "Asimov's Science Fiction."

Those were the beginnings of many lessons on the craft of writing. I stopped submitting after these initial rejections. All I did was submit one story to a Rock Star Games short story award-I didn't win.

I was dealing with the initial rejections even the most talented writers have faced. I recently conducted an interview with Evan Kuhlman, who happened to win the short story award for new writers that Glimmer Train holds. He said it took him over ten tries to get published there, and he's a writer of immense talent.

I had trouble dealing with these rejections. I thought of doing other things, perhaps majoring in business or finding a forestry job. I always came back to the field of writing-usually the writing of fiction.