Creative Captures

Lynn Chapman Writer

recent posts

To receive notifications of new posts, please enter your email address below and hit the ‘subscribe’ button

    Notes From The Desk

    How do you handle rejection?

    There’s not a writer on the planet who hasn’t encountered the dreaded ‘r’ word at some stage during their writing life. In fact, we’ve probably experienced it more times than we care to remember.

    Every book, tutor or online resource says we mustn’t take it personally – but do we? For me, I see it as part and parcel of the job we do, an ‘occupational hazard’ if you like.

    My philosophy is that if I get rejected, it means at least I’m getting my work out there in the first place to be rejected!

    So I will always keep submitting my pieces to magazines, competitions and the like. Because every time my work is accepted, be it a letter, article or short story (I live in hope on that one!), the feeling of having something published that ‘I’ created, means so much to me.

    I would love to know your thoughts on this.

    Discover more from Creative Captures

    Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

    Posted in

    15 responses to “Notes From The Desk”

    1. Crystal avatar
      Crystal

      good idea about your work

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        Thank you 😊

        Reply
    2. SUSAN BATTEN avatar
      SUSAN BATTEN

      I think we writers focus so much on rejection because we invest so much in our work: these pieces are our babies, our lovingly curated (hateful word in use everywhere!) and nurtured masterpieces or pet themes.

      If we could be more matter-of-fact, I’m sure we’d suffer less and be more realistic when our work is not taken up.

      “Rejection”, as such, hardly exists today. I’ve probably had two or three messages (over many years of submitting material), telling me they can’t use my piece. That doesn’t mean I’ve been a runaway success! It just means that what we get is a gaping silence. You don’t hear back. That makes a message of rejection something to prize – that somebody has taken the trouble to tell you!

      Come on, writers! Rejection is nothing new. We learn about it almost from birth: being chosen for “best friend”, chosen for the team, our ideas adopted, our work admired… it goes on and on. We cope. It’s pàrt of growing up. We should apply the same robust attitude to our writing work.Turn the page and write something else!

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        That’s a very interesting take on rejection, Susan. That’s why these discussions are so good. Our work is very important to us and to share it with the big wide world can be daunting for some writers. I guess the trick not to focus so much on rejection, but that’s not always easy.

        Reply
    3. Loubythesea61 avatar
      Loubythesea61

      Well, my Mum was the eternal pessimist. She said “If you expect nothing, when you get nothing, it’s no surprise.” I think that helps but it does hurt when you know that you’ve written a quality piece but it hasn’t been accepted. I try to reason it out and then console myself by reclaiming it as just mine, because that’s where it belongs. Writing is such an emotional, personal thing isn’t it?!

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        That’s exactly what I say sometimes too, Lou. It definitely hurts when a piece you think is good then gets ignored/rejected. I love the idea of reclaiming the piece!

        Reply
    4. my word (s) avatar
      my word (s)

      I used to let myself get paralysed by rejections, even though I knew all writers face them. Now, I’m much more able to celebrate the pieces that get accepted and not get bogged down by rejections. I tend to put pieces aside and relook at them after a few weeks.

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        That’s great you can celebrate pieces that get published, Liz. I am thrilled whenever I have anything published., be it a reader’s letter/photo or an article.

        Reply
    5. squirreljan avatar
      squirreljan

      This is interesting, Lynn. Rejection is such a dismissive word but in reality it is only the opinion of a few and, not like mathematics and sometimes science (although that is not as ‘set in stone’) it is subjective.
      Writing creatively, as in music/art beauty is in the eye or ear of the beholder. Therefore, it is hard to take a story not being placed or not hearing back as Susan says, personally.
      So, yes, keep submitting and celebrate anything that makes it into print. Don’t let rejection stop our creativity.

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        I love your philosophy, Janice. Thank you for sharing it.

        Reply
    6. nikidaly70 avatar
      nikidaly70

      I always try and reframe and tell myself that it’s often down to personal preference and nothing to do with my writing per se. We all like different books – and sometimes we like differnet books at different times. Whoever reads our words and ‘rejects’ them may just not be in the mood that day.
      It still hurts though. I do try to pick myself up, shake it off and then dig into my stubborn streak to keep going. And celebrate the small wins. We’re all doing something most people can’t – and there will be someone out there, who does like our work.

      Reply
      1. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
        lynnchapmanwriter

        Love this, Nicola. ‘Celebrate the small wins’ 😊

        Reply
    7. T. W. Dittmer avatar
      T. W. Dittmer

      A real logical attitude, in my opinion, Lynn.

      Reply
    8. lynnchapmanwriter avatar
      lynnchapmanwriter

      Thanks, Tim.

      Reply
      1. T. W. Dittmer avatar
        T. W. Dittmer

        My pleasure, Lynn. 😍

        Reply

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    error: Content is protected !!