Rejection Journey

By G Dean Manuel

So, we survived 2017! It was a bit touch and go there but I think we all made it to 2018 relatively intact. So, we are going to talk about something every writer must face sometime in their career: rejection. Actually, we are not just going to talk about it, we are going to put together an actionable plan. Let's start with some facts.

Towards the end of the year, I went on a spree of submissions mostly prompted by writing a couple of stories for an anthology called "Heart of the Child." So let's look at some numbers:

Since starting in October, I have had:

• Stories submitted: 12
• Stories accepted: 3
• Stories rejected: 12
• Stories currently in submission: 4

Now, on the poetry side of things:

• Poems submitted: 11
• Poems accepted: 2
• Poems rejected: 9
• Poems ready for submission: 24

But what does this all mean? Does it mean that all my stories and poems suck? Well, the easy answer is no. It doesn't mean anything of the sort. It means, at the time I submitted, the editor didn't think my story or poem fit what they were publishing. Even doing all the research about each that I could, I can't account for everything. The editor might have found a common theme among submissions that they liked and mine didn't follow that common thread. They simply could have not liked the story or poem. One editor's opinion on a story or poem doesn't mean that it sucks. It means it: a). needs work OR b). needs to find another home.

And that's what I did with a few of my submissions if you do the math. Submitted them to other places when they were rejected. I'll be updating you guys when I get a rejection or an acceptance. Mostly because I want you to see that perseverance pays off.

Happy writing!

G Dean Manuel is a multi-genre writer and helper of people. If you would like to know more about G Dean Manuel, click here.