The Writer's Curse

by Vicky Dreiling

What do the following have in common: a carton of chunky monkey, a box of tissues, and a fat envelope in the mailbox? Dead give away if you’re a writer.

Lately, I’ve read so many posts on-line from unpublished writers who were confused and discouraged after a rejection. So I decided to ask published authors for their experiences and advice. I hope you find their answers as inspiring as I did.

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QUESTION: What was your toughest rejection and how did you handle it?

Leanna Wilson (HIS TOMBOY BRIDE, Silhouette, June 1998 and ARE YOU MY DADDY?, Silhouette, Nov. 1998): "Probably the first. With each rejection your skin gets a little tougher. And you learn quickly in the business that rejections are a part of the business. No getting around it. If you write long enough, and you submit your work, then you’ll be rejected."

Evelyn Rogers (CROWN OF GLORY, Leisure, July 1998 and GOLDEN MAN, her first contemporary, Love Spell, Feb. 1999): "My toughest rejection was the first. I was co-authoring then and our first effort was a contemporary set in Houston. It took two chapters to get our heroine out of her oh-so-cute downtown apartment. We loved that proposal and were hurt when the rest of the publishing world felt otherwise. (We went on to write and publish five historicals together)."

Lorraine Heath (TEXAS GLORY, available now): "Rejections take all forms. After I turned in my fourth book, ALWAYS TO REMEMBER, I pitched a proposal in hopes of getting a new contract. The publishing house was streamlining its lists, cutting back on its authors, and I was told they would not buy anything else from me. My agent assured me that their decision had nothing to do with either me or my writing. It was a business decision so I tried not to take it personally. We discussed strategy, and she immediately sent multiple submissions to other houses. Basically, I accepted that 'this is the way it is' and took her advice of 'Let’s move on and find another house.' But it was very hard because I was published and had anticipated no problems in selling another story."

Virginia Kantra-Ritchey, aka Virginia Kantra, (First sales! THE REFORMING OF MATTHEW DUNN, Silhouette, Nov. 1998, and THE PASSION OF PATRICK MACNEIL, Silhouette, Jan. 1999): "All rejections are tough. It’s the nature of the business. Each story represents our time and our best effort. So no matter how much we tell ourselves that we’re receiving a professional response to our work, even an encouraging response can feel like ‘I hate you, I hate your work, and I hope you lose my address.’ I’ve been lucky, though because my editor has always been wonderfully constructive in her comments. I’ve found the most comforting response to rejection is to dig into a new story."

Victoria Chancellor (COURTING MISS MANDY, Precious Gems, Nov. 1998 and A CRY AT MIDNIGHT, Love Spell Timeswept, March 1999): "After submitting a three book series idea and a couple of other proposals to an editor at Silhouette, she suggested I not submit to them any longer. She made the determination that what I wanted to write would never be appropriate for them. I disagreed, of course, but I didn’t argue with her. My agent commiserated with me briefly, and then we went on. The editor, by the way is no longer with Silhouette. And I still believe I’ll sell to them, or to Harlequin, in the near future. I’m not giving up!"

QUESTION: Do you believe that rejections helped you grow as a writer? If so, how?

Leanna Wilson: "I don’t think rejections helped me grow as a writer, maybe as a person. Critiques help me grow as a writer, when they are constructive. But flat out rejections don’t typically help you fix what’s wrong. And quite frankly there might not be anything wrong with your manuscript. It might hit an editor on a bad day. Your hero might remind her of her ex-husband. The publishing house might have just bought a stuttering cowboy book like yours. Or maybe the house is full through the year 2000. Who knows? There are a zillion reasons for rejections. What strikes one editor as wrong, strikes another one as right. This is a subjective business."

Evelyn Rogers: "Definitely, yes, yes, yes. I set out to learn from my mistakes, formed a critique group, learned some more. The first sale came after an editor asked for revisions on the proposal, which we of course did. When asked why she bought on proposal from unpublished authors, she said it was because we listened to what she said. ‘Do you know how few people listen?’ she asked. Also, rejections made us tougher in dealing with editorial revision letters."

Lorraine Heath: "I think rejection helps us keep our feet on the ground while we’re reaching for the stars. Finding myself without a publisher certainly humbled me and made me realize there are no guarantees in this business. I think too often we see the success of other writers and we never see (so we can’t appreciate) the difficult climb that got them where they are."

Virginia Kantra: "Absolutely! When my 96 Golden Heart finalist was eventually turned down, my editor stressed the need to have the hero and heroine truly talk to one another about their fears and hopes and dreams--I know, I know, I should have caught on to that one before. But I wrote my own difficulty in communicating into the story I was working on at the time--THE REFORMING OF MATTHEW DUNN, which is this year’s GH finalist and which will be published in the fall."

Victoria Chancellor: "In some ways, rejections allowed me the space to see certain proposals as inappropriate for category romance, for example. I have two stories that, several years ago, I KNEW were just right for Silhouette Special Edition or Harlequin Superromance. The editors didn’t agree. (Not the editor I sighted above.) In hindsight, I know they’re right. The characters would have been boxed in by category restrictions. I couldn’t tell the story I needed to tell if I was worried about fitting into the line. I will eventually write those books, but probably as single title contemporaries--when I’m ready as a writer. The characters are still talking to me; the ideas are still developing inside my head."

QUESTION: Any advice on how to deal with the pain of rejection?

Leanna Wilson: "Give yourself time to grieve. Get mad. Throw a fit. Throw a lamp across the room. Cry. Scream. Eat a bucket of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Then send that manuscript somewhere else and get back to writing."

Evelyn Rogers: "Ask yourself if you want to keep risking getting more rejections in return for whatever it is you get out of writing. If your answer is yes, then accept the pain as part of your growth as a writer, part of the payment we all make, and go on. I know this isn’t easy. But you’ve got to do something if you’re not going to quit."

Lorraine Heath: "As difficult as it is, don’t take the rejection personally. YOU are not being rejected. The work, for whatever reason, is being rejected. And sometimes, it’s not even the work that is being rejected but other factors that result in a rejection. It hurts when you’ve poured your heart into a story and it’s not bought. Let it hurt but don’t dwell on it. If the editor or agent made comments, try to glean some insight into why the story was not purchased. File your rejects away. When you are successful, you’ll look at them in a different light."

Virginia Kantra: "First, find one person who truly understands--in my case, it’s my husband--and admit to the hurt. If this involves curling into a fetal position on your bed and whimpering, well, go ahead and whimper. Then try to find the positive: Did the editor like one thing in the story? Could her critique be used to re-write that book or applied to another project? Did she ask to see future work? And finally, don’t give up. Have faith in your imagination, in the stories and characters that you can bring to life."

Victoria Chancellor: "You must always remember that your project is being rejected, not YOU as an author or a person. As impossible as this sounds, don’t take it personally. The editor or agent rarely knows you as a person; all they see is how your project fits into their publishing program. If they don’t give you a good reason for rejection, that’s difficult to accept. But you must find a way to accept the fact that what you submitted just doesn’t fit into what they’re looking for at the moment. Unless they write, ‘Don’t submit to us again,’ then you can evaluate comments on the project, begin a new one, submit something fresh, and see if you get a different response. If they ask for revisions, then ask yourself if that’s something you can live with. If so, do the revisions quickly and completely, and resubmit to the editor who saw promise in your writing. Most of all, don’t let rejections keep you from writing. Always try to improve, and keep on submitting. The process really does get easier."

Leanna Wilson is the author of six short contemporary romances, a Golden Heart winner, and a new mother! Graham Garrett was born June 1 and Leanna says she’s having so much fun being a mommy.

(Vicky Dreiling is a long-distance member of the Heart of Texas Chapter. She is a senior at the University of Houston where she’s majoring in English. Currently, she’s working on her second historical, THE CUPID CLUB.)

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