I got a submission rejected yesterday. I knew I would, because it was a “first chapter” call, and I submitted my obviously genre fiction first chapter to an outfit likely looking for literary fiction. They let me down easy, of course.
Do I feel bad about it? Of course. I had fantasies about at least being longlisted, if not actually winning.
I’ve been rejected a lot. I suspect that much of the time, it’s because I have entered works into the realm of literary journals when I’m a genre writer; my stuff “doesn’t fit”. I’ve been told this. Much of the time, although I don’t like to admit it, my work probably doesn’t fit their quality standards either. I don’t know why I keep trying, except that one of my “doesn’t fit” stories got an honorable mention in a clearly literary contest.
I could take my rejections as not being “good enough”, or I could keep trying. I no longer query agents for my novels, instead choosing to self-publish. My reasons for this are less about rejections and more about the horror stories I’ve heard about traditional publishing these days. I go through periods of submitting on Submittable, and occasionally I get published. I’m not universally rejected, and nobody has begged me never to publish anything else again.
Rejections don’t spoil my flow time, nor do they destroy my inspirations. I do hope I get a major acceptance someday, because external validation is something I crave. But I’m still writing.
Words Like Me 
Hey, a lot of people get rejected multiple times as well, I think every writer feels, deep down, that their work isn’t good enough or “doesn’t fit.” However, the feeling you’ll get if you stop writing is much worse than the rejection you receive, and it doesn’t matter if one day you make it big or not, what ultimately matters in the end is that you had the courage to keep trying at something most people will never learn how to do, or that you put yourself out there when most people hide. So good on you for trying! Good on you for not giving up! There will always be someone somewhere prepared and glad to read your writing, don’t stop, for their sake.
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Thanks for writing! There was a point in my life when I almost gave up. The strange thing that kept me going was my characters. They deserved to have their stories told. I know that someday my people will find me and my characters, and it keeps me going. That and the fact that I love writing.
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Your determination is admirable and no doubt your characters deserve every word dedicated to them! Keep writing and experiencing these highs and lows connected to it. It’s worth it!
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