Publishing: Dealing With Rejection!

You are finally ready to publish your first novel after years of writing, rewriting, and even more rewriting. The time has come. You are now ready to send off your manuscript to some publishers. But are you really dealing with rejection as well as you think?

You spend days getting you book into the correct format, draft up a query letter, and send the letter off to a hand full of publishers. Now you wait! In several weeks, you finally receive a few responses letting you know that they are interested in receiving your manuscript for possible a publishing contract. Your spirits are high as you package up your manuscript and mail it off to the interested publishers.

Weeks go by and nothing. You try everything you can think of to contain the excitement coursing through your body. Finally, a letter comes in the mail from one of the publishers. You tear it open as though it contains the key to life. Your spirits and the letter both hit the floor at about the same time as you read the words, "We regret to inform you that we cannot accept your manuscript at this time." The letter hurt, but you shake it off; a minor setback, but there's still a few more publishers who haven't responded yet. Every few days you receive another letter, each with the same dismal response.

Time and time again, new authors are shot down by a few publishers, their dreams destroyed in a few short sentences, and before they know it, they are dealing with rejection. One time isn't too bad, but after three or four rejection notices, you start to question your own writing as your confidence dwindles to nothing.

Skills in dealing with a negative response from a publisher are a must for new and inexperienced writers. You must prepare yourself mentally each time you submit a manuscript to a publisher. Keeping your confidence at an all time high is the only way to stay motivated as an author. Here's a few ways to help you deal with a rebuff of your work to get you through the certain feelings of inadequacy you may experience during the process of publishing your book.

1. Use self suggestion to thwart the rejection attack. Write down a few positive and encouraging phrases regarding you and your writing. "I am a great writer!" "Anyone who rejects my book will be missing out on great things to come!"

Write down three of four similar phrases applicable to you. Now commit them to memory. Read them aloud in the morning immediately after you wake up. Read them aloud a few times throughout the day as well as right before you go to bed. The more you read them, the more confidence you will build in your subconscious mind and the less likely a negative letter will crush your dreams. This is a powerful tool suggested by Napoleon Hill in 'Think & Grow Rich'.

2. Get an agent to handle the brunt of the attack for you. Though they do cost a lot, an agent can be your best friend and great buffer. They handle interference between you and publishers, ensuring you maintain your confidence and continue pumping out your books while they press your book on publishers.

An agent's job is to find a good publisher to publish your book. They deal with all of the correspondence to and from the publishers and find the right publisher as quickly and painlessly as possible for you. You will never see a negative response, thus never feel that emotional strain upon your confidence.

3. Self-publishing is a great way for dealing with rejection. If you are capable of formatting your own book, you can self-publish. There really isn't that much to it. It actually takes more time and effort to put your book in manuscript format than it does to format it for actual printing (this includes creating the cover and back page content).

The downside to self-publishing is the post publishing efforts may be more time consuming work; you don't get some of the perks of being published by a big name publisher. You do, however, save a lot of money, maximize your royalties, and never, ever get rejected by a publisher.

Improper dealing with rejection can be a make or break aspect of your writing career. Don't take them personal. This is business. Just keep telling yourself that they are missing out on a lot of royalties if they don't publish your book.

Jason W. Moser is a self-published fiction author and master niche website manager. He has published several self-help articles for fiction writers including Publishing: Dealing With Rejection!.