When you walk into a bookstore, think about how many books you don’t even consider looking at because you know it’s not your cup of tea. Or you do try reading over the blurb and you’re still not into it. It doesn’t mean the book is bad, or the authors feelings should be hurt. There are plenty of other people who love that book or who will love it. That’s how I approach rejections from editors. There are so many books they get met with that it’s absolutely not personal or a reflection of your skill to be turned down. They have to LOVE the book to work on it for the next few years. Your book doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be perfect to the right person!
Yes! I love this. It's so true. It's hard to get rejections from agents or contests. But don't place your self-worth in your work. (Easier said than done. haha) Keep learning and improving. And most importantly, keep trying.
I read once about a woman who set herself a goal to get 100 no's in one year. It sounds backwards, but really, it was to motivate her to try more things and not be limited by what she felt her limits was. So she applied for jobs where she didn't quite meet the listed requirements, she asked guys out that were "our of her league", she applied for lots of different things, just counting all the times she was told no. At the end of the year she had a new great job, new relationship and had plenty of new experiences. A no, or a rejection, is really just a sign of having tried and dared, and that's a good thing.
The best rejection I ever got was a phone call instead of a letter. They explained to me in detail what they liked and didn't like (in retrospect they were absolutely right about that) and encouraged me to continue. That was more than 20 years ago and it was one of the main reasons I kept going.
I don’t allow myself to feel any kind of hope/anticipation when I submit my work. And, when a reply arrives in my inbox, I say to myself ‘This will be that rejection I’ve been expecting’ before I open it. It might seem negative but it means that rejections are just expected admin, not disappointments. And, when it is an acceptance letter, it’s a happy surprise😊
@@MysticFox05 It depends where you're based. A lot UK and USA journals take international submissions, but journals in many smaller countries often have citizen only criteria.
When I have the space, this is exactly what I want to do. yes, they're rejections but they're also a sign that we're at least trying, and that's whats important. Those cactus push pins are adorable by the way.
I love rejection goals and submission goals, they are a fav with me. I haven't printed mine out previously, but I've always loved that idea of sticking them all on a nail like Stephen King. I'm just too lazy hahaha. No seriously this has got me in the mood to submit - I just have to focus on my darn novel drafting at the mo.
When I was in college, I took several creative writing courses by the same professor who would make the final just submitting something. Very pass or fail, but he just wanted everyone to get their work out there, so all we had to do was bring in an email that we had submitted something, or something to prove that we had sent something in to a magazine or a competition. It was typically just short stories and poetry, but I remember there were some people who were working on novels or memoirs throughout the years. I don't think I have any of those rejections anymore (I remember I got a couple through the mail and they probably have just been lost to time), but if I did something like this would be a brilliant idea!
I think this will be my year of submitting (/collecting rejections 😂) too, and I love the idea of a rejection board! Best of luck with your submissions 🥳
“Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is on my TBR. I love the cutting of the rejections, making them prettier as they tell us “not for us”. But I have learned the rejections aren’t rejecting me, but this particular story because getting an agent or publication is a business deal. I want to work with someone that is as passionate as I am.
I love this energy! I feel liek the rejections are a part of the process and being able to find the positive in it is brilliant. I also buy the books I like to/ or would reread. Loe this being the year of finishing, submitting, trying and failing. Sending you good vibes for all the submissions. You've got this!
Thank you for discussing rejections and helping us frame seeing it in a new way, Like that it's being viewed as evidence of effort instead of a means to feel terrible. I would love to get to a point like that where the dread doesn't overwhelm but provided further motivation.
Loved this! I’m querying a novel for the first time and it’s been hard to realize that once I send it, I can’t do anything but wait. And I go through the same cycle of emotions you mentioned haha but I did get my first official rejection last week, and I was surprisingly happy about it because it reminded me that I’m doing a ✨thing✨
Honestly would love a discussion about submitting your work and where to find places to do that. I feel like aside from submitting to trad pub houses via an agent, I wouldn’t know if there were other options.
right now i'm speedwriting a short story for a contest that ends in a couple of days haha... i'm ready to be rejected again honestly but i'm really excited too! it's hard for me to work up the courage to share my writing, but submitting things always feels like a step in the right direction to get over that fear.
This made me research some short story competitions to look at submitting to this year because of this video. I have already submitted and been rejected for short story competitions before and I ended up stopping after a while. This idea of a rejection board sounds fun tho but I don’t want it becoming a depressing thing to see 😅 I’ll need to keep reminding myself of its purpose. Thanks for the motivation! I am currently working on 2 novels and a TV show script but I think it’s important, like you said, to get your name out there and hone in your skills while your writing longer projects :) Thanks for the inspiration :)
I love that you called writing novels as 'the long con' lmao. But congrats on your rejection (which sounds like a mean thing to say but it isn't)! I recently applied to a writing job and got a rejection so I made a folder on my email titled 'rejections' so that's how I'm doing it. I also recently submitted a short story to a site called Elegant Literature and actually had a lot of fun (short stories isn't something I'm used to writing).
Omg! The cycle is real lol!!!! When you said every day you checked your email I felt that!! That slight pang in your chest when you hit refresh!! I'm both dreading and looking forward to that feeling in August when they announce the next rounds of all the contests I entered. It'll be weird since I entered so many this year. Normally it's just one or two lol! I'm so excited for you!!! A year of submitting is good for the soul!!
I just read a book where the author said, "I always aimed for 30 no's a day as a salesman because I never got 30 in a row," and I feel like authors should do similarly (although we can certainly get more than 30 in a row). It means we haven't given up yet. Besides, there's a reader for every story.
"My dreams are floating away..." 🤣🤣🤣 What a great idea! a celebration board for rejections! I have a stack in a drawer from the old days, 2 inches high? 3 inches high? in my "Being Your Own Cheerleader" book (Self-Help for writers), I claimed it was taller than my papillon. LOL Humorous exaggeration. But I have accumulated a lot of them! And yes, you really feel like you're struggling during this period. At least today, you have email! No more waiting for months to hear back from editors and agents. Thank you for a lovely video. You are doing GREAT! Keep going! Success is coming.
This is such a good video. Positivity~ I just make it a routine to finish stuff and then send it then start something else so I don't think about the possible rejection. Also I like to try guessing what I did wrong and try not to do that in the next story. If I am right about my mistakes the rejection feels great. My last rejection was disappointing and I cried but it also made me happy because the things they said were not good enough I know how to fix in the next ones. Also the editors said 'Loved the story, don't know what it's about though' which makes me happy that the editors still believe in me and want me to write something that sells, but I just don't have those skills yet. (I wrote a fantasy story filled with magic but I didn't explain enough about the magic so there was no logic to what happened for the reader.) I am ptobably going to get rejected on my last submission (the results are in 2 weeks and I heard winners are called by phone or emailed 2 weeks before so like...yeah lol). (I reread it after writing a new one and I didn't like the story or was confused again by character actions and consequences) I also am going to go see my favorite dance group live on the results day so if I am disappointed I can still take pictures with my idols 😊
I’m in the query trenches for the first time right now. I’ve sent 24 queries, I have 15 still out, and I have 9 form rejections. The rejections don’t feel great, but as you said they do give relief from the agony of WAITING. I have a bottle of “Writers’ Tears” in my office to drown my sorrows/celebrate but I haven’t cracked it yet. Lol.
KATE if you want a fantastic resource on short stories, short story submission processes, and ~*~rejectomancy~*~, check out Cat Rambo! they have a channel here on youtube and a VERY long list of publications (and won a Nebula award a couple years ago). I love their prose and their teaching so I really recommend them! have fun!!!!!
Ahhhh that sounds so awesome!! Thank you so much for the rec! I'll check them out ASAP. :) Super excited. (Also love rejectomancy? Very into it bahaha.)
I love the idea of collecting and celebrating rejections! When I first heard about this, it was so mindblowing to me. I am not even trying to get published, but should I ever decide to try, this would be my mindset to go into it. 😎😋
As a beginner writer, I have a story idea in mind and thinking about the long journey to even querying is very intimidating. I’m genuinely so proud of you for even reaching out, even if that ended in rejections. How is the Meridian Maps coming?
Oh, rejections! I collect my rejections and make it a goal to try and get a certain amount each year. (one per week) and celebrate when I hit every 10. Usually with donuts or some other good food. I've been doing this since something like 2019 and it really has been fun to see it as a game as much as a slew of being turned down. It also has let me put myself out there in ways i wasn't expecting and I have gotten acceptances when I was absolutely sure I wouldn't. So yay? Yes, yay.
So, I actually also keep a yearly goal of submitting to ~10 markets. Sometimes I surprise myself and send more, sometimes less. It depends on how the work ends up spreading itself out. I learned last year that it's possible to get too stuck in 'submission goals' and it ended up hurting my production of my other projects. I sent something like 20 submissions (all rejected lol) which is great, but I also didn't get nearly as much done in my longer projects as I wanted. I'd planned on putting out a novella last year, and it didn't end up happening because between story subs, I ran out of time. I don't keep 'rejection goals' or really 'celebrate rejections' but I do keep track of stories I sub to places and the date of acceptance/rejection. I keep track of whether the rejection was form or personlized, and whether it was mentioned if I was short-listed or not. I do like the idea of 'celebrating rejection' because too often, writers end up self rejecting, deciding they don't want to hear no so much they never allow themselves the opportunity to get a yes. My cycle of freaking out begins about twenty minutes before I hit submit and lasts a couple of days? Then the ADHD takes over and I forget I've submitted until I receive the acceptance or rejection. XD
I love this! I've gotten almost twelve rejections now for poetry, flash fiction, and personal essays. I keep reminding myself that Stephen King got the same amount of rejections as HP did before....I just want one yes...to anything! I did get three poems into an anthology at one point but it wasn't paid. They still got in!
I'm probably wrong, but I'm gonna give my two cents anyway lol. While I believe in learning from failure it can be a good thing. To display my failure feels toxic and would drain my energy from the space because it's not like you're learning from it but letting it define you, but if it encourages you go for it!
That's a very fair perspective!! I think making them pretty is almost reframing it in my mind and with the goal being 10 rejections (presumably because I submitted to 10+ places), it serves as a nice reminder to TRY and submit and put myself out there. :) That said, once I get the 10, I don't know that I'd keep the boards up bahaha. I think they'll be repurposed after that!!
@@KateCavanaugh thank you for understanding my point, I was so afraid it would come across wrong. I am routing for you to get published and will be first in line to buy it.
I printed out my rejections and fed them to my goats... (j/k I wouldn't really feed my goats printed paper but I really felt like it.) 2021 was my acorn year, 2022 has been my year of trying to grow the tree I planted.
I currently have 4 short stories submitted to different places all at once. It's a little intimidating, but mostly exciting.😁 Do you have any tips on how to find reputable contests and anthologies specifically? I use the Submission Grinder to find magazines, but it doesn't seem as useful for contests and anthologies, unless I'm totally using it wrong.😆
I started querying in March of this year and quickly made a folder in my email for rejection letters. The first one stung but not because I was rejected but because the agent misgendered me. As a trans woman that one wasnt fun lol But I have to say after that none of the rejections hurt as bad. But then again I havent heard back from my #1 agent as of yet. That one might hurt a lot. I too am going to print them out after I get more because I love this idea.
When you walk into a bookstore, think about how many books you don’t even consider looking at because you know it’s not your cup of tea. Or you do try reading over the blurb and you’re still not into it. It doesn’t mean the book is bad, or the authors feelings should be hurt. There are plenty of other people who love that book or who will love it. That’s how I approach rejections from editors. There are so many books they get met with that it’s absolutely not personal or a reflection of your skill to be turned down. They have to LOVE the book to work on it for the next few years. Your book doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to be perfect to the right person!
ABSOLUTELY. I'm gonna pin your comment. It's so true!!
@@KateCavanaugh ❤❤❤❤
Yes! I love this. It's so true. It's hard to get rejections from agents or contests. But don't place your self-worth in your work. (Easier said than done. haha) Keep learning and improving. And most importantly, keep trying.
That is a very good way of looking at it.
I read once about a woman who set herself a goal to get 100 no's in one year. It sounds backwards, but really, it was to motivate her to try more things and not be limited by what she felt her limits was. So she applied for jobs where she didn't quite meet the listed requirements, she asked guys out that were "our of her league", she applied for lots of different things, just counting all the times she was told no. At the end of the year she had a new great job, new relationship and had plenty of new experiences. A no, or a rejection, is really just a sign of having tried and dared, and that's a good thing.
Love this!!!💜🤍
The best rejection I ever got was a phone call instead of a letter. They explained to me in detail what they liked and didn't like (in retrospect they were absolutely right about that) and encouraged me to continue. That was more than 20 years ago and it was one of the main reasons I kept going.
I don’t allow myself to feel any kind of hope/anticipation when I submit my work. And, when a reply arrives in my inbox, I say to myself ‘This will be that rejection I’ve been expecting’ before I open it. It might seem negative but it means that rejections are just expected admin, not disappointments. And, when it is an acceptance letter, it’s a happy surprise😊
I have yet to submit my work anywhere. Could you please give some recommendations as to where I can send my work? Thank you 😊
@@MysticFox05 It depends where you're based. A lot UK and USA journals take international submissions, but journals in many smaller countries often have citizen only criteria.
When I have the space, this is exactly what I want to do. yes, they're rejections but they're also a sign that we're at least trying, and that's whats important. Those cactus push pins are adorable by the way.
I love rejection goals and submission goals, they are a fav with me. I haven't printed mine out previously, but I've always loved that idea of sticking them all on a nail like Stephen King. I'm just too lazy hahaha. No seriously this has got me in the mood to submit - I just have to focus on my darn novel drafting at the mo.
Submissions is something that I've been so worried about, and this was such an eye opener and I adored it so so much!
When I was in college, I took several creative writing courses by the same professor who would make the final just submitting something. Very pass or fail, but he just wanted everyone to get their work out there, so all we had to do was bring in an email that we had submitted something, or something to prove that we had sent something in to a magazine or a competition. It was typically just short stories and poetry, but I remember there were some people who were working on novels or memoirs throughout the years. I don't think I have any of those rejections anymore (I remember I got a couple through the mail and they probably have just been lost to time), but if I did something like this would be a brilliant idea!
I think this will be my year of submitting (/collecting rejections 😂) too, and I love the idea of a rejection board! Best of luck with your submissions 🥳
“Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is on my TBR.
I love the cutting of the rejections, making them prettier as they tell us “not for us”. But I have learned the rejections aren’t rejecting me, but this particular story because getting an agent or publication is a business deal. I want to work with someone that is as passionate as I am.
Brilliant idea! We are so indoctrinated into just valuing achievements that recognizing the value of attempts is lost. I will create my own. TFS!
This is such a positive perspective, definitely implementing this is my own thinking about submitting writing
I love this energy! I feel liek the rejections are a part of the process and being able to find the positive in it is brilliant.
I also buy the books I like to/ or would reread.
Loe this being the year of finishing, submitting, trying and failing.
Sending you good vibes for all the submissions. You've got this!
Thank you for discussing rejections and helping us frame seeing it in a new way, Like that it's being viewed as evidence of effort instead of a means to feel terrible. I would love to get to a point like that where the dread doesn't overwhelm but provided further motivation.
Loved this! I’m querying a novel for the first time and it’s been hard to realize that once I send it, I can’t do anything but wait. And I go through the same cycle of emotions you mentioned haha but I did get my first official rejection last week, and I was surprisingly happy about it because it reminded me that I’m doing a ✨thing✨
Honestly would love a discussion about submitting your work and where to find places to do that. I feel like aside from submitting to trad pub houses via an agent, I wouldn’t know if there were other options.
right now i'm speedwriting a short story for a contest that ends in a couple of days haha... i'm ready to be rejected again honestly but i'm really excited too! it's hard for me to work up the courage to share my writing, but submitting things always feels like a step in the right direction to get over that fear.
Great attitude, Kate! Thank you for the encouragement and inspiration!
This made me research some short story competitions to look at submitting to this year because of this video. I have already submitted and been rejected for short story competitions before and I ended up stopping after a while. This idea of a rejection board sounds fun tho but I don’t want it becoming a depressing thing to see 😅 I’ll need to keep reminding myself of its purpose. Thanks for the motivation! I am currently working on 2 novels and a TV show script but I think it’s important, like you said, to get your name out there and hone in your skills while your writing longer projects :) Thanks for the inspiration :)
I love that you called writing novels as 'the long con' lmao. But congrats on your rejection (which sounds like a mean thing to say but it isn't)! I recently applied to a writing job and got a rejection so I made a folder on my email titled 'rejections' so that's how I'm doing it. I also recently submitted a short story to a site called Elegant Literature and actually had a lot of fun (short stories isn't something I'm used to writing).
Omg! The cycle is real lol!!!! When you said every day you checked your email I felt that!! That slight pang in your chest when you hit refresh!! I'm both dreading and looking forward to that feeling in August when they announce the next rounds of all the contests I entered. It'll be weird since I entered so many this year. Normally it's just one or two lol! I'm so excited for you!!! A year of submitting is good for the soul!!
I've never submitted to a contest before and your journey has inspired me!
I just read a book where the author said, "I always aimed for 30 no's a day as a salesman because I never got 30 in a row," and I feel like authors should do similarly (although we can certainly get more than 30 in a row). It means we haven't given up yet. Besides, there's a reader for every story.
"My dreams are floating away..." 🤣🤣🤣 What a great idea! a celebration board for rejections! I have a stack in a drawer from the old days, 2 inches high? 3 inches high? in my "Being Your Own Cheerleader" book (Self-Help for writers), I claimed it was taller than my papillon. LOL Humorous exaggeration. But I have accumulated a lot of them! And yes, you really feel like you're struggling during this period. At least today, you have email! No more waiting for months to hear back from editors and agents.
Thank you for a lovely video. You are doing GREAT! Keep going! Success is coming.
This is such a good video. Positivity~
I just make it a routine to finish stuff and then send it then start something else so I don't think about the possible rejection. Also I like to try guessing what I did wrong and try not to do that in the next story. If I am right about my mistakes the rejection feels great.
My last rejection was disappointing and I cried but it also made me happy because the things they said were not good enough I know how to fix in the next ones. Also the editors said 'Loved the story, don't know what it's about though' which makes me happy that the editors still believe in me and want me to write something that sells, but I just don't have those skills yet. (I wrote a fantasy story filled with magic but I didn't explain enough about the magic so there was no logic to what happened for the reader.)
I am ptobably going to get rejected on my last submission (the results are in 2 weeks and I heard winners are called by phone or emailed 2 weeks before so like...yeah lol). (I reread it after writing a new one and I didn't like the story or was confused again by character actions and consequences)
I also am going to go see my favorite dance group live on the results day so if I am disappointed I can still take pictures with my idols 😊
I’m in the query trenches for the first time right now. I’ve sent 24 queries, I have 15 still out, and I have 9 form rejections. The rejections don’t feel great, but as you said they do give relief from the agony of WAITING. I have a bottle of “Writers’ Tears” in my office to drown my sorrows/celebrate but I haven’t cracked it yet. Lol.
KATE if you want a fantastic resource on short stories, short story submission processes, and ~*~rejectomancy~*~, check out Cat Rambo! they have a channel here on youtube and a VERY long list of publications (and won a Nebula award a couple years ago). I love their prose and their teaching so I really recommend them! have fun!!!!!
Ahhhh that sounds so awesome!! Thank you so much for the rec! I'll check them out ASAP. :) Super excited. (Also love rejectomancy? Very into it bahaha.)
I love the idea of collecting and celebrating rejections! When I first heard about this, it was so mindblowing to me. I am not even trying to get published, but should I ever decide to try, this would be my mindset to go into it. 😎😋
As a beginner writer, I have a story idea in mind and thinking about the long journey to even querying is very intimidating. I’m genuinely so proud of you for even reaching out, even if that ended in rejections. How is the Meridian Maps coming?
Oh, rejections! I collect my rejections and make it a goal to try and get a certain amount each year. (one per week) and celebrate when I hit every 10. Usually with donuts or some other good food. I've been doing this since something like 2019 and it really has been fun to see it as a game as much as a slew of being turned down. It also has let me put myself out there in ways i wasn't expecting and I have gotten acceptances when I was absolutely sure I wouldn't. So yay? Yes, yay.
I liked your video before I even watched it, cuz ... YES! OF COURSE a rejection board. :)
So, I actually also keep a yearly goal of submitting to ~10 markets. Sometimes I surprise myself and send more, sometimes less. It depends on how the work ends up spreading itself out. I learned last year that it's possible to get too stuck in 'submission goals' and it ended up hurting my production of my other projects. I sent something like 20 submissions (all rejected lol) which is great, but I also didn't get nearly as much done in my longer projects as I wanted. I'd planned on putting out a novella last year, and it didn't end up happening because between story subs, I ran out of time.
I don't keep 'rejection goals' or really 'celebrate rejections' but I do keep track of stories I sub to places and the date of acceptance/rejection. I keep track of whether the rejection was form or personlized, and whether it was mentioned if I was short-listed or not. I do like the idea of 'celebrating rejection' because too often, writers end up self rejecting, deciding they don't want to hear no so much they never allow themselves the opportunity to get a yes.
My cycle of freaking out begins about twenty minutes before I hit submit and lasts a couple of days? Then the ADHD takes over and I forget I've submitted until I receive the acceptance or rejection. XD
I love this! I've gotten almost twelve rejections now for poetry, flash fiction, and personal essays. I keep reminding myself that Stephen King got the same amount of rejections as HP did before....I just want one yes...to anything! I did get three poems into an anthology at one point but it wasn't paid. They still got in!
I'm probably wrong, but I'm gonna give my two cents anyway lol. While I believe in learning from failure it can be a good thing. To display my failure feels toxic and would drain my energy from the space because it's not like you're learning from it but letting it define you, but if it encourages you go for it!
That's a very fair perspective!! I think making them pretty is almost reframing it in my mind and with the goal being 10 rejections (presumably because I submitted to 10+ places), it serves as a nice reminder to TRY and submit and put myself out there. :)
That said, once I get the 10, I don't know that I'd keep the boards up bahaha. I think they'll be repurposed after that!!
@@KateCavanaugh thank you for understanding my point, I was so afraid it would come across wrong. I am routing for you to get published and will be first in line to buy it.
This was an awesome 🤩 👏 video!
I printed out my rejections and fed them to my goats... (j/k I wouldn't really feed my goats printed paper but I really felt like it.)
2021 was my acorn year, 2022 has been my year of trying to grow the tree I planted.
booktuber Is a good job to get into
you described the Sub Sweats to a T lol
I currently have 4 short stories submitted to different places all at once. It's a little intimidating, but mostly exciting.😁 Do you have any tips on how to find reputable contests and anthologies specifically? I use the Submission Grinder to find magazines, but it doesn't seem as useful for contests and anthologies, unless I'm totally using it wrong.😆
I started querying in March of this year and quickly made a folder in my email for rejection letters. The first one stung but not because I was rejected but because the agent misgendered me. As a trans woman that one wasnt fun lol But I have to say after that none of the rejections hurt as bad. But then again I havent heard back from my #1 agent as of yet. That one might hurt a lot. I too am going to print them out after I get more because I love this idea.
Funky nails in this one!
Yessssss, I was testing out a new nail stamping plate! ~vacation themed~ :)
Where/how do you choose who to query to?
Hmm hallmark something to think about...
They also just announced the sapphic romance novel they acquired! So very excited about that. Would definitely recommend checking them out. :)
The publishers who rejected your projects while watching this video: 👁👄👁
i havent seen you in a whaile
I thought for a long moment that you said Evelyn Hugo made you bald 😂
LOLOL. My Texas drawl is too thick. That's amazing.
You should submit to agents. You stand a better chance of getting an acceptance.
Depends on the agent and the publishing house. It's not a unilateral truth.