How Letters of Rejection Can Be Your Most Valuable Tool for Growth

“Did you know that 96% of authors seeking agents are rejected? Flip it around, and it can be said that only 4% of them land an agent. Peruse through Writer’s Market and you’ll see that right alongside an agent’s address is their acceptance rate.” — The HuffPost.com

Now that number may not be true for all literary agents it does, however; give you an idea of how tough it can be to get an agent.

I was signed with a literary agent for my latest book, Redeem the Story. But before signing with my agent at the time every literary agent I queried was a swift, “no.” And to add to my pile of rejection letters, after I was with my agent for over a year while he emailed editors at different publishing houses, I received letters of rejection from every publisher my agent sent my proposal to.

Every publisher was a no.

Eventually, my agent and I parted ways respectfully and I self-published my book, which was released on January 12, 2020.

This is what I learned through that process and how letters of rejection can be your most valuable tool for growth.

Rejection makes you grow or quit.

My experience working with an agent forced me to come head-to-head with rejection and what my response would be. I chose the first of the two possible responses: grow or quit.

I wanted to grow as a writer, because quitting wasn’t an option!

And, as writers, we will each find ourselves at rejection’s door at some point in our writing careers. But that door closing with a sign that says “no” doesn’t mean you should quit writing. No, let that be a sign to keep writing!

I don’t currently have an agent and I am not against agents or traditional publishers. I hope to find an agent for my next book. The nature of the publishing world means a writer will eventually encounter the dreadful mountain known as rejection. The agent I was signed with for my last book did everything he could to land a book deal for me. The letters of rejection were not a result of anything he did but had more to do with my platform. More on that in a moment.

Rejection doesn’t have to have the final say.

I’ve heard countless stories of writers who, early in their careers, saw rejection as something to push them forward. To not give up. To press on.

C.S. Lewis, for example, when doing a simple Internet search shows Lewis was rejected a whomping 800 times! That number may not be entirely true but it is safe to assume Lewis faced rejection in his writing career.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (known as the “Philosopher’s Stone” in the UK) was rejected 12 times!

Everyone loves Dr. Seuss. Did you know his first book, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before ever being accepted for publication?

When I was rejected more than ten times for my book, Redeem the Story, I had to make a decision. Let rejection define me as a writer or let it be motivation to keep writing and one day publish my book.

I’ve written four other books for a small publication while in high school and the first few years in college. This small publisher no longer exists and now that I was finally signed with a literary agent for my first non-fiction book, which was a childhood dream, I was thrilled to see what doors may open! Only the doors that opened were shut right away as rejection letter after rejection letter arrived in my inbox.

Quickly, I made the decision that rejection doesn’t have the final say.

I imagine the authors mentioned above have felt the pain of being rejected as a writer. It’s not easy. It hurts. But don’t let rejection tell you that you aren’t good enough, talented enough, worthy enough. You are a writer not because you get published but because you write. So write anyways. Even when your inbox is full of others saying “no.” Press on and don’t give up!

Rejection is motivation to write more. So go write.

Your platform doesn’t define your writing.

You get to choose what you write. But you can’t choose who reads what you write. And that’s okay!

Having 100 followers or 100k followers on social media or Medium doesn’t automatically mean you are a horrible or a great writer. The platform isn’t what defines you as a writer. Your writing does! Someone who plays the guitar doesn’t pick up a guitar and overnight become the next Jimi Hendrix. Like playing the guitar or playing sports, writing takes practice. Lots of it, actually.

Rejection has given me the unique opportunity to write more. It has allowed me to get better by writing more.

If you really are a writer you won’t stop being what you are simply because of a rejection letter. In fact, as a writer that rejection likely propels you to write more — maybe to show yourself that you really are a writer! Even some of the greatest writers of our day faced rejection. But it didn’t end their writing career. Instead, it seemed to push them forward. To keep going. To keep writing. You and I must do the same.

Write because you love to write. Don’t stop because someone rejected something you wrote. I’ve pitched countless articles to magazines only to have countless rejected. But I’m not writing to be published. I’m writing because I am a writer regardless if what I write is rejected.

I had to realize that my platform (number of followers) doesn’t determine if I am a good writer or not. I understand the publishing side of needing an author to have some sort of platform. Publishing is, for the most part, a for-profit industry.

Have you been rejected as a writer because of the size of your platform? Don’t quit. I’ve been there. And so has countless others. As a matter of fact, I’m still there. In the trenches with you. We must keep going. Keep writing.

We must let rejection become a catalyst to write more and to not quit because an editor somewhere told you no.

It’s not easy. I understand.

Rejection feels personal. Especially, when it comes as a result of not having enough followers.

No matter the reason you were rejected rejection doesn’t get the final say. And it doesn’t mean you should stop writing!

I can’t say it enough: Don’t give up. Press on. At the end of the day write because you’re a writer. In time, the platform will come.

In a nutshell, letters of rejection have taught me to not give up. To keep writing. Why? Because I’m a writer. No amount of rejection letters will ever change that!

Until next time,

Aaron

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Note: This article first appeared in the Medium publication Publishous.