Getting rejected many times is one of the steps in getting published. Any successful writer will tell you that. So you have received a couple of rejections. Don’t start thinking that it’s the end of your writing career. Instead, you should take a step back and try to evaluate the cause behind the rejections. Try to think outside the box. You are not at a dead end. There is still much that you can do to change the outcome and get published. Here, we talk about some options if you are at that stage of writing.
Rewrite and reedit
If at your first try your manuscript gets rejected, always know that there is room for improvement. Edit it and then edit it all over again. Keep hacking away at it until you feel satisfied. Every time a publisher rejects it, try to take into account their advice. You should be ready to make big changes even if they are painful to you as the writer. This can include letting go of a favorite character or other subtle changes such as changing the writing style or cutting down the number of chapters. If nothing else seems to work, you should be ready to completely redo your entire story or even scrap it and start a new one.
Go for self-publishing
It has gotten harder for publishers to make profits, so most of them opt to choose only books that are going to have popular appeal. Do you feel like your story has something important to say or getting it published is something that has personal significance to you? You can always opt for print-on-demand book publishing that will allow you to self-publish.
A lot of writers who are famous today got started this way, and there is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to self-publishing. You can even self-publish online nowadays, which is both cost-effective and simple. All you have to do is to create an e-book and release it on a popular online retail store. This also lets you control pricing and add graphics for no extra cost.
Ask for advice from other writers
If you have faced a number of rejections, don’t be afraid to take a break from writing. In the meantime, you can do research that can help provide you with a fresh perspective. Attend various workshops, and ask for advice from other writers. Let them have a go at your piece. At the very least, take a vacation somewhere you won’t feel the pressure of writing so that you can get back into enjoying writing as a hobby. Who knows, maybe you will get a whole new idea for a book.
Getting published is a hard road to take. This is part of what makes it feel so worthwhile once you finally have your own book out and hold it in your own hands. The important thing to remember is to keep persisting. Grit is the one factor that all successful writers have in common.
