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As a beginning writer, you’re often told to submit your work to smaller publishing houses and places that publish often, like weekly Sunday school take-home papers. Why? Because your chances of rejection are less. Supposedly, it’s more encouraging.
I never bought into that mindset.
Instead, I decided who I’d most like to be published by and submitted to that publishing house. What did I have to lose? The worst thing that could happen was that I got rejected. So what? I felt strong enough to handle the rejection. And what if they actually liked what I wrote? I just might land a contract with that dream publisher and jump-start my writing career. So that’s what I did. And guess what? They offered me a contract!
That was 20 years ago. I’ve had way more rejections than acceptances since then. But that’s just part of this writing business. But what would have happened if I had only submitted to one of those smaller publishers or Sunday school papers? I would have in essence, shot myself in the foot. I would have rejected myself before giving the big publisher a chance to do it. To me, that’s more discouraging than being rejected by a small publisher.
Every writer knows himself better than all the experts out there do. I say, follow your gut. If you’re easily discouraged by rejection, maybe you should start smaller. But if you have a thick skin and a strong will, go for it and shoot for the stars! Otherwise, you may be limiting the work God may have planned for you and your writing. Don’t be afraid to dream big.
Remember, rejections aren’t personal. They’re business. Next time, in two weeks, I’ll post about how to handle those pesky rejections. Until then, shoot for the stars!
