On Freelance Writer Rejection: Sometimes It’s You


If you are a freelance writer, rejection is part of the job. I don’t think anyone actually likes being rejected, and some days it’s easier to take than others.

I don’t know if this technique works for anyone else, but when I get rejected I let myself feel the emotions that go with being told that you’re not quite what the client was looking for, or even worse that your work is what the client is looking for  (Ouch). Then I try to figure out whether it was  was something that was in my control or not.

Being a bit of a control freak, this is a helpful exercise. I need to spend a bit of time looking at whether I presented myself in the best way I would and still got rejected. In that situation, it was the client’s call and I need to let it go.

Sometimes the rejection is really about me. If I’m off my game on a particular day or at a certain time, I need to own part of the rejection. Does that mean I’ll never have an off day? Not at all – but I can show what I hope is a bit of class in the face of the rejection by thanking the client for the feedback and telling them them that I will keep it in mind going forward.

Do you see rejection as having two sides or is it all equally bad?

Comments

7 responses
  1. Amudhan Avatar

    I am a newbie to freelance job what i think is In freelance job, we must be prepared for anything and everything and we must also be willing to improve ourselves continuously and i think this is the only way to succeed

  2. Issa @ Ajeva Avatar

    That’s an interesting question you have. I think that rejection has only one side: Your fault or the client’s fault. It cannot be both. Sometimes, you just have to move on because making revisions or fixes make things worse, especially if you have different set of values to begin with. It’s like art and though beauty is in the eye of the beholder — there must be a good reason to call a work good, bad 9 or even ugly ).

  3. Tom Johnson Avatar

    That is a great point. Everyone will get rejected at some time or another but if you always blame it on the client or the circumstance and don’t take responsibility for your part then you will never make the improvements that you need to decrease your amount of rejections in the future.

  4. Tracy Lee Nash Avatar

    I was rejected over 20 times before one company-
    Blue Mountain Arts-accepted my work and I am happy
    to say I have been a freelance author with them for
    over 12 years:)

  5. Debra Stang Avatar

    I’m part of the generation of authors who used to paper the walls with rejection slips. When my first short story was accepted, I didn’t even know it for over a week–I assumed that the envelope simply contained another rejection letter and tossed it aside!

  6. Ryan @ Planting Dollars Avatar

    I think of rejection as something that’s expected and tend to embrace it because the more you’re rejected the more you’ll learn, adapt, and eventually become successful. Without failure there probably won’t be success.

  7. Myrna Beard Avatar

    That is a great point. Everyone will get rejected at some time or another but if you always blame it on the client or the circumstance and don’t take responsibility for your part then you will never make the improvements that you need to decrease your amount of rejections in the future.

Leave a Reply to Myrna Beard Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search

Subscribe