To write is to be rejected. This is as simply as I can put it. The only way you can write and not encounter rejection is to never ever let anyone read anything you write, never submit for publication or an agent, and don't even let your mom read your work. Otherwise, brace yourself for a bowl of rejection soup.
I can't begin to think of a way to tell you how to not be rejected, that would be about as plausible as guaranteeing you publication or how to write a best-seller (if you are interested in that information please submit five installments of $19.99 to me in small unmarked bills for access to those, guaranteed results! Including diminished sex drive and smaller bank account!).
What I can teach you is a little about handling rejection. I'm practically an expert, when it comes to writing. You don't write screenplays and novels and not expect utter and complete rejection along the way. You just don't. Or at least I don't, and therefor, you shouldn't either.
The trick is to learn from rejection. Take my latest rejection for example. I submitted a short story to a fairly big journal in a pretty large country and received a very nice personal rejection email. (I won't name the journal, as I don't want to offend anyone, or the marine mammal it is named after.)
What can I learn from this? Well, the first order of business is to get some good exercise, perhaps a good hike or bike ride, to think about the irony that I've had more luck getting movies produced and a novel published that I have short stories accepted, and yet rejection of a short story seems to sting a bit more (at least for me). The reason for the exercise is to ponder what I'm doing wrong with the story and to decide whether I should submit it anywhere else, plus that is better way to deal with the emotions instead of drinking or holding up a bank. I probably should also spend a little time admitting to myself that I wrote that story about nine years ago and that my time is better spent revising my new novel instead of tinkering with a short story that isn't going to get published unless I rewrite it.
So essentially, what I'm trying to tell you is that I work hard to learn from my rejection. I also try to thrive on rejection --- I try to think about what I can learn and sometimes, like in the case of my first novel Permafrost Heart, that was rejected for publication, the editors passed on it, but said they would love to see my next manuscript. Oh yeah? I said. OH YEAH? My next manuscript? What did they think, I could just pull another novel out of my ass? OH YEAH?!!!!
So you know what I did with that rejection? I took it and dove into writing The Raven's Gift which went on to be picked up by Penguin Canada and has spent over 50 days on the Amazon top 100 list. (Notice I didn't mention the rejection of my novel by American publishers? That's because I've been too busy finishing my next novel, after thriving on those rejections!)
Remember, to write is to be rejected. At least that is what I'll keep telling myself while I keep on writing.
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