Do You Fear Rejection When Submitting Your Articles Somewhere?

Articles, no. They are not really anything I put my heart into. The only exceptions are musician profiles or that sort of thing where I really enjoy the subject and put a lot of effort into writing them. If I were to go into journalism, that would be the kind of writing I would want to do. For a music magazine or the "culture" section of a newspaper. But fiction...yeah. I am working on my grad school application portfolio, which means compiling my best and brightest works of fiction and it's is giving me quite a fit. If I don't get accepted, it will be because my writing, which is the only thing I know what to do, isn't good enough, which will suck immensely.

Of course. I think it is natural. I would have to go back to the old saying, you cannot succeed if you don't try. I would also say that many successful writers have a drawer full of initial rejection letters. I have heard of many famous writers who have had their famous works initially rejected before becoming famous. Sorry for the company that rejected them! So, go for it! There is only one ace of hearts in a pac of playing cards. And also remember that the drawer full of rejections is between you and you! Nobody else needs to know. Good luck! :-)

A lot of authors (including some very famous ones)have had their books rejected (I think even JK Rowling was rejected at one point). If it is any good then some one will publish it eventually. Keep trying you could get lucky. It may be that you would need a good agent to find the most suitable publisher for your works. Like you I would like to get published some time, but never got as far as writing a manuscript.

There are many sites that accept almost anything, and don't care whether the writing is good or bad. If someone has been submitting to these sites and making some money, it's natural to think that they're a good writer and could be making more money, and have their work published on more serious sites. The problem is that getting published on sites like Triond, Gather, or Helium doesn't give you way to judge the quality of your writing or give you any incentive to improve. Associated Content has higher standards, but still publishes a lot of poorly written work. Constant Content requires perfection in spelling, grammar, etc., plus the ability to write clearly and pay attention to SEO. Anyone can publish their own book if they're willing to self-publish. If you want to be accepted by print publishers, your work has to meet regular publishing standards. If you want to understand why you're being rejected, have someone who's a good judge of writing (either a teacher or a published writer) critique what you've written. There are also online writing communities where you can have your work critiqued.

I hate bein rejected, I always fear that I will be whenever I submit pieces of writing anywhere, which is why I don't bother that often. I hate to think that I've worked so hard on something, sometimes for days, and then it can still get rejected in the blink of an eye. I hope to get a book published one day, and when that happens I will be very happy indeed!

Hi Tina, I feel that most of us are not born with this skill of being able to write great reviews or articles, i think it comes with practice. I have been submitting reviews and articles at various sites. In the beginning I did not know how to write a decent review and was criticsed , but as I wrote more reviews and got to read others reviews I began to improve. I feel that you should try to fine tune your articles and start submitting them at Helium , and other sites as well , where I am sure you will succeed. They are all great sites with excellent earning potentials - all the best to you

Ok, here goes, I feel I know you well enough to say this. Stand up, turn around, (I am kicking you in the butt) Get busy girl!!!! You write fine on here, you have lots of practice. It is scary venturing into unknown territory, but if you don't take the plunge you will always regret not doing it, and you will never know. If you already have lots of articles, then submit them, you just might be plesantly surprised. Good luck, I expect a report back on what happens.

I think you have to realize that rejection is part of the writers life. I think there are many ways that you can be published, but there are also ways that you can not be published. There are probably many more ways not to be published than to be published unfortunately. It is just part of the craft of writing I think.

Not especially. I tend to submit anything I give a damn about to AC nowadays, and if they reject it, that just means I don't get an upfront payment. Generally I still go ahead and publish it for the hits.

Hey Tina! I have the same problem as you do! I hate being rejected! I wrote 2 articles for Review Stream, one was accepted and I made $2, the other was rejected! That was it for me! I haven't written for them since! They still have my $2! I am so scared to try again and I know that rejection is just part of the process! I am going to try again and you need to do the same! We will never get anywhere if we don't try to submit articles! The only way to suceed is to fail first! I know that sucks, but it is the only way! If I can do it so can you! Are you ready?

Hi Tina, like you I love writing and I have had quite a few articles published for the likes of Helium and Triond. I also have one piece of fiction published on Associated Content. Unfortunately I'm not having much success financially. This is a really difficult area to master. Anyway, I do have a site for you if you don't know about it already. The website is www.lulu.com This site enables you to write and publish your own book. You can even have your book published and distributed to high street book shops. I haven't used this site myself as yet but I have subscribed to it which is free. I too would love to become a published writer, a book on bookshelves would be a real treat! Anyway, good luck with your own writings. Andrew

Everyone smarts at rejections. But the other way to look at it is that even a rejection is a little success. Because it means that you made the effort to submit; you felt the fear and did it anyway. If you are looking for tips, there are loads of resources online. Try this one for example: http://www.writergazette.com/articlelist.shtml. I have found it's much easier to submit online than to print magazines. At Constant Content, you will hear within days, sometimes only hours, if your work has been accepted, and if not, why. And then you have a chance that your work will sell, and th commission they take is easily worth it for all the time they've saved you in trying to market your own work. I have earnt nearly £1000 dollars there in the last year. Some people actually earn a living through the site, but they are very prolific full-time writers.

Rejection is a normal, expected part of any professional freelance writer's life. I keep my rejection letters in a file, listed under 'R' for rejection. They're not personal. They are just the editor's way of saying they have enough of that type of article this month or they've already spent their freelance budget. Nothing more. If you submit to the revenue-share rip off sites, you'll be accepted. They're not fussed about quality or helping you to improve your writing style. They'll pay you a penny or so just so you can say you got paid something. But they won't reject you. If you'd like to get past your fear, try submitting your work to a few magazines. The first few rejection letters you receive will have you wondering if it's worth it - but the side-effect of all that wondering is that you start looking for ways to really improve and hone your writing skills so that you'll get less rejections and a LOT more money per article.

You just have to keep trying. I haven't heard of many writers getting their books published the first time out. Most, if not all, have to go through many rejections until they hit on the winner. When you get those rejections, if the publishing company added any comments to your proposal, take those into consideration and adjust your book accordingly. I started out by writing articles and reviews at various sites. I started out as an ok writer but through the years of practice, I think my writing has improved. I'm starting to get published in magazines now so it must be improving. Now, you probably can't tell that from this post (lol) but my articles I write sound and are worded better than this post probably sounds to you and everyone else reading it. lol. Just keep working towards your dream and you can make it happen. I would also suggest joining an online writing group. You can submit your work and it will be read by other writers and they will give you their opinion on it. You will also be able to read other people's work and help them out too. Good luck in your writing career.

In life in general I could care less about ppl rejecting me....but oddly enough when it comes to my writings (and like you I have TONS of articles) or my paintings, drawings etc etc I am terrified of being rejected....I think its because my work, though not amazing, comes from my heart and soul ya know and for someone to tell me "eeww thats crappy" would be devestating for me for some reason..I find it odd that i'm like that becuase I write for ME..and have since I was just a kid ya know..Why i would care what anyone else thinks is beyond me but I do...

Even though this discussion is about rejection, I am so glad that you started it. Rejection is something all writers face. No writer ever had a career without rejection, but that does not make it any easier to face when it comes along. I think you need to first, get in your comfort zone. Get some online writing under your belt (including possible rejection), and then gradually branch out to more and more difficult markets, learning as you go. People have suggested writing groups and you can take courses if you really feel you could improve with one-on-one interaction from a writing teacher. The main thing is not to let rejection stop you from your writing goals. I try and write every day, letting the habit nestle in, yet continuing to stretch (trying to write about topics that are more challenging or looking or more challenging markets). Good luck and know that a lot of us feel just like you do. Rejection is hard, but unfortunately, it's part of the writing world. Hang in there, and don't let it defer your dreams!

krausehome, how i wish that i can give you very helpful tips. it just so happens that i am only good at it if i am holding your manuscript. i have never had the experience of having been rejected before. the articles i wrote were always found to be good ones. however, these days i no longer write for any site or any publication except mylot. the topic is of foremost importance and then what would come next, is how you expound on it. maybe i am still good at this craft. because, all those friends who had asked me to write for them, found the articles that i did to be really good ones. all of those articles, by the way, got the appreciation that was desired.

I don't fear rejection because I don't see it as failure. If you submit an article to a publisher's assignment or guidelines, and it is not chosen, that does not mean you a bad writer. It only mean your article was not exactly what they were looking for, or was not written in the style required for their site or publication. Publishers don't always provide detailed guidelines. If your article is not accepted, you should think of it as the publisher's fault for failing to specify clearly enough what they want.

HI Tina; You are not alone, I have this same fear every time I attempt to write anything online on any site; I hate being rejected and I know its probably a lot of my own mistakes and or things I could easily change to make the article better but I hate it, I hate having to redo it, and I guess I mostly expect to fail as that's all I've ever had drilled into my head that I'm a complete failure and I know I'm not I'm trying to change my self , to change my attitude but its a slow process and one I have to work on daily; (G)! But yes I understand how you feel;

When I send out resume after resume to apply for job, somehow the fear of rejection is not there. Even when going down for the job interview, the last thing in my mind is rejection. Guess the salary, fringe benefits, working hours take up most of my attention. But comes to writing, it's a different story. Fear of rejection stops me from writing a single word.