what I learned from 100 rejections

2018 was the year I took up the challenge to accrue 100 rejections – with the goal, essentially, of submitting to 100 or more publications in a year.

The publishing landscape is sprawling and extremely diverse, but if there’s one thing I learned this year it’s that there’s a seat at the table for all of us, as long as we’re willing to listen and follow the rules. I think the biggest complaint I had within the first month of sending things out was that I either had too much faith for secular publishers or too little for Christian publishers. But I came to understand that the vast majority of publishers aren’t trying to weed out faith or inject it into somebody. They have a mission for their publication and they are responsible to guard that mission. “Not a good fit” is not just a generic phrase, it’s a true one. And once I found my people, I felt a lot more freedom to write what I wanted with authenticity then if I had pushed my way into a different niche entirely.

Here are some basic things I learned during this year of submissions:

1. ALWAYS read the guidelines and follow them to the letter. If you’re shoddy about following instructions, you won’t get read.
2. Get on email lists of publications like Authors Publish, Winning Writers, and Freedom with Writing, along with your favorite publications that have regular calls for submissions. Make your inbox do the searching for you, and then keep a running list of possible publications to look into later.
3. Read at least 5 different published works from any individual publication before you even decide to submit to them. If you get to the know the feel of what they publish better, you have a higher chance of sending them something that matches their goals. You might also decide that this particular publication just isn’t a good fit for your style.
4. Submit your best stuff and edit-edit-edit before you press send. Don’t just assume that because you like your words other people will even understand them at all. Publications want to publish your work, but you can’t give them crap you just wrote the other day on a napkin (unless you’re Ernest Hemingway – which you’re not, so just re-read and edit your words until they are the best they can be).
5. Keep good records. Set up a spreadsheet and track which pieces you’ve submitted, where you submitted them, and when you’ve submitted them. Then, of course, track your acceptances and rejections so you have bragging rights someday. (“Sure, Rowling got seven rejections on Harry Potter, but guess how many I’ve racked up…”)
6. Most importantly, invest in publications you admire and support. Find lit mags you love and follow them. Buy their stuff. Like and share their content. If you believe your work has value and should be out there, be a true fan of other people’s work. Say you get published by a small lit mag. Don’t just add their name to your Twitter handle and hit the road. Submit again (within the time frame their guidelines suggest, of course; see rule #1). In the meantime, engage with their content and your fellow writers.

Beyond the Basics

But beyond the basic advice, I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process of submitting to all these places.

1. I need community. In the process of researching literary magazines and wading through a towering pile of submission requirements, I began to discover online writing communities that are both informative and encouraging about the process. The diverse range of authors represented didn’t take anything away from the similarities we all shared: we love to write, and we’re trying to get published. Twitter has a burgeoning writing community that supports and loves on each other’s work and provides opportunities to write daily stories. Facebook groups abound for Christian writers and creatives. Not every community I’m a part of now has directly led to opportunities – but they have led to good friendships and partners on the path to publishing, and that’s more important in the long run.
2. Getting rejected will always be hard. I kind of assumed that I would get numb to it after a while, but getting told that your work isn’t wanted will always and forever suck. But here’s the thing – the point is less about getting rejected and more about how quickly you turn around and send something somewhere else. Submitting to places was excruciating at first – mustering up the courage to even press send on a piece took forever. But now it’s the new normal, partially because…
3. I don’t need to take my writing so seriously. Part of submitting is letting go of a very personal thing which you have brought to life through your own sweat, blood, and tears. Initially, I loved my stuff too much. I wondered why others couldn’t see the importance and brilliance of what I was doing. But I came to realize that my writing isn’t always the greatest – in fact, it’s RARELY the greatest. And most of the world could care less about what I have to say. But with this realization came a great freedom – the freedom to pursue writing for the sheer joy of it, with the goal of getting better – step by step, little by little. As I repeatedly let go of my work, as I continually let it out into the light of day, I saw it for what it was – flawed. But also – hey, look at that – improving! And I loved writing all the more for it. I came to value the journey of writing and submitting more than I valued the accomplishment of finishing a piece or getting something published.
4. I need challenges to grow. Sending things out consistently was hard, and it would have been so much easier if I had just stuck with self-publishing things. I have nothing against self-publishing – and I plan to do some of it this year! But sending my work out to objective parties helped me to grow up in general and to grow as a writer in particular. I got valuable feedback and pushed myself to write better stuff, to unearth more striking metaphors, to write and write and write and write. And now looking back I see clearly the areas where I’ve grown, and why growth has happened at all.
5. I don’t need a platform, I need to love people more. I’ve struggled from day one with the concept of platform – the idea that in order to get your work out there, you need to have a following, and you need to cultivate that following. I would be lying if I said I don’t struggle with it now. But I understand it more – how it’s all part of a large information marketplace that has its own quirks and rules, but that isn’t inherently evil. As I’ve developed my own authentic voice and figured out the ins-and-outs of hashtags, I’ve learned primarily that it’s not so much about selling something as it is about giving something away. Now, even as I acknowledge and make use of Facebook algorithms, I ask myself different questions: How do I bless people when they see my posts? What gifts can I give to them? How do I challenge them? I’m learning to love on my communities instead of use my audiences. Also, when I like or comment or share something from my fellow creators, I do it honestly and out of love for them, as a way to support their art.
6. My level of rejections or acceptances has nothing to do with my value in God’s eyes. It has been said and it will be said again, and I will say it until I am blue in the face. Over and over again this year, God has proved to me that He is all I need. He has given me desire, ability, and opportunity to write – and out of it He has provided joy in the work of my hands and motivation to love people through my writing. This blessing is not something I have earned in any way – as my long list of rejections attests. I have gained a new understanding of the idea of unmerited favor. In the process I’ve learned that acceptances don’t change my standing with Him any more than rejections do. He is at work in it all, and out of His fierce love, He draws me closer to Him through it all.

I could write so much more about the past year, but the thing that weighs on my mind after thinking through 2018 is mostly: thank you. Writers are nothing without readers. And not only have you encouraged me and supported me in numerous ways – from a like on Facebook to a friendly word on Sunday morning – you have given me someone to write to. I hope you’re not tired of me yet, because I’ve got some projects I’m really excited about in queue for 2019.

So – thanks. I really like you people.

Until next time,

-Chris