Insane Dames

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How to Deal With Rejections and Writing as a Business

by Sue McKlveen
(submitted to the Gulf Coast Romance Writers website)

A new writer friend of mine got her first rejection. I feel her pain, because after over 50 of them myself (I consider myself an overachiever in this area), I know what it’s like. But I’ve also learned that rejections aren’t supposed to be personal, and this is how I deal with it (as schizophrenic as it sounds, it works).

In this business, I have to wear three hats, and none of them can be on my head at the same time as another. The first one is the creative one, yet also very emotional. It lets me write, lets me dream and is 'ethereal'. It also can't be bothered by the other two, or it gets very frustrated and makes me depressed. When it wants to be worn, I can't switch to any other hat...it's very bossy and bratty, but can produce.

The second is the editor. It's like the teacher grading papers, who’s learning and mastering the craft of writing. It has to remain detached and do its job, and if any of the others try to interfere, it gets angry. It has attitude, just like a teacher or other authority figure. Any emotions with this one are secondary, because it balances the other two.

The third is the businessman. It deals with finding an agent, publisher and learning the craft of selling. It has no emotions whatsoever, and is trying to wheel and deal only. It knows this is a business, and selling is the name of the game. It also knows the market is saturated, so any creative way to get ahead is the only way to get a foot in the door. To explain this, I’ve changed various query letters to read like advertisements, tried cute logos, and made my query sound more dramatic. It’s that foot in the door dilemma, trying to wow the customer.

By balancing out the three hats, it will work. It could mean you need a better hook, need to work on mechanics, plot or characterization, or it might just be that the advertisement isn’t getting through—the query letter and synopsis. Whatever it is, don’t take it personally. Keep your three hats separate, and you’ll be a happier person.

I learned the theory about the three hats about a year ago...because I was getting frustrated by over-editing while writing, and worrying about selling while writing or editing. You can't do it all at once, or you will be overwhelmed.

Now that you think I'm schizophrenic by dividing my time between hats, it does work and will help. You’ll be more productive and actually be able to enjoy what you do, if you can divide this business up into three parts, never letting them interfere with each other.

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