Freelance writing: when a rejection isn’t

Received any good rejections lately? If you’re a working freelance writer, you’ll be rejected early and often.

Major tip: a rejection often isn’t.

When a rejection is an invitation to submit again

When I first started writing some 30-odd (very odd) years ago, rejections often came as business-card-sized cards clipped to the submission: “Thank you for your submission, etc.” These elegant white cards were often engraved.

The cards were clipped to the submission, because since all manuscripts were typed, you could remove the paperclip and card and shove the manuscript into another large envelope and send it on its way again.

Time rolls on. Now editorial offices are skeleton-staffed, compared to days gone by. An outright rejection never comes: it’s just a lack of response, which is the rejection.

So in 2007, if you receive any acknowledgment of your submission at all, you should take it as encouragement to submit again – it’s not a rejection.

If you receive a personalized rejection: an editor has taken the time to write you an email or a note, then this is a definite encouragement that you’re very close to an acceptance. Again, it’s not a rejection.

If you’ve received any of these “rejections which aren’t” in the past, send a new query or proposal to that market asap. You’re close to an acceptance, which may come on your very next submission. Good luck.

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