I’m still an aspiring author, waiting for an agent to pluck me out of the slush pile. Along the way, I know that I will be rejected, and that is something I have to accept, get over and move on from. This journey could be made easier if we (the unagented writers), were open about the rejections and dashed hopes, but it appears to be a taboo topic.

Somewhere via Twitter, I read a blog where the author said that writers should never mention being rejected, as any agent chancing upon your blog would be immediately dissuaded from looking at your work.

Okay – I thought – that may be true, but then how is it that once an author has an agent/publisher, they can admit to receiving 50/ 70/ 155 rejections for their now published novel. How is it that we can read about the numerous rejections received by authors such as Stephen King and JK Rowling (to name but a few).
It appears that once we are accepted, we are able to declare the tortuous path we had in getting there, but in the meantime, we have to deny – or at least, not mention – any rejections along the way.

And yet, we all know that other writers are experiencing the same disappointment – every time someone mentions they are sending out a query, we all know the possibility of rejection is lurking in the background.

I once DM’d a friend on Twitter to say that I had a partial request, – but it was subsequently rejected. It was only then that they admitted to having numerous partial requests and a few full requests, until finally they found a publisher to take them on. It felt good to share and to know that I was communicating with someone who appreciated the pain I was feeling.

I would love to know your views on this matter – should rejections stay hidden away for our own good – or should we open up about the disappointment that rejection inevitably brings?

Happy Word Flow One & All