WRITING LIFE
Immaculate rejection
Every writer has to face rejection at some point – and it always stings. Novelist Julie Shackman offers advice, taken from her own experience, on how to overcome rejection and use it to work towards getting your writing published
Rejection is part of our life and experiences.
From relationships to not securing that job we wanted, we all have to deal with it at one time or another. It can be painful and disappointing.
Writing rejection is no exception.
I’ve received so many rejections over the years from literary agents and publishers, that I could’ve easily decorated my bathroom and had some left over for an extension. On other occasions, I never received a reply at all to my submissions.
There were times when I contemplated giving up on my dream of getting published as a feel-good romance author. Was somebody trying to tell me something? What if I wasn’t meant to be a published writer after all?
But then I read that old adage, a published writer is an unpublished writer who never gave up and that, together with my late mother’s wise words, don’t give up. Ever, helped to push me on. It continued to be a struggle and yes, it took considerable effort and perseverance.
Today, I’m now published by the amazing HarperCollins imprint One More Chapter and have an incredible literary agent in Selwa Anthony.