"ALL DRESSED UP WITH NO PLACE TO GO"

 

                     Dealing with Book Rejections and Shelved Projects

 

Don’t you hate it when you make big plans, get all dressed up for them, and then at the last minute, they get canceled? Well, I do. Now imagine it’s your book. A book you’ve spent months pouring your heart into perfecting every detail packaged and ready for submission only to receive a rejection.

It seems unfair because you know your work is at its tip-top best, and how dare any publisher deny you access to have your book showcased as the work of art it truly is.

Well, more than what we realize is a widespread occurrence. So don’t feel like the lone ranger in situations like this. Join the thousands of authors every year whose work doesn’t quite make the cut.

Okay, I know this is a bit discouraging or could be, but don’t let it scare you either. Most authors realize they are one of many who have written a book or many books with the knowledge and acceptance they won’t be traditionally published.

Trust me; book rejections are not the end of the world or your writing career. It’s one of those awful realities we learn to make our peace and live with. Not because you’re unworthy but because it wasn’t your time to shine.

When you think of all the most famous authors worldwide, I’m sure they all have a story to tell and not about the book they’ve written but the journey it took to get to where they are now.

Only 1-2% of authors get published, which means only 1 or 2 manuscripts out of hundreds of submitted work gets chosen. That doesn’t sound so encouraging. But when you consider that only 0025% of authors are successful anyway, well, that can undoubtedly cramp one’s style.

Don’t despair or shelve your projects because, at this point, it sounds hopeless. But it’s not. These statics apply to traditionally published authors and not independent authors.

For some odd reason, when they calculate the statistics of published authors, independent authors, in their opinion, are not worth their salt and excluded for whatever reason. Well, I guess there’s bias in every profession, but this country founded on independence proves we are separate but still equal. And that applies to the publishing world also.

So the next time you’re all dressed up with no place to go, don’t cancel your plans. Simply adjust them.