Four Steps to Reduce Rejection

Would you like to reduce the number of rejection letters that arrive in you mailbox? Would you like to receive more acceptance letters for manuscripts you spend hours researching, writing, editing, and rewriting? It's possible.

First of all, understand that a rejection letter is not personal. It may not even mean your writing is bad.

Thank you for taking the time to write and submit your story. However, it does not meet our current editorial needs.

This statement often means exactly what it says. Here are ways you can avoid it.

• Resist the urge to write what you want first. Find out what publishers need and submit accordingly.
• Do your homework. If you want to write a book, study the market guide and see what publishers accept the genre and themes you like to write. Review the publisher's catalog to see how you could submit something that fits but is little different. Consider using some of your chapters as articles in magazines to build your platform.
• If you are writing articles, read the market guide for your genre. What magazines are looking for things that interest you? What can you contribute? By all means, if the magazine has a theme, write within the theme and within the word count. Follow the writer guidelines. 
• The more frequent the publication, the greater the need for articles. Sunday school magazines need articles 52 time a year. Most have at least 8 articles. 
• Use the proper submission format. Find samples in the front of the Writers Market, published by Writer's Digest. You'll also find copies of query and cover letters. 

Even if we follow all the guidelines, we will still receive rejection letters. Remember it's not a personal thing. It just means your story didn't fit the publisher's needs. Maybe it's not the right slant. Maybe it's not good enough. Maybe the magazine published something similar to your submission last month. Put yourself in the editor's position, and learn as much as you can.

Freelance writing is a business. Show yourself and your craft as professional as possible. Fulfilling publisher needs, doing research and meeting deadlines are all satisfying and profitable. 

On Writing Memoirs

Many writers who attend workshops and critique groups are writing the stories of their lives. They want to share the wonderful things they have learned over the years so others can learn from their experience. My cyber friend, Terry Whalin, has an excellent article for you if this is your desire. Visit his blog,The Writing Life.

I also found a couple great books that will help you: 

Writing & Selling Your Memoir: How to Craft Your Life Story So That Somebody Else Will Actually Want to Read It, and Writing Your Memoir.

Check out Cec Murphey's blog series on biography vs. memoir. 

Have you thought of writing little snippets of your life journey? You could earn a little compensation by taking time to write personal experience articles for magazines and blog posts. By doing these two exercises, your writing will become tighter and better, and you'll build a platform for yourself.

Are you writing your story? What do you think about capturing snippets into personal experience articles?