Five Things To Do When You Get Rejected
And be happy about it!
I submitted my first piece to a publication on Medium. Here’s what happened.
I’ve only published 41 articles so I wasn’t sure if it was the right time, or if it was good enough. It wasn’t my highest rating article. It was about an experience that has been pivotal in my career in leadership and management. I thought it was worth a read. You can find it here. (Not a promotion of the article, just makes sense to refer to it for context.)
As a friend of mine told me years ago:
If you never go, you’ll never know!
They Looked! 😲
… off it went. Into the ether. I wondered if my baby would be taken good care of and others would goo and gah over it like I hoped they would.
Well … no!
“We took a look and unfortunately it’s not a good fit…”
I submitted the piece last week and then, a couple of days later, the reply popped into my inbox.
It’s not nice being rejected. You put yourself out there, hoping for some recognition. I thought it would be helpful to the right audience. You keep hitting refresh on your email and there is no instant reply.
How dare they! Don’t they know who I am? 😉
I was a bit flat at first. It would have been nice to get something like, “Hey, we liked it. Here are some suggestions. Please resubmit.”
But not to be.
But I am now genuinely happy about it. Not the rejection, per se, but that fact that I submitted something.
I’ve started!
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” — Lao Tzu
I re-read the piece and I now know the topic, quality and style is not for that publication. Not yet, anyway. That is good to know.
Where to from here …
Firstly, I (you) learn by doing!
Here are five things I’m working on each time I submit a piece, either to a publication, or simply here on Medium.
- Feel it — It isn’t pleasant but if I don’t feel something, was it even of value to me?
- Get feedback — I engaged a friend who looks at my writing and critiques it. We catch up for coffee tomorrow … 😬
- Then, write more — get back on the horse, bike, whatever, go again. Write something.
- Submit more — write and submit, taking note of any feedback from others. Most people want us to succeed.
- Enjoy the process — follow the three Rs: Research, (w)Rite, Relax — yep, totally made that up!
Thank you for reading! 😊
My purpose in writing on Medium:
- Personal Development — writing helps me articulate my own thinking. I find trying to create an “argument” for a perspective on paper, quite revealing and at times challenging and I can be more critical of my own thoughts. I frequently find myself thinking: “Why DO I think this?”
- Developing Others — to help people make better choices by helping them think critically and realise their potential. We are often blinded by beliefs and thinking given to us by others.
