Coffeeshop Author Talk Magazine October 2013, Vol. I, Issue IV | Page 26

C.L. Roman’s Top
10 Ways To Avoid
Rejection
My Top Ten Methods of Avoiding Rejection
Writers spend a lot of time talking about how to get accepted, but we
don’t say much about how to avoid rejection. Here are ten ways.
Ten: Hire someone to open your mail. What you don’t see can’t hurt you. It’s not like those rejection
letters ever have anything good in them, like suggestions for improvement or requests to see other
work.
Nine: Write in genres you aren’t really interested in. That way, if you are rejected, it hurts less.
Eight: Let your inner critic out. Many people denigrate the inner critic. They say that she is destructive
to creativity, but actually, she’s your best friend. If you let her do the writing there will be no mistakes,
plot holes, or weak characters. Of course, the book will be written in invisible ink and take centuries to
complete, but it will be perfect.
Seven: Shun writing conferences. Conferences are chock full of fellow writers offering advice designed
to help you hone your craft. There are even classes focusing on various aspects of writing technique.
Such classes can only improve your work, tempting you toward submission. This is fatal to the author
hoping to avoid rejection. Worse yet, you are likely to meet agents and editors who may express interest in your work. And we all know where that leads.
Six: Avoid critique groups. Critique groups excel at praising good writing while pointing out plot
holes, overused words, awkward phrasing and the like. Then you have to fix it. Critiques create a lot of
work, and they can feel like rejection, and isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid?
Five: Eschew editors. See #7, only this person is a professional, and you are paying him! Plus, if you
do put in the exhausting work necessary to follow his suggestions, your manuscript will improve. He
might even suggest you submit it somewhere. And we all know where that leads.
Four: Never submit your best work. Submitting first or second drafts gives you the comfort of knowing that you would have rejected it too. It also saves you a lot of sweat equity.
Three: Bugging the editor or agent’s house is far less taxing than doing research. I mean, it’s not like
they put critical information regarding genre preference and submission guidelines on their website. A
bug might even turn up a little dirt, and then they can’t say no.