Don't Give up the Ship!

I was glazing over my notes the other night when I noticed something interesting.  I've heard of writers, particularly those new to the publishing world, who submit a story once or twice and give up on it after it is rejected once or twice, as if the story is now tainted and can never be sold.

Nonsense!

Even if the rejection details why, and even if those reasons are due to poor writing and bad grammar...never give up!  Rewrite the story, join a crit group, set it down and come back to it after you've honed your skills, but whatever you do, don't give up on it. 

Well, yeah, there are exceptions, but you'll know stinker when you see it.  There are stories that are better taken behind the barn and shot, but even if you see a glimmer through the veil of rejection, work on it.  make it better.  Make it breathe.  Make the next potential publisher have to snatch it up for their latest anthology or magazine.

Case and point: the last story I sold was rejected 12 times before finally selling to a 1 cent per word ezine.  I'm glad I didn't give up on it back at rejection 3 or 4, or even 8 or 9.

You see, sometimes a story is rejected because it doesn't fit a certain publication or an editor just doesn't like your style.  It doesn't mean the story is bad; often time rejection is purely subjective.  So if you're drowning in your own sorrow because a publisher didn't want your story, chin up!  Read it over again, tighten it up, and send it to another publisher.