A writer’s fear of rejections is familiar — almost universal. Almost every writer I’ve gotten to talk with, published and pre-published alike, will admit the same thing: a fear of rejection has held them back at some point in their journey. It is the dreaded form rejection letter that has writers stalling to submit queries or turn in a draft. Or that’s what we tell ourselves.
There is a possibility that we are not afraid of rejection: we are afraid of success. There is, of course, a part of us that is afraid of rejection, but there is only so much a simple email can do. We all know that, after a rejection, we will pick up our pens again. Another possibility is that we’re afraid of what if we don’t get a form rejection in our inbox; what if we get an acceptance.
There is a legitimate dread of getting an acceptance — getting an agent, a publishing deal, a contract for a second book– and feeling the work is not good enough for the world; perhaps that we are not good enough. Therefore, not submitting to agents and blaming the fear of rejection keeps our work — the work we feel is sub-par (although that is rarely the case) — off the market.
It all boils down to over-critiquing ourselves, something I find myself doing often, something that keeps me from writing — from submitting — more often than I’d like to admit. If I’ve learned one thing in the past few months, it is to ignore the fear. I can’t seem to stop being afraid altogether (the terror of sharing my writing with anyone still screams through me every time I hit submit), but I can ignore it. I can click the button anyway. I can remind myself of all I have achieved and remember that, acceptance or rejection alike, I have succeeded because I wrote and I followed through. We all have and we all will continue to do so.
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