Give a shit as many times as you'd like while I count down.
00:00
You gave a shit times; and now, you truly don't give a shit… right?
1 Copy a writing rejection from email, from Submittable, or try an example.
3
The editor meant…
Explain
How many others got this response?
No number will change what you cannot control. What matters is what you do next.
But don't rejections have tiers?
The only meaningful difference is did your rejection mean "No, thanks" or "Please submit more."
Help me cope…
What do I do next?
Are you tracking your submissions?
Not tracking
You should track your submissions in a tool that'll answer practical questions and help you build persistence.
Submittable tracks for me
Submittable is great for submitting, but does it answer questions like where else you sent this piece or help you with opportunities that don't use Submittable?
You should track your submissions in a tool that'll answer practical questions and help you build persistence.
I'm tracking submissions
Check your tracker:
are you waiting for other editors to respond to this piece?
Yes, I'm waiting on more responses to this piece
Hang in there. A different editor might have different news. Keep writing other pieces.
No, this was the last submission of this piece
Let's do a quick tally…
1-9 rejections for this draft
Find the next opportunity for this draft.
10 or more rejections for this draft
Did any editors ask you to please submit more?
Yes, at least once
Find the next opportunity for this draft.
No
Start the next draft of this piece.