Good Friday morning Rejection Letter Olympians!
Congratulations! You have finally reached the finish line!
Whether you participated for one week or all five, I hope that the competition helped jumpstart your query- and LOI-writing process. And it’s also my hope that the competition took a little bit of the sting out of the rejections you might have received from editors and potential clients during the challenge. As I’ve mentioned here before, landing assignments is really a numbers game, and rejection is just part of the process. Every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.”
So go ahead and pat yourself on the back …read more

Good Friday morning Rejection Letter Olympians! If you’re new to the challenge or need a reminder about the rules of the game, you can read Week 1: The Rejection Letter Olympics.
For those of you who have been racking up the points each week, how did you do? Last week, I challenged you to do the uncomfortable thing and venture out beyond your usual markets. Did you experience any interesting insights after taking that step?
I know that moving toward the unfamiliar can be uncomfortable, but I also believe that it’s never good to get too comfortable in your business. Changing things …read more

 
Good Friday afternoon Rejection Letter Olympians!
So did you get any rejection letters or assignments landing in your inbox this week? Be sure to award yourself points for both (2 points for a rejection, 3 points for an assignment) and log your results in the comments section below. Remember—every “no” means you’re getting closer to a “yes!”
As for me, I heard back from a couple of editors this week—both want me to pitch stories after the new year when they have the budgets to hire freelancers again.
I also heard back from a company that will be launching a new e-publication after …read more

 
Give yourself a pat on the back if you received a rejection or “no thank you” from an editor or potential client this week—it means that you were getting your name and ideas out there. And it also means that you weren’t letting the fear of rejection affect your marketing efforts.
Receiving rejection e-mails and no responses is just part of the marketing process. And it really is a numbers game. The more calls you make, and the more queries and LOIs you send out, the more you’re going to hear “no.” But you’ll eventually start hearing “yes” too. And if …read more

 
Everyone needs an accountability partner, so I thought I’d start a weekly feature here called The Rejection Letter Olympics.
Yep, you read that right. How many rejection letters or “no thank you” e-mails can you rack up in a week?
I’m basing this weekly challenge on the very sage advice of Thomas Watson, founder of IBM: “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”
Along the same lines, someone early on in my freelance career told me that every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.” So taking that theory to heart, I am setting up this challenge to …read more