I recommend reading Part 1 of Rejection: Why Publishers Say No first! We covered a number of reasons why publishers could be rejecting you. Here are some more:

There’s no market for your fiction.

You could write something very interesting…to you…but that doesn’t mean that it will also be relevant to other people. Now, in most cases, there will always be a market for well-written fiction, but if you’re writing in a very narrow niche, publishers may shy away from your fiction. You don’t have to totally compromise what you want to write, but remember that you should have a broad enough …read more

Most fiction-writing “jobs” aren’t the same as online non-fiction jobs. Instead of being hired to write a specific piece, you’ll take the initiative to write what you like, and then you’ll submit it to publishers for consideration. It’s not the best way to provide for your family, to be honest, since you don’t control when or if you’ll receive money for your work. Some fiction writers are very successful, though, so don’t let that get you down!
If you’re rejected again and again, you can start to get discouraged. You don’t want your work to go to waste. You love your …read more

Thanks, but no thanks. Rejection letters stink, no matter how they’re worded. Did you know, though, that the words really do matter? What the editor says in the rejection letter makes all the difference in the world.
Typically, rejection letters fall into three basic formats:

The Form Letter
The Short Note
The Personalized Rejection

Form letters are basic rejection letters that are sent to 99% of writers. It may include you name, but there’s nothing to indicate that anyone ever read your submission. They could have sent that letter to 100 other writers, 1000 other writers, maybe even 10,000 other writers. When you get a …read more

Darn, drat, sniff and a few snivels!
The Golden Pencil did not make Michael Stelzner’s list of Top Ten Blogs For Writers.
Right now I want you to know that I’m feeling everything every rejected writer feels. Hurt. Anger. And not a small amount of frustration because I truly don’t know why my blog made it two years running and failed this year.
Sure I’ve got more competition and some of the newer blogs are darn good. But what am I, or rather what is my blog, chopped liver?
No, it’s not. I get far to much positive feedback to feel worthless or …read more

If you’re going to have a successful freelance writing career, you’re writing is going to be rejected. It happens to us all, and somehow we find a way to deal with it.
Leadership Turn has posted some rejections you may find surprising. Take a look then use them to encourage yourself.
You may also want to read After Rejection – The Next Step in Freelance Writing.
Has your writing ever been rejected? Tell us about it.
Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get …read more

Joe Wikert of Publishing 2020 pointed to an excellent resource in his blog post today. The source is Terry Whalin and his credits include over 60 books and time as an acquisitions editor for a publisher. Today he’s an agent with his own literary agency.
Whalin offers a free report called Straight Talk from the Editor: 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. Downloading it will get you on his newsletter, but I suspect it will be worth it, and if it isn’t, you can unsubscribe.
The report is worth the effort. Some 25 pages long, Whalin tells it like it is from …read more