Getting rejected is part of any business so we all need to get used to it. I always say that we can’t take it personally (although sometimes I do). People don’t actually buy anything from you, we just need to be there when people are ready to buy.
That is why I loved this site, Rejection Collection which is mostly about being rejected as a writer or as the site says "Don’t dispair, join your fellow writers and artists and laugh in the face of rejection".
I particulary liked this reference listed in their newsletter:
Rejection Etiquette from the Other Side of the Pond
In the international edition of Writing Magazine
Diana Cambridge explores the subject of rejection in a typically low-key sophisticated British way. The article begins “The note that starts, thanks, but no thanks, is the most unwelcome.” It lists these five things NOT to do if you’ve been rejected and I quote:
• Ring up and give the editor a piece of your mind.
• Resolve never to submit to the journal again.
• Send an angry email.
• Send them a bill anyway.
• Overdo the booze – you will feel worse the next day.
Man, are those folks ever civilized, or what? My list of “don’ts” would be more like:
• Slit your wrists (blood makes a mess).
• Post the name and particulars of the editor on your web site, run a fabricated nude photo and try and sell it via Wal-Mart.
• Gorge yourself on one of those horrible fruitcakes that someone from England sent you for Christmas.
• Resolve to put a torch to all your manuscripts and marry money.
• Run away to Europe – the dollar’s pretty weak these days.
