Wasting a Year: Novels and Rejection

I recently saw some tweets from some writers I know who suggested that when your novel came back with a rejection, that was a year of your life wasted. Another writer I know suggested that was why she didn’t write novels. Of course, I thought about that, and it all comes down to why you’re in the game, doesn’t it?

Scenario One: Immediate gratification and/or approval from others It is NOT easier to write a good short story. Some people can’t write short stories at all. NOR is it necessarily faster to write a publishable short story. But in general turn around is faster, rejections are faster, and the opportunities for acceptances are greater. You can maybe turn around anywhere from 5-20 short stories in a year if you work at it, considering variation of speed. The odds (not calculated mathematically) mean you have a higher chance of acceptance on short stories.

The above scenario assumes you are in the game pretty much for ACCEPTANCE. For whatever reason. Publication is the end all, be all for your writing. Perhaps you crave attention. Perhaps you have a message Perhaps you want money. Because if a rejection means you’ve wasted your time, then it logically follows that an acceptance means you haven’t.

Of course, this can also lead to scenario 2: My novel is good enough. Screw you, publishing industry. I will strike out on my own. Which people do for a variety of reasons, but one of which might be the immediate gratification and/or approval from others scenario. And that’s frustrating, because in most cases, when you hear crickets, that’s worse.

Go on, ask Hugh Howey how long it took him to cultivate a readership. I’ll be here when you get back. That’s work too, and not wasted work. It’s another kind of rejection and I would suggest, not a waste.

This takes a while. So are rejections of your work, whether self published or submitted indicative of time wasted because you don’t get the result you want immediately. I will use a very strong British word: Tosh. That’s just tosh.

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That seems a rather bleak reason to write. It seems to imply that the only reason to write is publication and money and acceptance and maybe even immediate gratification, and that if you don’t get it, you’ve wasted your time. You may agree, and I don’t want to judge or diss you. As a matter of fact, a cut is called for. Peace. Off you go. Good luck with those acceptances. Hopefully, you’ll stop wasting years of your life soon.

Okay, so if you’re here, you might disagree with the wasted year of your life theory. Here’s what I think about writing a novel.

EVERY word I write, novel or short story, moves me closer to the direction of improving my writing, and while that is not a guarantee to publication, it is very helpful. Further, by concentrating on the novel form imperfect attempt after imperfect attempt, what I am doing is learning to write novels. There is direct transfer between short stories and this blog even in regard to writing novels, but nothing teaches one to write a novel quite like writing a novel.

My payoff is not necessarily publication. My payoff is improvement, education, and better art. Even if I produce incredible art, I refuse to define myself through an industry that can be arbitrary. I appreciate that you don’t have to choose me for publication. I also appreciate that you are not the last word on the value of my time. Not that the publishing industry has ever claimed that.

Writers can want many different things and have many reasons for producing art. Some of us want to be published. Some of us want a good time. Some of us want to enjoy characters we are fans of. To suggest that if someone rejects you and you aren’t accepted or given money for a particular work means that you’ve wasted your time probably means that you haven’t enjoyed the journey of writing your novel, or seen the ways in which this novel will help you write the better, next novel, which could well get you in.

You know, I like short stories. But if I am going to publish, and try to make a living at it (which I’m not), I would know that it’s the extremely rare short story writer who can make more than a supplemental income at best. Hell, it’s the rare novelist, but if you’re going to be a career writer these days, it’s got to be books. And every time you write a book, you learn something that helps you write a better book.

That’s hardly wasted time. I believe that each time you improve, and that’s worth doing. I try to think of it as being a journeyman, rather than being Venus, already formed miraculously from a clam. I don’t want to be caught naked in a clam. I want to publish when I’ve got the goods, and I have to spend some time learning. In clothes.

And if you ever think you’re done learning, well, good luck with that, especially in the world of art, even after you’ve published and you’ve stopped wasting your time.

Okay. Carry on with your plurality. That’s just my two cents. Remember that I’m in therapy for self-worth right now. So roar and all that. This attitude should come as no surprise.

Author: Catherine Schaff-Stump

Catherine Schaff-Stump writes fiction for children and young adults. Her most recent book, The Vessel of Ra, is the first book in the Klaereon Scroll series. She is currently working on its sequel, as well as penning the middle grade adventures of Abigail Rath, monster hunter.

5 thoughts on “Wasting a Year: Novels and Rejection”

  1. As wasted time for yourself? Only if you choose not to write during that time.

    And of course, you may not get a rejection at all. But again, what you do with your time is your own lookout.

    My emphasis is definitely not on the rejection.

  2. I guess it’s only wasted if you sit on your thumbs while you wait for a response. Send that sucker out and start the next one! And hey, maybe you’ll get a nibble in the meantime.

    I mean, anyone approaching publishing for the money and fame, regardless of format, is bound to be disappointed. If that’s your priority, just about any other medium will yield more results. Talk about banging one’s head against a wall.

  3. I admit that I have thought of books in these terms. I do crave that acceptance more than is good for me, and I can’t write shorts, so… I’m working on it. 🙂 I really enjoy your blog posts, btw.

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