The question, why do writers get rejected? is a vagabond; a very ubiquitous question that hovers round almost over every writer’s head. However, despite being very common, it’s such a herculean question to be answered by writers, especially those that blindly submit their works to the literary journals, online websites, magazines and national dailies.
We all know, acknowledging the incorrigible truth that no single being wants to get rejected in something, therefore, one should riotously invest in the strong machinery that would prominently clear the pavement to his success. So, with that being said, alleviating the slew number of rejections a writer gets, just like a politician, you know, a politician must look for some powerful tools to draw the attention of his voters so as to win an election, so does a writer—he must instill such tools in him to win the editor’s heart.
One of the fundamental ways a writer should follow before making a submission is by reading the guidelines given by the magazine, the journal or the newspaper. A number of times a writer gets rejected due to the nonchalant attitude he has for reading the guidelines. Tons of editors report that some writers get rejected due to that. For instance, in a case where a writer submits a beautiful work worth to be accepted, but unknowingly adds a single line of which, in happenstance, might be against the guidelines, and, at the end, get rejected for that single mistake.
In the same vein, some writers get rejected for not reading the recent published works of the aforementioned places. Most of the magazines have the theme they focus on and publish pieces that are only of that; for instance, a journal that publishes on grief would likely reject a romantic piece. Or in a case where a writer submits a bewildering story to a newspaper that seeks for fantasy, and so forth.
Of all, despite getting rejections will never be obliterated in the writer’s journey, but having believed that only through investing oneself in a rigorous reading can a to-be-dexterously-woven piece be written, a writer can alleviate his frequent rejections by rigorous reading of the genre he craves to get accepted, if not all the genres for a vast intellectual knowledge.
Dear writer, be strong, if not stronger. It’s only through wallowing in the cauldron of rejections can you be greater. Be patient, and read the guidelines, the recent published works of the magazine, the newspaper or the journal before you submit your work for consideration. You’d make it, someday. Just, someday. Believe me.
Salim Yakubu Akko,
Gombe, Gombe state
