The Importance of Rejection

Learning Through Rejection

One of the fundamental elements of this crazy, tech-rich modern age, is that we can all afford the chance to be heard. Perhaps there is no place where the rise in accessibility has been more evident than within the world of literary publishing. I have an incredible level of easy, cheap access to literally thousands of journals — both the kind that release material only online and those which have traditional print elements.

My father, writing back in the 70s and 80s had to send his poetry to potential publishers the old-fashioned way. He would fill a big manila envelope with his poems, include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) so that his submission could be returned in the event it was not accepted. This is quite different than my own experience where sending off a submission is as easy as entering my contact info and clicking a button.

On one hand, I dearly wish my dad had been able to have access to such an easy submission process. In his day, sending out submissions cost quite a bit of money, for one thing — money spent without any certainty of a return on the investment.

However, something about that older model of SASE envelopes strikes me as important to consider. If you have to invest upfront like that — with time and effort, never mind money — you’re more likely to submit something you’re truly proud of.

Overall, I think that easier access to publication avenues is a good thing: we all deserve to find homes for our voices out there in the void. At the same time, I think it’s a good idea to remember that this ease of submission is a luxury none of us had just a few decades ago. If we remember that, if we can keep in our minds the understanding of just how lucky we are to be able to send out our work so easily, we might just be able to maintain the sort of pride in our work, and the sort of conviction, that helps us submit only the best of our writing to the world’s stage.