How to Pivot Rejection into Results
This one goes out to my fellow writers / solopreneurs, though everyone should learn how to pivot rejection into results.
You’ll often hear people say you’ve got to develop “thick skin” with handling rejection—but do you? From my experience, that’s not nearly enough. Not if you want to pivot turn rejection into results.
And I’ve had a TON of experience with rejection. (Don’t worry, we won’t get into my love life pre-marriage. There’s not enough to write about.)
Spending 6 years in B2B SaaS sales was probably the best move I ever made for my writing career. First, because it taught me I didn’t want to do direct sales forever. Second, because it brought me my first 2 clients. Third, because it taught me how to handle rejection.
Two Stories of Rejection
Story 1
Let’s rewind to 2013 …
I’d finished writing a novel I was convinced was genius. Starting querying agents and publishers. A solid mid-level publisher reached out wanting to read the full manuscript. “This is it!” I thought to myself.
Because it was 2012, I still had to send in the printed manuscript rather than upload a file. And then wait.
About two months later, I finally heard back. It was a pass.
“That’s it!” I said. “Traditional publishing is broken! I’m done with it!”
In 2019, I self-published that novel as part of my journey to learning how to edit and publish books. I took it down earlier this year. Submitted it to a query contest this year—and it won.
While it still doesn’t have representation (yet), it taught me that I gave up too quick back in 2013. I hadn’t reacted to rejection the right way.
Story 2
Let’s rewind to last week …
I found out I had made it to the final two ghostwriters in contention for a really exciting project. The book plan spoke to me as soon as it had landed in my inbox. The author and I had a great (if somewhat nervous on my part) call. His agent said my writing sample was in the top 1% they had ever seen.
But nothing was final. And the decision was in the hands of the author’s editor (who I did not have the chance to talk to).
This week, I found out they went with the other ghostwriter, who I have no doubts will do a great job. Still, it was disappointing.
But after the initial sting, I was able to reframe the rejection:
“They’re not rejecting me so much as they’re choosing what’s best for the author.”
“This won’t be my last opportunity. I should be proud I made it this far. I belong in this industry.”
And then I got back to work.
Pivot 1: It’s Them, Not You
Whether you’re in sales or running your own business, it’s always disappointing when you don’t seal the deal. But remember that the decision is more about them than you.
Can you influence the decision? Sure you can.
But ultimately, the decision is out of your hands. And people will always choose to go with what they feel is best for them at the time. They may not be right in the long term, but there’s no way for you or them to know that.
Learn from the experience about what their needs were and use it as a way to refine your pitch later on.
Pivot 2: What Can You Learn from the Experience?
With every rejection, there is a learning opportunity. In Story 1, I didn’t stop to consider what there was to learn from the publisher passing on my manuscript. I just threw a mini-tantrum and swore off traditional publishing for “not getting my work.” Wrong approach.
What I learned from this recent “rejection” is that I need to be more bold in my pitch to the people I talk to. The decision didn’t totally surprise me because it was grounded in what I already knew would be the #1 objection to hiring me—my lack of traditional publishing experience thus far. I should have addressed this head-on with the author and said, “I know I lack the Big 5 experience, but no one is going to work harder for you than me because I believe in this project.”
It could’ve made the difference.
Pivot 3: Control What You Can Control
Easier said than done, but you can only control what you can control.
I have another project I’m working on that will be shooting for traditional publishing—and stands a good shot. So I realized my job is to make sure I’m still pouring in 110% to that project to make sure it has the best chance at landing a traditional deal. This will be the best way to honor my client but also work to overcome the objection.
Every day has 1,000 variables you don’t control. It’s nonsense to focus on those over the handful of variables you do control:
Your attitude
Time management
Content creation
Client interactions
Prospecting
Pour that rejection energy back into the areas you can control and use it as motivation. The next opportunity will never come if you just give up. That’s what happened in Story 1 and it held me back from pursuing the publishing world for another 5 years. Instead, I should’ve said, “They passed but there are still many other agents and publishers I can send this manuscript to. And while I’m waiting, I should do another read-through and see if I can figure out why they passed.”
No matter how much rejection you receive, you’ll need more than “thick skin” to weather it all. You need these three pivots and to remember that you only need to look for one “yes” at a time.
If you’re looking to say Yes to your book idea, then book a free 20-minute Q&A and let’s chat about it.
And consider becoming a subscriber to the Everything is Storytelling Newsletter so content like this can come straight to your inbox!
