Dealing with Rejection

Rejection is a Common Reality for a Writer

I’m half-watching an episode of 30 Rock as I often do. 30 Rock, created by Tina Fey, is one of my favourite comedy shows of all time. I’ve seen them all over and over. I used to watch it during its actual run, and then a couple of years ago, I found it on streaming and binged, and then it disappeared again. Now, it seems to be on TV in chunks of two to four episodes a day on cable TV, so I click on it on most days. The writing is so brilliant, all the characters/actors are well cast, and the humour is my favourite type of sitcom humour though not for everyone. The Tropic Thunder of TV.

Back when it began, I figured it was a homage to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which it is, obviously, right down to hat throwing. I loved that show, and before that, I loved The Dick Van Dyke Show, notably the character of Sally, the TV writer. I feel like Liz Lemon is Sally 2000s. Ha.

In 30 Rock, long-time friends head writer Liz (Tina Fey) and actress Jenna navigate working in television in New York City. The show is loosely based on the backstage antics at Saturday Night Live.

Anyway, I was googling Jane Krakowski (Jenna), trying to remember her in something, and was looking through her credits, notably TV commercials. It got me thinking about how many people auditioned for those TV commercials and how many times she must have auditioned for TV commercials, Broadway shows, and everything else she’s done and not done. She’s a bit younger than me, so you know she had to jump those hurdles of massive misogyny in theatre, TV, and movies on top of endless auditions. 30 Rock leans into that misogyny, and it makes me laugh, as parodies are supposed to do, even though it’s still a sad view of women in entertainment.

Then I was thinking about how writers submitting their work to various places are much like actors auditioning. Of course, it’s not the first time I’ve had this thought; I’ve been acting on and off since I was a little kid. But it’s the first time I’ve articulated that thought for other writers.

The first thing to think about is how brave you are to even think about submitting your work somewhere. Many people can’t get there. It took me years to get there myself. But as the saying goes, “If you don’t get into the game, you’re not going win any prizes.” So send in those babies!

I’m sure most actors will say they flubbed their auditions, or there was something wrong along the process when they are rejected and so they move on to the next thing.

Writers need to get better at doing that, too, especially when it comes to receiving form rejections that don’t explain why they are rejected. Actors go through that, too. Most of the time, in both cases, you didn’t fit into the slot they envisioned, and it rarely has to do with your skills.

That is why when you get rejected from something, you just move on.

These days, most writers understand through social media that everyone gets rejected and a lot. Back in the day, it felt so earth-shattering, like you were the only one. But most writers take rejection in stride as part of the game.

Of course, it hurts, it’s disappointing, it downright sucks you didn’t nail that starring role, but sometimes, that’s just how it is.

Resist the urge to question or fight the editor, producer, director, etc. They have their reasons for their decisions.

Submitting work or auditioning is no different than a job interview.

Sometimes, you land the gig; sometimes, you don’t.

And even if you successfully land the gig, multiple times, don’t expect anyone to realize it but you.

There are so many authors and actors out there doing mountains of amazing things that it’s impossible to enjoy everything or know everyone.

But if you’re rejected, no matter how your successful background, stay humble, don’t pull the “you don’t know who I am” card, or bad mouth the project, just suck it up and move on. There are only so many openings, and you aren’t getting one for whatever reason. Don’t blow up your chances for more.

All worlds in the arts are tiny, no matter what city you’re in. People talk. Reputations ripple through communities, and we’ve all seen the wildfires that social media can ignite.

So despite working on that screenplay for a year, writing that book for five, or whipping up that short story in a week, all work is valid, and there isn’t room for everyone on every project.

My usual advice is that most of the time, you won’t need to revise your rejected piece because you won’t know why it was passed up. Look it over and send it out again. If there are notes, you may or may not want to follow them when you send your story out to other places. Most developmental notes are just opinions but certainly pay attention if you are getting similar feedback from several people.

If they like the story and suggest changes, they may or may not be actually interested in buying it. They will usually say if they want you to resubmit. Don’t resubmit unless invited.

In the meantime, stretch your wings. Try different styles and genres. Maybe even different medias. Jane Krakowski did Broadway, TV, movies, live TV, commercials, animation, and more. She wasn’t just a TV comedy actress; she’s performed in all kinds of vehicles before and after her role as Jenna on 30 Rock. And likely, for every role she auditioned for, she was rejected for others. But she keeps on showing up on our TV, and she’s won lots of awards because she’s persistent, hardworking, and talented. Just like all of you!

So between drafts of your next opus and licking your rejection wounds, if you like comedy, change gears for a while by checking out an episode or two of 30 Rock and take a glimpse into the writing room and show full of narcissistic assholes in ridiculous situations! And be glad you don’t have to deal with any of them!