A Reflection on Rejection
Don’t be like me. Well, don’t be like pre-pandemic me, that is.
The picture above epitomizes pre-pandemic me. I used to get mad and trash my papers when they got rejected after a few tries (or even once, in a few cases). That’s right, I would take the time to write an entire academic article — 6,000 to 10,000 words, often with original data collection and half a dozen or more tables and figures — and then leave the files sitting on Dropbox forever. All because three reviewers and an editor said, “no thanks.”
I’ve learned to accept rejection. And if you want to be a successful writer and/or academic, you also need to learn to accept it.
Rejection is Hard
Every time I open one of these emails, it’s painful. I feel like a failure. I feel like I have no idea what I am doing.
“We regret to inform you…”
“Unfortunately, we cannot…”
“…we have decided not to…”
Ugg. Why did I bother to open these emails? Hell, why did I even bother to write this paper in the first place?
I felt so great about these papers when I first submitted them.
Then: Hopeful. Excited. Pumped.
Now: Frustrated. Dejected. Ready to change careers.
