How Should Authors Handle Rejection?

 

By the way, should you need additional help with your marketing, please see the attached. If you like, we can schedule a free 30-minute consultation to explore your book marketing goals, needs, and opportunities. Just let me know.

How do most authors handle rejection?

They often avoid it and thus don’t try hard enough to do a lot of things. Their fear of rejection limits them from trying more things. They let rejection define them and dictate their fate. The fewer times that you attempt to do something, the fewer chances you have to succeed. You create a self-fulfilling prophecy. You don’t just fail when trying things; you fail for not trying at all.

Or, authors can get motivated by it, and use it to try harder and keep going forward. The goal is not to avoid a loss; it is to get a win. Big difference. You can lose the lottery hundreds of times, but just one jackpot win will set you up for life.

You can apply to 50 publishers. What does it mean to pile up 49 rejections and then get one acceptance? It means you are a published author!

You can post 600 times on social media and get a few followers but one lucky or strategic post can yield tons of views and influencer-level followings. No one counted your unnoticed posts. It is not a score that you need to keep or limit your actions by.

When I was a young man, I got rejected often. From colleges that I applied to and girls that I asked for a date, I received many declines. When I sent resumes out for internships and summer jobs, I got used to hearing silence or getting polite rejection letters. Hearing no is not unusual to anyone who tries to do something that requires a gatekeeper’s permission.

The key is to not get used to hearing it and accepting rejection as your fate. You must persevere and realize that when you get one yes, even amidst dozens of rejections, you have succeeded. You can win like a champ even when your winning percentage is low.

In the end, I did go out on dates and I did go to college. I got internships and summer jobs, too. I would go on to pursue more things, get more rejections, and have more successes. In life, no one has to keep score of the losses. One only needs to find the fortitude and strategy to get a win.

When we lose, get ignored, or are rejected, we can feel defeated—or we can simply say: “Next!”

Life is a numbers game. Keep trying and you can break through. In a world where the odds feel stacked against you, every attempt at a yes, even if it earns you a no, is really taking you a step closer to getting to a yes.

You can learn from your mistakes and do better. You can also try harder. You can improve your tactics and seek out better opportunities. Somehow, some way, you need to get what you want — and you will.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.7 million pageviews. With 5,400+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum