Are You Feeling Rejected?

I have a bit of a rebellious streak. I don’t like being told I can’t do things, or I shouldn’t be doing things in a certain way. I then feel compelled to prove the doubters wrong. That’s how I deal with it, normally.

I’ve been in the entertainment industry for decades. First as a wanna-be pop star, then as a professional composer, then slowly evolving into first a screenwriter and then an independent filmmaker. In that time, I have had countless rejections of my work. Probably numbering in the hundreds.

We shouldn’t admit our rejections, should we? As creatives? That we’ve had hundreds of people turn down our work, presumably because they consider it substandard. I mean, if I got all those rejections, then I must be bad, right?

But here’s the thing: who are the people who have had the most rejections?

The answer is: the most successful. And here’s why…

When you go into a bookstore, how many look appealing to you? Shall we be generous and say maybe 1 in 50 of the books in that store? That means you pretty quickly just rejected 98% of the books. You didn’t even bother to look at the cover. You didn’t have time.

How many of the books that appeal to you do you buy? Depends how much of a book collector you are, but lets say another 1 out of every 50? For the sake of this post, it’s another 98% rejection rate. Therefore, of the 2% of books you like the look of, you rejected 98% of them. Once you got them home, how many of those books do you even get round to reading? If you’re like me, maybe 1 in 5.

Of all the books you could possibly read in your life, you’ve rejected pretty much all of them, apart from a very tiny percentage. And you thought nothing of it. It certainly wasn’t personal. I doubt it was because you had anything against the writer. You’re only human, you can only read so many books in your life time.

However, when you sent your manuscript to a publisher and it got rejected and it was like a blow to the stomach. Something you’d sweated over for months or years and, in one person’s eyes, it was not worth the bother. How can they be so blind? So cruel?

Try this for comfort:

Which film do you think has been rejected by more people: my micro budget effort Third Contact or the mega-multi-billion dollar Avatar? The latter, of course. What? Am I crazy? Well, how many people who knew about the movie Avatar actually saw it? Many millions. But many millions also rejected it. And my film has only been rejected by a few thousand.

Look, you created something and now you’re trying to get it out there. Along with several tens of thousands of other creatives. It’s one of the toughest games there is but you accepted the challenge. I hope you don’t expect it to be easy? If so, you are in for some pain.

I have a creative friend who was once struggling with rejection. I told him this:

“Being an artist is like being a boxer. The reason most people don’t get in the ring is because you get punched. And trust me – even pro boxers feel pain when they get hit. Sending your script to production companies or having an exhibition of your paintings is like getting in the ring with a pro boxer. You will get punched and it’s going to hurt. But just getting in the ring and taking a few punches makes you a hero. Because most people don’t have the guts to even get in the ring. You got in the ring so give yourself a big pat on the back for that.”

So, just remember – the more successful you are, the more rejections you will get. Look forward to it.

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