by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

If you’ve been writing for any length of time – and submitting, hopeful for publication – you are well aware of the sting of rejection. If you’re human, you know the sting of rejection. We’ve all dealt with it.

When someone turns you or your writing down, they may have sent you to collect honey without a beekeeper’s suit. It hurts. Sure, we heal with time, but what do we do in the meantime?

If you’re like me, you mope for 24 hours, eat a few too many chocolate bars, have a long conversation with God, listen to songs about breaking up (cue the country music), and lament while your friends do all they can to pick you back up. Well, at least half of those things.

But none of those will get moving past the valley of the shadow of the death of your writing career … and that dream you’ve been pursuing for so long.

Take a day off. Rest your brain and your word well. I would say rest your creative gene, but you may want to work on a different type of creative project, such as art or crochet or playing an instrument. Doing these types of creative things will also revive your word well, getting things flowing again.

Take an account of all the times your work has been accepted for print. Thankfulness is always the best antidote to feeling down. If you are still waiting for that acceptance, talk to another writing buddy who knows your strengths and can encourage you to hone in on those.

If your project is worth pursuing publication, give yourself a deadline to have it revised. Remember, several famous authors have had their best-selling manuscripts rejected more than 50 times before a house finally picked it up and it sold off the charts. If you know you’ve had it with that project, bury it in the desk drawer and move on to your next idea. But don’t waste time getting back in the chair. It’s harder to do so the longer you wait.

Make a date with your friends. Go out and celebrate your rejection. Have a sundae or see a movie. Consider it practice for when you finally get that acceptance letter.

Write a letter back to the editor who rejected your submission. Rant. Get a handle on the pain. Just don’t send the letter! Tear it up and throw it away. Then take stock of why she rejected it and consider applying her suggestions or fixing what she said was wrong.

Cry on your spouse’s shoulder. Have an all-out sob fest. It’s okay. We know the sting. And some people have lower pain tolerances than others. So it’s okay. You have permission. When you’re finished, dry your face and get back to work.

Notice I never said quit and find another “real” job. That is not the way to deal with rejection. Learn from your mistakes, read a book about whatever area of craft you’re falling short in, apply what you find, and rework your manuscript (or article or whatever type of writing project was rejected).

How do you handle rejection? We’d love to know. Feel free to leave a comment below! [reminder]

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.