FEAR of rejection, coverage

[ferds]

After sharing the bliss of completing my first screenplay recently, I'd like to know how you, more experienced ones, have handled rejection.

I'm beginning to fear the prospect of rejection as I gain momentum in my rewriting. It may not be the kick-a$$ screenplay that'll give me instant success.

But I know that I may have something going, after more than a year of hard labor (labor of love, that is) and wondrous self-discovery. Done Deal message board has been an important part of it all.

I know, too, that agents and prodco readers judge them not on the basis of the quality of writing itself.

So, let me ask you what kept you going?

ferds:rollin

[TonyRob]

"After sharing the bliss of completing my first screenplay recently, I'd like to know
how you, more experienced ones, have handled rejection."

So far, I've slowly tortured to death all of those who've rejected me. Word's getting out, though, so I suspect that only a few more will bravely risk their lives before somebody finally gives in and says "yes".

Seriously, though, it gets easier. Think of every rejection as getting you one step closer to that one person who absolutely loves what you've written and wants to work with it... and it WILL happen if you persist (or so I've seen and heard - ah, always the bridesmaid...). Keep in mind, we may be talking quite a while though (months, maybe years... have patience)...

"I'm beginning to fear the prospect of rejection as I gain momentum in my rewriting.
It may not be the kick-a$$ screenplay that'll give me instant success."

Instant success? See my last line. Write more screenplays. Many more. Taotropics has a fantastic post about this somewhere, but he estimates that your first few are all about learning the craft and finding your voice. Your first one probably won't sell. Not meaning to be a downer, but them's the odds. However, anything's possible in this wacky biz...


"But I know that I may have something going, after more than a year of hard labor
(labor of love, that is) and wondrous self-discovery. Done Deal message board has
been an important part of it all."

The hard labor of love and wonderous self-discovery part... that's the REAL reward. Always keep that in mind. (also, the DD message board is pretty cool)

"I know, too, that agents and prodco readers judge them not on the basis of the
quality of writing itself."

Where did you get that idea? The quality of writing - the execution of the story, the characters, the dialogue, visuals, thematic exploration, etc... are all EXTREMELY important. Yes, the concept is important, but the execution has got to be there.

"So, let me ask you what kept you going?"

Knowing that I'm learning the craft with each script I write, being passionate about writing scripts to begin with, knowing that one of these suckers is going to sell...

Tony

[funnyfarmer]

One of the hardest things about writing is not taking rejection personally. Your writing is YOU. But not to an agent or a prodco. You're just a number. I was determined to be a novelist. I'm a lousy novelist. My eighteenth novel was finally good enough to try to get an agent. I knew it was good.

Well, I've had over 300 rejections on the queries. After two years, and 14 revisions, I still didn't have it right. I had a wonderful literary agent in NYC take an interest in my writing. She was my first choice and represented my 3 favorite authors. She read 4 different versions of my novel and rejected me four times. I couldn't get it right. Each time she told me what to fix. Finally, on try number four she said, "This is not a novel. This reads like a screenplay. Either write a screenplay or learn description."

Well, I learned format, and it helped I got Scriptware right away. But after 15 years of writing novels and having more rejections than anyone in history, I'm sure it's over 500, we're talking years of rejection, I wrote a screenplay and I've had immediate success with it. I've written four more. Two are great. I'll be an overnight success after more rejections than any of you will probably ever have. It's called perseverance.

You get rejected when you're not good enough. You improve, and learn from each rejection until you get an acceptance. But somewhere along the way you either improve, or quit. And when you improve, someone in the industry helps you. Who would've figured the person that helped me the most is the hottest agent in NYC? Of course she doesn't represent screenwriters, but when or if I ever learn to write novels, she'll get me. All she knows is I'm that woman who kept querying her. She doesn't know she changed my writing, and may have changed my life. There are success stories that happen every day. Like anything, it's what you make it.

[BlueParrot]

Funnyfarmer,

I don't know whether I should be encouraged by your persistence or discouraged.

I hope that you can post more stories from the trenches. Highly informative and educational.

Thanks.

[TonyRob]

Ditto, BlueParrot (btw, you should be ENCOURAGED). I would add - inspiring!

Tony

[funnyfarmer]

Blue,
You can be encouraged when I sell something. If I ever do, I'll be on Oprah for sure. See, I qualify for EVERY episode of Oprah. But, then, them's called trenches, and that gives me stories. :)

And Tony,
I wanted to say in the other post that you're my mentor. Scary, huh? You taught me to be cool on the board. Aren't you proud? Don't groan, Tony, you're not a failure as a mentor, you're not... I am cool... I have to believe I am cool... If I don't believe it, who will? Who needs rejection? Be cool.

[RatWriter]

Take a deep breath, two weeks off, then quit. That might work.

Well, aspiring writers are forced to lead a double-life; Screenwriter and Saleperson. When you put you sales hat on you need to play a role which includes "rejection." You're trying to peddle a product that is guilty of poor quality by association. Your customers, agencies/managers/prod.companies, are bombarded with the similar product. They can't accept every query. So you're asking them to consider yours over others and instead of reviewing some established writer's pitch. It's a tough sale with a lot of competition. Rejection is not necessarily a reflection of you writing talent.

You must be prepared to handle frequent rejections without explanation. That's the life all sales people.

lol,
Rat

[Muckraker]

Yeah, get ready to be let down. But the more it happens, the less it'll bother you -- you get a lot of practice. I used to be one of those people who saved all my rejection letters so one day I could look back on them, but when it grew to be a veritable fire hazard of a pile, I realized how silly I was being and just chucked them all. You just have to tell yourself -- "These people just don't know what they're missing. It's their loss." Then you stick your head in an oven.

[AndyWarholsGhost]

Ferds,
Jess continue writing, toss the rejection notices or keep them....whatever.
Just remember to keep learning, keep writing, and never give in.
Aghost

[MrGazzo]

If writers didn't write for a fear of rejection, there would be no movie industry.

[RyRy]

Rat said something really important here: that you are not only a writer, you are a salesperson. The further you get on in your career, the less you have to 'sell' yourself, but keep in mind that in the beginning you are selling two things: your writing, and yourself. Selling the first will get you a check. Selling the second will get you a career.

[Muckraker]

RyRy, is that you selling yourself over there on Ifilmpro? :) If you're not, FYI somebody is.