Anyone who has ever tried to become self employed has come face to face with the ugly buzzkill of the biz: the cold rejection letter. But, rejection isn't so bad.
Is it possible that even rejection isn't so bad? Finishing a great new project, that wonderfully heady sense of completion and accomplishment that results, is a fabulous high. The heart soars, the mind conjures up images of great self employment success, and all is right with the world. This fabulous feeling often carries would-be entrepreneurs for hours, even days, as query letters fly through the mail and the Internet, and dreams of self employment are born.
Suffer for Success
These hopes, visions, and feelings of grandeur often come hurtling back to Earth in the form of one simple, very plain, very cold document: the rejection letter. Everyone who has ever tried to aim for self employment has probably received one, but even this knowledge does little to ease the sting of rejection. Oh, the agony! The feelings of unjust judgment! The shattered ideals! But, rejection isn’t so bad – and it’s something that everyone has to face with any job, not just self employment.
Writers, graphic designers, people looking for work-at-home gigs, consultants – all of them must learn how to live with rejection, and live with it well. Being successful at self employment means making rejection a bedfellow, even an unexpected friend. Those who can’t handle rejection, who can't let it roll right off their backs, may not be at all right for the path of self employment, which is fraught with such cold, impersonal letters that contain little more than a polite “no, thank you.”
Why Rejection Isn't So Bad
Rejection is something that can actually work to benefit those who want to be self employed. First of all, any and all personalized touches or comments should be cherished and treasured. It is exceedingly rare to receive any sort of personalized response, even a signature scribbled in actual ink – and anything of the sort should be viewed as something of an accomplishment. If work is good enough to warrant any kind of personal response, then the work itself (or at least, the initial query letter) is obviously high-quality. Rejection letters can be building blocks to success, if they’re treated as motivation to do better, write more compelling queries and improve work quality. Everyone has to go through a few rejections before receiving that one positive response, so consider these letters as a warm-up to more exciting replies. Use rejection as a catalyst to inspire better work and cleaner queries, and don’t dwell on the rejection itself. Toss those letters aside and try, try, try again.
Otherwise, there’s no getting past that phase of rejection. It’s a part of self employment, so go ahead and embrace it…then, turn those rejections into replies that say “yes.”
