Handling rejection
Get distance, get perspective, get planning
Scientific research involves a lot of rejection: papers, grants, conference abstracts. Fortunately, I’ve balanced this out over the years with some side projects in my spare time – unfortunately, many of these projects involve freelance writing, and hence more rejections, whether article pitches or book proposals.
So I’d say I’m a fairly experienced rejectee (I gave some stats in a previous post.)
In case it’s helpful to others, here are three tactics I’ve picked up over the years for dealing with the aftermath of receiving the latest ‘no’.
Get some distance
When we find out we’ve been unsuccessful, it’s natural to want to try and fix things straight away. If we just shut ourselves away, we tell ourselves, if we just push the frustration to one side, then we’ll find somewhere else to submit the paper or send the application.
But good ideas rarely emerge in an emotionally clouded moment of disappointment. So the first thing I do with a major rejection is to skim through the decision letter, then get some distance. Go for a walk. Or get a coffee. Or go to the gym. Or, depending on the time, go for a beer with friends.
My subconscious will be turning things over, but now is not the time for consciously overthinking or overworking on the topic.
Get some perspective
Once I’ve got some distance and let the disappointment cool over a day or two, it’s time to confront the rejection. Before implementing new plans, though, I take a measured look at the feedback that came with the decision. What is fair criticism and what can be safely ignored? What is feasible to change, and what is a fantasy?
Then I reread my paper, pitch or proposal with fresh eyes. What are its weaknesses? What did I miss out? If I’d received this as a busy reviewer, what would I have said?
If the rejection came several months after the initial submission (which is common for scientific papers or grant), I also ask another important question: is this still relevant? What has changed since, both in the field and my own balance of work?
Get planning
Finally, with some distance and perspective, I block out some focused time and get planning. Where else could I send the work? What are the constraints and timelines? And, crucialy, what do I need to do to strengthen my proposal? What improvements are essential, or merely potentially useful?
Then I get it submitted. And wait for the next decision…
Do you have any good tactics you’ve honed for handling rejections? I’d be interested to hear in the comments!