Tuesday top tip – reasons for rejection and how to avoid (some of) them.

Editors don't generally tell us why stories (or books, poems, essays etc) are rejected. Let's face it, they don't always even send a rejection, we often have to assume that after waiting until all hope has gone. Competition judges rarely tell people why their pieces didn't win.

Because of this, we often guess at the reason. We might analyse our work and make an assumption. If we've not yet had many, or any, acceptances or competition placings, or none for a while, we might conclude the story wasn't good enough, or we're not a good enough writer to get our work accepted / win prizes. Of course that's a possibility, but there are many other reasons for rejection or not winning. These include –

Not submitting correctly. If you don't send the work in the right format to the right place it most likely won't get considered. If you're asked for a Word doc attachment, or the text in the body of the email, or for a postal submission then do that – not assume they'll print it out themselves, or copy and paste into the format they want. Don't rely on someone in a different department sending it on to where it should have gone.

Wrong timing. If the competition is closed, or the magazine have already selected their Christmas stories before you've sent yours, then your work won't be considered.

Wrong material. Don't send poems if stories are wanted, 2,000 words if 600 are asked for, romance when horror was requested. If your work isn't something the publication prints, or it breaks competition rules, it won't be considered.

Careful reading of the submission guidelines / competition rules and double checking you've complied with everything will help avoid rejection for the above reasons.

Wrong tone. This is harder to get right, and more likely to apply to submissions than competition entries. Try reading a few pieces published in recent issues of the magazine, then yours – does it stand out for the wrong reasons?

There are other reasons for rejection we have little control over. The main one being that our work won't be the editor / judge's only option. However good the entries, there can only be one winner. Magazines can only publish a limited number of pieces, even if they get ten times as many perfectly good submissions. There used to be many more markets and there was never a problem getting them filled with work worth publishing. Now there are at least as many writers competing for a far smaller number of opportunities. Of course some good writing will have to be rejected. The reasons might seem, or even be, arbitrary. That same piece might get a different response elsewhere.

My first ever magazine publication was a failed competition entry. Back when reasons were given I was told the editor loved my latest submission, but had just accepted one with a similar plot detail so didn't feel able to take it (I later read that other story and although it was very different, I saw her point - and I later sold the story to another mag). One story was rejected as 'predictable' and accepted elsewhere with the comment 'great twist' even though I hadn't changed a single word.

As I said in my last post, a story which didn't make the cut for the weekly edition of a magazine was accepted for the annual. Presumably it would have been good enough for the weekly, there just wasn't space for it.

Now that reasons are rarely given for rejection, when I get a no, or the competition results are announced without my name appearing, I read the story again. It's easier to spot weaknesses at that point! If I see a way to improve it then I make the change(s) before submitting elsewhere. Often I'll need to make other changes to suit the requirements of the new competition or potential market. Sometimes I submit elsewhere with no changes at all.

What I've just used a lot of words to say, can be summed up with - don't let rejection or failure to be placed put you off, or make you think you're not good enough. Keep writing and making your work the best you're able to produce. Keep looking out for suitable markets and competitions to submit to (I'll do my best to help you there). You can give up, or take a break – but only if you actually want to. Don't stop writing simply because your efforts don't always, or haven't yet, been accepted or won a prize. That disappointment is just one aspect of being a published or prize winning writer, not an indication you don't deserve to be one of those people.

Those of you who have received rejections / failed to be placed in a competition yet also achieved success with that, or another, piece of writing, please share your experiences in the comments as encouragement to those who might need it.

One last thought – the work you don't send out won't get rejected. Neither will it get accepted. You have to risk the former in order to have any chance of seeing your work and name in print.

This tip was brought to you by me - Patsy Collins. You'll find lots more of my writing tips and advice in this book, and lots of encouragement to get writing in this one.

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