The Lesson of Rejection by leb388 |  |
ART CENTRE - If you're reading this, you've probably been rejected, or are afraid
of being rejected, from The Neopian Times. Don't deny it. Yes, I know--how could
your perfect piece of work be excluded from the Times? If you've been rejected,
I know how you're feeling all too well, because I've been rejected before, too.
If you didn't submit a series, which can take two weeks to be entered into
the Times, and your short story, article, or comic was rejected, you may still
have hope. If you sent your submission late in the week, it was probably too
late to be included in that week's Times issue but still may be good enough
to get in the following week. So wait a week, or resubmit it.
But what if you sent it in early enough, or waited a week, and it still didn't
get in? Well, my unknown friend, you have been rejected. Take a deep breath.
I know it hurts, but I can't help you if you don't help yourself. Here are some
tips to help ensure that it doesn't happen again. These tips will not guarantee
that your work will get in the Times, but are meant to help improve your work
and make it more likely to get in.
I. Know Your Goals
So one particular contribution you wrote or drew wasn't good enough for the
Neopian Times. So what? It's not the end of the world, and with a little
work, you can always improve.
But is that what you really want? If you're submitting to the Times just because
you want to be famous, you'll be unpleasantly surprised to find that there is
no fame. Sure, there's that five-minute thrill of seeing your name on a website,
a trophy measured in pixels, and a few people Neomailing you. It may sound great,
but it isn't. And it doesn't last.
You have to want to submit because you sincerely like writing or drawing. Even
if you're not good at it, if you're willing to work hard to improve, you can
eventually get in. Determination is key here, and you'll end up quitting without
even starting with an instant-gratification attitude. One rejection is only
one rejection, and you have to be able to take it. It's not like all of Neopia
knows you didn't get in the Times once, or twice, or three... yes, it can get
annoyingly frustrating. But keep at it, and you may excel.
II. Know Why You Were Rejected
"How am I supposed to know why I was rejected?" you ask. "No one told me!"
Well, when you're rejected, you'll get an automated e-mail from the Editor
of the Times saying so. Why you've been rejected could be any number of reasons.
The first step after you see that you've been rejected is to go back and read
the automatic e-mail you were sent when you first submitted your work. It has
many good tips for all types of work the Times accepts, and if you read it carefully
it can give you some helpful advice. As with all submissions, you have to read
the guidelines if you want to get in, and the Times is no different.
The second step is to go back and look over your work. Tossing it aside thinking
that changing it would mess it up is definitely the wrong thing to do right
now. There is a lesson to rejection, and it is that your work was simply not
good enough. But that doesn't mean that you can't improve it! Read over your
original submission with the following questions in mind:
- Are there any spelling or grammatical errors?
- Is there anything weak in this or are there any plotholes?
- For comics and stories: Are all of the characters clearly set out, and are
their personalities identifiable? Could you make their personalities stronger
somehow by improving their actions and dialogue?
- For articles: Are the points clearly stated and backed by facts? Is all
of the information accurate?
Try to make other improvements and changes. Don't settle for "good enough"
when editing a piece of writing or art. Settle only for the best you can do.
You may have to proof-read something ten times before it's completely what
you want it to be. It may take even more, but be sure to proof-read and look
over your work until you're satisfied with it.
III. Make Sure To Submit Correctly
Sure, you may know the basics of submitting to The Neopian Times: send everything
to neopiantimes@neopets.com, include your username, etc. But did you know that
several kinds of scenarios and themes will cause your submission to be rejected?
The following can get your submission rejected:
- Any cursing or other inappropriate language
- References to real-life people (other than saying "My friend...."), countries,
trademarked characters, corporations, etc.
- Any relationship between characters that goes too far
- Graphic violence
If you're submitting a comic, make sure to save it in .gif or .jpg form. In
popular art programs like Adobe Photoshop, when you save a graphic you
have the option of what type of program to save it in. You can choose ".gif"
or ".jpg" from the list, and it will save your graphic accordingly. If you're
working from a program like Microsoft Paint, you don't have this option,
so try to switch to a program like Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint Shop
Pro, or just send your files in a .bmp format.
V. Good Luck!
If you've submitted your work early enough and you think it's good enough,
check your user lookup on the following Friday to see if you got an acceptance
letter. If you do, that's great--it means you got in! If you were rejected,
I just wrote an article on the lesson of rejection that may help....
Well, I hope that some of my tips have been useful to you. If you have any
questions or comments, feel free to Neomail
me. Good luck on being a Times author or artist!
|
