Rejection in any form (divorce, friendship betrayal, sports defeat and such) can hurt almost anyone. But for a writer, lack of approval can be especially discouraging. We live inside our heads with our characters and stories. Serious writing is in our nature. Its part of our souls.
Every month, our columnists at Authorlink® talk with writers who feared their writing wouldn’t be “good enough” to secure an agent or be published. But they have succeeded against frustration and great odds
The Big Five publishers only release about 45,000 titles annually. Globally, between 500,000 and 1 million new titles are published, largely by mid-sized presses and small independent publishers. So you see, rejection (or silence from your queries) are part of the publishing game. Take a look at what these very successfully published authors have recently told us about handling rejection.
Take heart, dear writer. You can do this! Keep going. You are not alone.
The following quotes were drawn from author interviews published on Authorlink.com in late 2025 and 2026. Each author shared thoughts on persisting through rejection, self-doubt, and the tall challenges of the publishing world.
Stephen Fishbach
Book: ESCAPE! Pub Date: January 27, 2026 Publisher: Dutton
On pushing past self-doubt and resistance to write the book he felt compelled to write:
“Honestly, I resisted writing a book about reality television. I didn’t want to be the ‘reality TV guy writing a book.’ But the more I thought about the themes that intrigue me — issues like authenticity, micro-celebrity, manipulation, people in extreme environments — I realized [writing the book] was the right thing to do.”
Authorlink Interview Date: January 2, 2026 Interview Link
R.L. Maizes
Book: A Complete Fiction Pub Date: November 4, 2025 Publisher: Ig Publishing
When asked directly about the sting of rejection and why writers persist despite the odds:
“The sting of rejection, the competitive nature of it and the scant rewards that sometimes result — if writing is this hard, why do you think so many of us still do it? Many of us fall in love with stories when we’re very young and decide we want to tell stories and write stories ourselves.”
Authorlink Interview Date: February 1, 2026 Interview Link
Sarah Landenwich
Book: The Fire Concerto Pub Date: June 10, 2025 Publisher: Union Square & Co.
When asked about advice for writers facing financial, emotional, or physical hardship:
“My advice is to just keep going. What I have seen, in my experience, is that the people who end up publishing or achieving ‘success,’ whatever they deem that to be, are the people who don’t quit. I think that when people face impediments to their art, it’s all the more reason to make that art.”
Authorlink Interview Date: March 1, 2026 Interview Link
Stewart O’Nan
Book: Evensong Pub Date: January 1, 2026 Publisher: Grove Press
When asked for tips on staying encouraged as a writer:
“My best tips for young writers on staying encouraged are: Let your love of reading feed your writing — read those writers and books that made you want to write in the first place; and think of the characters and scenes you’re excited about writing.”
Authorlink Interview Date: April 1, 2026 Interview Link
Casey Scieszka
Book: The Fountain Pub Date: March 17, 2026 Publisher: Harper
Passing along her father (author Jon Scieszka)’s core advice for overcoming doubt and writing inertia:
“His main advice is deceptively simple, and something I’ve gathered from him by watching: Try it! As in, have an idea for a book? Just try it! Because you’ll never know if something works until you’re actually playing with it on the page.”
Authorlink Interview Date: May 1, 2026 Interview Link
Source: authorlink.com — All quotes drawn directly from the respective interviews.
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