My latest manuscript got declined by my current publisher. It appears they no longer publish the kind of stuff I write (and I still have three years left on my contract with them). Anyway, there were about five minutes of angst, and then I sent the manuscript off again to a literary agent. I think the key to not becoming discouraged is to keep something out there all the time, so that when you get a rejection, you can reassure yourself that you're still waiting to hear back on the other thing. It steers you toward hope instead of despair. All is not lost! There may yet be good news!
Although...there's also the little voice niggling in the back of my mind that says, "I've done this successfully 12 times before. How come suddenly no one wants what I'm writing? You'd think I'd have the hang of this by now." It's easy for self doubt to creep in. For anyone out there who's reading this who wants to get a book published, stand firm and have faith in your own ability. You'll find the right home for your stuff eventually. Though I remember one instructor saying that writing a book and then looking for a publisher for it is like cutting a key and then searching for the lock it fits. It's much easier to select the publisher first and then write according to what they want. But then, when the manuscript is rejected, it may mean having to revise a lot in order to submit it to the next publisher. And then the soaring hope and crashing disappointment cycle begins again.
In which case the only possible response to the situation is to go eat cheesecake.
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