You gotta dream big.
I’m pursuing a career that I invented for myself. I design and sew stuffed animals. That’s a wacky profession, my friends. There is no path to follow, no boss to tell me what project to work on, no obvious next steps. It’s up to me to drum up business and seek out new ways to get paid to do what I love.
I’m constantly looking for opportunities. Who can I pitch a project to? Where can I get published? Where can I teach? Who might need a freelance stuffed animal designer? What’s trendy in toys right now? What might catch people’s attention?
To make all of this work I pursue many, many different avenues. I send things out to people, often times unsolicitied, and hope for the best. The more I put out there the more chances there are that I’ll get to work on an awesome new project and the more chances that I’ll get paid. At the same time the more I put out there the more chances that my work will get rejected, or that I’ll never hear back, which is almost as bad.
Rejection is a part of being a sole entreprenuer. It’s a part of being a designer and an artist. It’s a part of life. It’s not something most of us share on our blogs. While I’m aware that it is important to maintain a positive, polished, professional front door to my business here, I also believe in sharing the truth.
In that vein, I’m going to share three recent rejections with you! And if you’ve been rejected recently and are willing to share your rejection story in the comments, please do. It’s part of business and it’s okay to be honest. We still think you’re awesome.
1. I submitted a project to Stitch magazine, following their submissions guidelines for the spring 2013 issue which will have a garden theme. I made this snail with a rainbow shell. It didn’t get chosen.
2. I bought a copy of Soft Dolls & Animals! Magazine. I emailed the editor a portfolio of images of my toys, explained my background and experience, and asked if I could contribute a project or work with them in some capacity on an upcoming issue. I didn’t hear back, so I followed up with a second email a week later. Still nothing.
3. I noticed that Fabric.com has free pattern downloads on their website. These patterns are created by two different indie designers and are there to encourage shoppers to buy yardage and supplies. They’ve got lots of cute women and kid’s apparel patterns, but no toy patterns. I got in touch with the two designers who work with them now and asked if they’d be willing to connect me with the right person there and they very nicely agreed to help. Again, I sent my portfolio and explained my background and experience to the right person, but never heard back. I followed up with a second email two weeks later. Nothing.
Good times. Rejection stings, but it doesn’t stop me. I know I’m a good designer. I know I have a lot to learn. I will always march forward, designing stuffed animal sewing patterns because, really, I’m not sure I am actually able to stop.
For these three rejections there have been dozens and dozens of amazing successes. My second book is nearly ready to go to press. My first book was named an ALA Booklist top 10 craft book, I got an awesome and continuing licensing gig with Simplicity, I have a thriving Etsy shop, and lots of teaching opportunities. Really good things.
But I want you to know that rejection comes hand in hand with all of that, athough it’s rarely if ever discussed on craft and design blogs. But I think it’s still professional to tell the truth.
Great post, Abby! Just because you have a book deal, a licensing deal, or a dream-come-true teaching gig now, doesn’t mean you will have those things going forward. I have lost all of those and it does sting. Badly. Even the ideas/projects that made it into the world are not necessarily successful or bring in any money. Drive and persistence are paramount, but so is the occasional surrender or maybe at least putting something aside for a bit.
You’re right, we are creating our careers. Unfortunately, they are still reliant on others and their whims whether its editors, publishers, buyers, etc. It’s a tricky to balance what’s right for you with what’s right for them.
Hang in there! We got your back.
As always, your honesty and openness are so valuable, Abby! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with those of us several miles behind you on the path!
That snail is SO freakin’ cute!!!
I get rejected all the time! An alien from Stuffed magazine, MULTIPLE crochet magazines and even from selling in my local artists shop!
For me, personally, I’ve stopped submitting to magazines. You put so much work into the idea/submission, only to wait months (or forever) to see if you get in. In that time, I can self-publish and start making money & publicity from my own design.
Great post!
Oh yeah, I remember those days of rejection from when I was in academia and I submitted proposals for grant money and manuscripts for publication. I learned that rejection doesn’t mean the project is bad, it’s just not what someone might be looking for at a specific point in time. Learning how to make changes so the project is more attractive to a particular magazine or vendor is just part of the process.
Oh yeah. I am a fledgling knitwear designer and have racked up a lot of rejection notices and never-heard-back tacit rejections in the last couple of years. Feels bad! One thing it’s taught me is to send out only proposals that I’m really enthusiastic about and would like to make anyway, not just proposals that happen to fit in with the theme of a particular call for submissions (though they should be that too). My rejections sting less if I have options for doing other stuff with the rejected thing, like publishing it myself or revising the submission and sending it somewhere else, and without enthusiasm none of the other stuff would ever get done.
In the last few weeks I got four rejections and four acceptances—and a good thing too, because I probably wouldn’t have been able to do all eight things by their various deadlines!
Thanks for keeping it real!
I’m swimming in the “how do I do this business thing?” stage, and your posts, as you know, have been very good for me. And timely – just today I got a rejection from something I submitted to a shop. This is my first negative feedback (I really was not expecting it), so no, it was not a pleasant experience. That being said, my time has been hijacked by “summer” (ie – children out of school) so it was a reality check for me. I didn’t imagine how MUCH time and energy I could NOT give to a business (because my family really does need me – go figure!), so now I’m back to brainstorming on what to do next. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, rejection is an inherent part of our careers. I’m definitely part of the club in that regard. It always stings but you’re right it’s best to talk about these things and show those starting on their own journeys that even when you’ve been around like we have it’s still part of the the whole picture.
Great post Abby!
Thank you for sharing, it is nice that you shared that even someone as talented as you gets a rejection. That helps those of us keep things in perspective.
A fantastic and encouraging post that reveals once again how human (and generous) you are, even in your professional life. Rock on, lady.
I’m still smarting after a “no response even after two emails” from a Craftsy workshop proposal. It is more polite to say “no” than leave people hanging. I wish editors would remember that.
Rejection is so hard to get over when you are a beginner. Does it get easier as you become “more successful” (like yourself)?
great to hear your tales and those of the other commenters. i can’t give much of my own experience, but that’s because i never apply for anything. but that’s a whole other problem. always good to get reassurance from folks i consider “successes” that rejection is just part of the process.
I love that snail, too. 🙂
I’m designing patterns for handknitters. Taking part in submission calls is just part of the business and I know they can’t take all… That said, I recently sent something to a yarn company and they told me they recieved my submission in a very positive email. When the date came they sat to give notice if or if not you made it – nothing. After following up with them it took a bit and then they pushed the date forward a week. After that there was: nothing. Another week later they told in a forum that on that day they would send mails only to the ones they accepted. This just didn’t feel right or professional. And it really did upset me as their deadline for the finished pattern and sample crashed with the one of a magazine I would have loved to submit something else to, but knew I would never be able to do both…
Thank you for a place to share, Abby.
Thanks for the encouragement from a seasoned designer, Betz.
You’re totally welcome!
First, thank you for sharing your rejection stories, Stacey! And second, I agree that self-publishing is a great way to go. Each pattern you self-publish continues to make money forever, rather than the flat fee a print publication can pay.
You’re so right, Nelda. Learning to cater a project to a particular aesthetic is a skill worth developing.
I think you raise a good point, Rebecca. If you are going to spend the time and energy to create something for submission to a publication, you should think through what you might do with the project if it doesn’t get accepted. Plan B is so important.
Don’t give up, Caren!
It is certainly part of the life of a designer. Not everything goes smoothly!
You’re a sweetie, Melissa. Thank you!
A polite “no” is really the only professional way to handle rejecting someone’s project, not silence. I’m not sure it gets easier, but I guess the more of them you rack up the less each one stings?
k, we should chat! You have such amazing talent. If you wanted to pursue big opportunities you totally could!
Isn’t that frustrating, Christina! It does make you think twice about supporting a publication that doesn’t seem to respect it’s contributors.
Hi Abby,
Thanks for sharing this story. I’m just starting out on this adventure & although it’s great to hear about the good things that happen it’s also good to be reminded of the reality too. I really love your designs, the snail is very cute, & have learnt so much about designing toys from you blog. Thanks 🙂
Just wanted you to know that Fabric.com is in the middle of a huge move and maybe that’s why they haven’t contacted you yet. I’m a huge fan of yours, looking forward to that next book too! Hopefully your post has opened up a moment for some new entrepreneurs to express themselves.
Thanks for the words of encouragement and I do hope that people will keep going and put their designs forward even after some experiences of rejection. It is part of the process and I think it can lead to growth, too.
Thank you so much! That's great for me to hear.
I’ve been writing professionally (countless articles, three books) for over 15 years. In the last three years, I can count on both hands how many rejections I’ve received because usually I don’t hear anything at all. Zip. Nada. Nothing. I’d much rather get a “No thanks” than the sound of crickets chirping in my inbox. However, I’ve always believed that my ideas are my currency, and tying them up with an editor who can’t bother to respond to my follow-ups costs me $$. Therefore, I always have a plan B/plan C and my own timetable. Editor can’t respond in a reasonable time? Their loss. It helps me feel more in control of my career.
I’m with you on the crickets chirping, Diana.
I would much rather people say “this project/ sample doesn’t meet our criteria because….”. Then you at least have some idea of what the company is looking for.
To receive nothing- is more devastating than a polite “no”.
It gives the impression that you are not worthwhile even responding to.
Why can’t people be polite?
I find the nothing response really hard to move on from.
I think you raise a really important point here. Plan B, and even Plan C, should be a part of every submission. Even if the item does get into a magazine or book, there are sometimes ways to continue to use that piece later on. For those of us that make handmade items, we can often sell the original sample after the pattern has been published. Or if you design fabric on Spoonflower, you can use your fabric when making the sample and reader may be interested in purchasing your fabric as well as the pattern. In the world of self-publishing Plans B and C are so much easier to consider.
Another fab post Abbyjane, thank you!
I agree that you need some backup plans for each project – I sort of map out a life cycle for everything I plan to pitch. It’s not always glamorous – One of my recent projects began with an experiment in technique, became a baby mobile that I then worked up for a competition entry and a couple of pitches (All unsuccessful) and ended life as notes for a pattern, a cat toy, and some buttons to put back in the jar.
I think accepting rejection is probably a bit easier for me at the moment because all that is at stake is my pride. If I was pitching for bread on the table I think it would be much much harder.
This was a wonderfully honest post and thanks so much for sharing. It takes away some of the fear to see that everyone (regardless of past successes) still has their share of rejection too. As I say to myself on those “low” days…. “just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep…. !
Thanks, Loribeth! I love your work! Keep swimming is right.
I so feel your pain~I’m a scrapbooker, card maker, altered art and submitt to magazines. I just submitted 23 projects to have only 2 accepted. I was very dissappointed to say the least. Thank you for writing about this ~ one question, when you self publish who buys your book?
Hi Connie- I'm so glad my post spoke to you. To be clear, my books are published by major publishing houses. I self-publish sewing patterns and sell them individually on Etsy and Craftsy to home sewists.
I still think I should be the editor of one of these magazines. I would have snapped up that snail pattern so fast your head would still be spinning. Every toddler in the country would be carrying their garden snail around with them. After all, who would want an aphid? I would also be giving you invites for every new publication. You see so many poorly designed or even downright ugly things in magazines; editors have to start cultivating and supporting talented designers like you.
OMG the snail is so totally cute!!! I make kids blankets for charity and also make mini quilts for a charity that makes cloth dolls for children all over the world…I’m always being told that I should sell my items not just give them away…I’ve always wanted to have my own craft business so I have started reading alot of posts on ETSY and now you are the first blog that I have followed. I am so excited by your honesty and frankly your talent..your pins on pinterest are wonderful and got all my creative juices flowing…I have just purchased your stuffed animal book and can’t wait to read it. I have tons of leftover fleece and cotton fabrics that I can’t and won’t toss..I know that I will create an exciting item for them at some point…so many thanks for sharing your experience and trials with us…it really does make a difference!!
Thank you so much for these kind words, Rhonda! I’m so glad you got my book and I hope you really enjoy it. Good luck with starting your business. That’s so exciting!