Thus, what should rejection mean for the aspiring & published academic writer? More specifically, what qualifies one as an academic writer? Is there a critical difference between aspiring & published academic writers? Is the undergraduate student engaged in writing a research paper to be considered the same as a published academic writer when mitigating the aftereffects of rejection?
Arthur Asa Berger brings up highly valid points detailing what can otherwise be considered as the phased evolution of any given academic writer. However, I feel there is a missing emphasis on rejection. Can one good rejection shut down the ambitions of a published academic writer after becoming disillusioned with the lopsided politics of the publishing world, specifically in the area of academic publishing?
How should writers generally & academics specifically handle inevitable collisions with rejection? What, if any, has been the one proven psychological animus to turn rejection into something positive to forge better outcomes? Rejection is a term that raises more questions than answers because we generally fear what it means. I argue there is something inherently demoralizing about rejection.
When I was in my twenties, one of the reasons why I avoided submitting select articles & editorials to various newspapers & periodicals was derived from a fear of rejection. What happens to the “ambitious subconscious” after coming to terms with the fact that they are not good enough despite what they thought about their work before?