Photo: Emma at Belmore Falls in NSW, the photo was taken before she was about to pursue her dreams and begin her Curtin degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have always loved writing. My fondest memory is watching my grandfather practise calligraphy every morning during the school holidays. Another memory is writing in my Mulan diary about how I would one day become a screenwriter. Writing has always been a safe space – somewhere I could express my thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My family never embraced expression and empathy – to express oneself was to be weak. I was taught that masking away feelings would make me stronger. Reflecting, I can see how that is not the case, and it\u2019s no surprise that I ended up loving writing so much. I even remember halfway through my diary entries as a teenager, I had stopped writing \u2018Dear diary\u2019 and started writing \u2018Dear Mum\u2019 because it was the closest way I could share how I felt without taking up any of her time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After high school in Hong Kong, my plans to attend the New York Film Academy in London were dashed by unfortunate circumstances. Instead, I bought a one-way ticket to Australia. That was fifteen years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t until 2019, when I broke free from others\u2019 expectations, that I enrolled in Creative Writing at Curtin University, reigniting my writing journey. Yet, along with this revival came rejection and setbacks. Here are three things I have learned through the process of facing rejection in the writing industry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. It\u2019s not you, it\u2019s them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, well, it\u2019s a little <\/em>bit you. Like I said, writing is a craft. If I read my earlier drafts, my face would hurt from cringing. Before my historical fiction novel, When Sleeping Women Wake<\/em><\/a>, I had written a Young Adult manuscript. It was shortlisted for a mentorship award, but it came with many rejections and is still neatly tucked away in my drawer somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once, I received a rejection letter that said: We loved your writing style and story, but we already have an Asian author with a similar plot lined up next year. <\/em>If you haven\u2019t read R.F. Kuang\u2019s Yellowface<\/em><\/a> yet, you should! That book should be categorised as non-fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But hey, the takeaway here is to not dwell on the rejection. The more time and attention you give to it, the longer it\u2019ll take for you to continue working on your writing (and yourself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Persistence is key<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve already gotten as far as getting a rejection? Great! That\u2019s more than some people can say. It\u2019s too late to quit now. Remind yourself what you love about writing and keep going. An agent who had rejected my earlier works reached out to me recently to congratulate me on my current success and to acknowledge how awesome my persistence was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I had given up after my first onset of rejections, I would never have made it this far to have a book coming out next year. We all have dreams, but to act on them – that\u2019s next-level bravery. And if I can do it, then you can too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Cultivate resilience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The path to success (whatever that looks like for you) is rarely linear. Learn from constructive feedback, adapt, and keep pushing forward. Every setback is a new opportunity – a new angle to view the world. If anyone ever tells you writers are born – don\u2019t trust them! Writing is like any other skill – you must practise, hone it, and work on it every day. The same goes for resilience because if you know in your heart that you have a story worth telling – a story that could change even one person\u2019s life after reading it – you can\u2019t give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emma Pei Yin<\/strong><\/a> is a British-born, Hong Kong writer, author, and editor. She is the Senior Content Manager at <\/strong>Future Women<\/strong><\/a> and runs her own business, <\/strong>Yinfluence Editorial Agency<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Graduating from Curtin in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts specialising in Creative Writing & Publishing, Emma is the Senior Content Manager at <\/em>Future Women<\/em><\/a> and is passionate about advocacy work in the migrant women’s space and equal rights for all women and gender-diverse persons.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, Emma launched <\/em>Yinfluence Editorial Agency<\/em><\/a>, providing editing services to creatives and businesses. She contributes to The Mekong Review, The Hong Kong Review, Being Asian Australian, HerCanberra, Aniko Press, and Books + Publishing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n