As mentioned, rejection is not only a large part of this business, but its a part of life. And just as in life, the better you learn to handle adversity, the likelier you’ll achieve what you want. Simple, right? Not right.

During my brief and colossally unfocused college experience, I learned a few life lessons. One, drinking beer rather than attending class may have a negative impact on your grades. Two, I was intellectually better suited for weight training than philosophical studies. And three, perspective is key. What do I mean by that? In law class, the professor described the importance of obtaining the complete picture of an event. In so doing, you’ll have to talk to every available witness, and compare what they observed with what others observed. Surprisingly, people will witness the same event and recall the experience with total clarity and an abundance of detail. Only it doesn’t match what another credible witness describes – how can that be? Perspective. Hold up a quarter with heads facing you, tails facing outward. Ask someone in front of you to describe what they see. It’s the same coin observed at the same moment, but the difference in perspective will provide a substantially different set of details. So it is with rejection. How do you choose to see it?

I’ve read somewhere an interesting tidbit about Babe Ruth, the legendary home run king. Not only did he knock more balls clear out of the park than anyone else in his time, and for quite a time thereafter, but he also struck out more than anyone else. He wasn’t put off or defeated by the misses, as great a number as they were – more than anyone else’s, but he had to have remained focused on the idea of succeeding. Stepping up to the plate and giving his best every time and letting the outcome be what it will be. Forgetting about the last three strike-outs – it’s only this at-bat, this singular moment that counts. Once it’s passed, it’s time to focus on the next opportunity to swing, and so on. Looking back should be to glean something beneficial from the experience: how could I have done that better, is there an opportunity to improve, what feedback am I getting that I can make actionable and advance my goals? Then turn back around and focus on your next chance to succeed.

Here’s an exercise worth trying. What was your last disappointment? How did you take it? Did you automatically categorize it as a defeat, a rejection not only of your work, but of you personally? Was there a sudden loss of motivation that impacted other areas of your day? From what perspective were you looking at the rejection? Lets take that same event, but flip the coin. Were there any opportunities to learn? Were you still focused on what was ahead of you or were you driving forward while looking at the rear view mirror? Did you ask for feedback – why the work didn’t meet the needs of your prospective client or buyer? Were there opportunities to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be? It’s my belief that you learn far, far more in defeat than in victory, which makes defeat, if we are to call it that, fertile ground for opportunity.

Having had no shortage of rejections, I’ve had ample opportunity to learn some of the reasons why my submitted work didn’t get it done. Sometimes, it’s just not the right time – the company or publication may have run something too similar in the recent past, or the style is redundant in what they already have. It may be a matter of fiscal policy – they’re getting behind another property and can’t invest in anything new at this time even though they value your work. It could be stylistically wide of the mark – great art, but not for their audience. Or it could be the editor or creative director woke up to a broken coffee maker and there’ll be hell to pay, and your submission was the first they vented on. Whatever the reasons, always remember that your perspective is the one that counts the most. Momentum is directed by perspective – forward or backward, you decide.

One of the methods I use to keep my head screwed on straight with regard to rejection, is a term I’ve borrowed from the military, Fire and Forget. I fire off my submissions, forget them and move straight into creating the best work for submitting again in the next round. When rejection comes as it always does, I seek information on how to improve or when to resubmit. With Fire and Forget, I’m too busy setting up for tomorrow to worry about what I did yesterday, and how others reacted to it.

Remember this: your work has value. Some markets, some art directors, and some time frames may not be receptive, but that should have no bearing on what you want to achieve and your mission-oriented drive to get you there.

So, what is syndication and how does it work? First, I must state that I am not syndicated with one of the major syndicates. My work is distributed nationally in the Funnies Extra through Ink Bottle Syndicate, led by Bill Kellogg who has made the comic Tundra one of the more successful dailies in the marketplace – over 500 newspapers. But I, like most cartoonists in the early stages of their careers, read everything I could on the subject (see resources below), and have a reasonable handle on the process and potential outcomes.

A syndicate acts as a powerful sales force on behalf of a cartoonist. They represent and distribute cartoons to newspapers nationwide and, in some cases, internationally, for which they receive approximately half of the revenue generated by the comic. That figure varies depending on the success of the feature, and the negotiating skills of the attorneys involved.

Gaining the interest of a syndicate is, in itself, an enormous achievement. King Features Syndicate, for one,  receives thousands of submissions every month from cartoonists, covering a wide spectrum of talent levels. Much of the wave of submissions they open are of a high, professional quality, yet they still end up in the rejection pile. Not only does your cartoon need to be of the highest standard, it has to be consistent in quality, it has to have sufficiently developed characters that will be engaging to a diminishing reading public over time, and it has to be unique in a world awash with cute puppies, talking cats, and unique, kooky families.

If you find yourself with an indication of interest from a major syndicate, you still must be prepared for significant challenges. As you likely already know, the newspaper markets are continuing to shrink, and those that remain have desperately tight budgets. Supposing you are offered a development deal, the income you can expect will be insufficient to pursue cartooning full time. Even after a successful launch, and a well established feature, many syndicated cartoonists now have other full time careers in order to pay their living expenses. There are still a few comic leviathans making a handsome income from their cartoons, but many of them are ‘legacy strips’ – those that were started long ago by a now deceased cartoonist, and continued by a family member, or an artist appointed by the syndicate.

Depressed yet? Don’t be. Yours may be the feature that connects with a public starving for something new and fresh, and a big syndicate may put it’s massive marketing power behind you and your cartoon. But what if it doesn’t? Is it the end of the road for your work? Hardly. As mentioned earlier, I’m represented by a small syndicate run by Bill Kellogg. Bill single-handedly approached newspaper editors around the country and succeeded in getting the very funny “Tundra” comic into 500 newspapers. If I’m not mistaken (and I very well could be), the average income per 100 newspapers was around $40,000 per year, give or take. That number has likely decreased since I’d heard that figure, but if it’s still reasonably correct, that’s $200,000 from the newspapers alone. Certainly a livable income (depending, of course, on your tastes!)

Self-syndication is the process of acting as your own sales force, marketing agency, and, of course, creator – in effect, your own syndicate. While this is a challenging and time-consuming route, there are also significant benefits. First, you keep all the money rather than split it with someone else. That means that you’ll need fewer newspapers to sign your feature in order to make a livable income. Second, you can be assured your strip is getting the backing it deserves. If a syndicate’s sales force doesn’t get behind your strip, regardless of its potential, it’ll end up a flop and the syndicate will terminate your contract. With you driving sales, you’ll have your fingers on the pulse of the market-place, and you will determine the ultimate outcome. Have a look at the List of Newspapers – there’s links to 25,000 different papers broken down by country. By contacting their features editors or managing editors, you may find yourself with a very viable cartoon property.

While the traditional syndication route has lost much of its financial potential and momentum in conventional print markets, it’s hardly the end of the road. A new dynamic is emerging, and cartoonists with ambition, drive, and a good product stand to do very well. As with all things, having perseverance, a clear goal, and a vision for the future, are the ingredients for a successful and fulfilling career in cartooning.

For more information, I’d recommend (among others), the following resources:

Successful Syndication: A Guide for Writers and Cartoonists

Your Career in the Comics

How to Be a Successful Cartoonist

How to Self Syndicate a Comic Strip

Selling Cartoons To Newspapers

Bill Kellogg Launches New Comic Syndicate

Ink Bottle Syndicate

NCS Syndicate Directory