A friend who sells medical supplies takes a pragmatic approach to rejection. When a company says no to what she’s selling, she brushes it off and moves onto the next prospect. “In my personal life I can’t handle that kind of rejection, but at work it doesn’t bother me,” she says. “It’s just business.”

Writers deal with rejection all the time. But when a magazine editor says no to a query or kills a story, how many of us brush it off as easily as my saleswoman friend?

Rejection has been the topic du jour since Dan Baum wrote about his 2007 firing from The New Yorker in 140 character installments on Twitter a few days ago and then reassembled it as a whole piece on his website.

Not only was Baum fired by New Yorker editor David Remnick, he had five stories killed in the three-plus years he was a staff writer. Given the standing of The New Yorker in the American publishing industry, that’s rejection on an epic scale.

After reading Baum’s explanations of why he was fired and why the stories were killed, the whole episode seems less an edict on Baum’s abilities and more a confluence of unfortunate events and personality mismatch with a little bad decision making thrown in for good measure.

For example, in 2004, Baum wrote a story about how Florida was preparing for the presidential election that was killed over concerns about reporter bias after he mentioned to an editor he’d spent an afternoon distributing Kerry literature. A 2004 story about geneticists was killed after editors decided it was too similar to one by Malcolm Gladwell that had appeared in the magazine eight years earlier. A story on U.S. Special Forces troops training the Philippine army to fight terrorists never ran, according to Baum, because editors let it sit for months then killed it after a competitor ran a piece on a similar topic.

Baum wants it to be known that his explanations, which are posted on his website along with the complete manuscripts of all the killed stories, are only his own, how the killing of these stories looked to him at the time. He allows that he could be all wrong, that the stories were killed because they simply were no good.

What Baum’s explanations show me is that sometimes, it’s not you, it’s them. As a writer you can hit all the marks – write the perfect query or turn in exactly what you were assigned, – and still be rejected because circumstances have changed, the editors changed their minds, or when all is said and done, they’re just not that into you. Another great example of this is William Georgiades’ 2004 Mediabistro piece on his dealing with a Conde Nast editor over an ill-fated travel piece.

The moral of the story: Even though writing is a creative process, it’s still a business. The sooner freelancers come to terms with that, the easier it is to put rejection in its place, and like my saleswoman friend, move onto the next prospect.

According to Baum, he decided to come clean about his New Yorker experience after being asked about it at readings for Nine Lives, his book about post-Katrina New Orleans that debuted in February. You can read more about Baum, the book and his New Yorker days in a recent interview with the Colorado Springs Independent.

You can read more of what people are saying about how Baum used Twitter to tell his New Yorker saga in Gawker’s take on the story.

Not all rejections are bad. In fact, some are worth celebrating, according to Tim Beyers, a Denver freelance writer for Motley Fool and host of the weekly #editorchat session on Twitter, in a post called A word about rejection: dude. Beyers writes: “One I received last month from a national publication included this note from the editor: ‘You’re a good writer, and I wish you all the best.’ I think she means it. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself these days.”

To deconstruct other reasons magazines turn down writers’ queries, read Susan Johnston’s blog post on The Urban Muse, called 15 reasons your idea got rejected.

When writers aren’t writing, they’re reading about how to be a better writer, or be a better marketer of their writing, or about who else they could be writing for.

That’s what I found when I asked freelance, newspaper and magazine writers and editors to name some of their favorite blogs for writers. It’s an eclectic list and by no means comprehensive. Just don’t start reading on deadline.

The Mechanics of Writing, Editing and Copyediting
You Don’t Say – Written by John McIntyre, the Baltimore Sun’s assistant managing editor for the copy desk. McIntyre is a human version of the AP Style Guide or one of those other grammar and usage mauals – but funnier. Thanks to Matthew Crowley, business copy editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal for the tip.

WordWise – Forget for a minute that Dan Santow is a PR guy. His blog on grammar and usage is good – and not just because he’s got fellow flacks discussing things like commas and overused words (for which reporters everywhere thank you). Oh wait, Santow was a reporter before he became a senior v.p. at Edelman, the big PR firm. Now I get it.

WordHappy – Toddie Downs, a freelance copywriter and editor, uses her blog to celebrate good writing of all types – TV, movies, fiction, non-fiction and advertising.

Freelance Writing and Marketing Yourself as a Writer
Erik Sherman’s WriterBiz - Sherman, a long-time freelance writer and photographer, tackles the business end of writing in this very professional if plain-looking entry. Sherman’s written for some of the biggest names in the business including the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Fortune, Inc, US News & World Report and knows what he’s talking about.

The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, co-authors of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock. Lots of practical wisdom on this blog, which fellow freelancer Peggy Noonan recommends for its useful resources and “common sense tips that work.” UPDATE: Thanks Diana, for pointing out that this is a team effort.

Freelance Switch – This group-written blog about freelancers of all stripes – Web designers and illustrators as well as writers – includes classifieds, podcasts, resources and a job board.

FreelanceWritingGigs.com - Started in 2005 by Deborah Ng, this blog posts info on new jobs almost daily. But proceed with caution: the listings include a lot of “work from home” situations, Web content writing assignments and other low-pay gigs.

Men With Pens – Wait, you did want to be a Web content writer? This is the place to learn. This site was formerly known as Web Content Writer Tips.

TheUrbanMuse – Lots of practical advice on writing and the mechanics of freelancing make this well-suited to beginners. Author Susan Johnston Home is away this month and has guest bloggers filling in.

Screw You – Kathy Kehrli calls herself the Irreverent Freelancer and uses her blog for rants against low-paying clients and other mistreatments that go with the freelance territory. Read it as a cautionary tale, or visit when an editor’s got you steamed and you need an acceptable place to vent.

InkThinker - A personal take on the freelance life, written by Virginia copywriter and consultant Kristen King.

About Freelance Writing and The Golden Pencil – Two more personal takes on freelancing written by Anne Wayan, an independent writer, blogger, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach.

Publicity Hound – Although this is written by a public relations specialist for other PR types, freelancers can glean tips on marketing and generating publicity for their own work – and take a peek at how the other half lives.

Jugglezine – Herman Miller’s elegantly designed e-zine is all about balancing work and life, a freelancer’s constant challenge. And if reading it makes you want to spruce up your home office with some new furniture, well hey, you’re in the right place.

The News Business
Romenesko – This daily recap of major happenings inside U.S. newspapers lets ex-staff reporters like me and other news junkies get their fix.

Publishing 2.0 – A blog about how technology is transforming media. Is the Web going to be writers’ salvation, or is it the Dark Side? The publishing industry insiders who write this blog argue for the former.

Copywriting and Corporate Writing
Copyblogger - The well-organized site has multiple authors who cover everything from getting more done to writing better headlines to personal branding. Joel Kelly, interactive media specialist at Cossette Atlantic, calls it “fantastic.”

Bob Bly’s Blog – Bly lifts the veil on the copywriting business and is as good a start as any for magazine writers considering a leap into corporate work. If Bly’s blog – and related Web site – are any indication, there’s a world of difference.

Dianna Huff’s B2B MarCom Writer Blog - Advice from a marketing communications pro.

Copywriter Underground – More solid copy on copy from an industry veteran.

The Bad Pitch Blog – Apparently the P.R. firms whose work gets lambasted on this blog aren’t reading Copyblogger or Copywriter Underground. “Funny and well-written,” says Lewis Harrison, PR and communications manager at Codeworks.

Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers – Everything you need to know about writing a corporate white paper.