Thursday, March 3, 2011

Thursday Thoughts

R-E-J-E-C-T find out what it means to me.  Yep, I received a rejection on my short story submission, and it hit me where it hurts.  But the truth is that it means something more to me than just a simple no.  It means that I believed in myself enough to send it out in the first place.  It also means I can live through rejection.  And, of course, it means that they rejected my work, not me.

I also submitted two other places and hope to hear from them soon.  Even if it is a no from both of them, I feel like I'm taking one step closer to publication.  I refuse to give up until I get a yes, whether that's this year or a few years down the road.  That's what it means to be a writer.  That's what it means to pursue a writing career.  No publisher is going to come to my house, rifle through my computer files, and shout, "Eureka!" when they see my work.  I have to submit it and risk rejection.

You know what helps though?  A little chocolate and understanding friends.  One of my dear friends I met in Orlando told me I should hang on to that rejection.  Stephen King posted them above his desk, not as a reminder that he'd been rejected, but as a reminder that he had a goal and every rejection was one step closer to meeting it.

I'm not Stephen King, but rejection means that like a real author, I'm going to pull up my big girl panties, pull out the current WIP, and keep on keeping on.

Any suggestions for how to deal with rejection?  Maybe just a positive story about an author who had many rejections, but in the end, met their publication goals.

Happy Writing!

3 comments:

  1. Try to keep up the good attitude re rejections -- they are necessary steps on the road to publication -- not a rejection of you. Hang in there.

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  2. Thanks, Pam. It is always hard, but gets easier with time, chocolate, and pushing on in my latest WIP

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