How Thick Is Your Skin?

I finished my edits on Into the Fire and sent them off to my editor.  Wow, I always imagined using those words, but the reality is way better.

Of course, within a day of this mood-elevating event, I received another dreaded rejection for a paranormal story pitch for Harlequin, and drew a relatively realistic conclusion that I didn't place in another contest.  Even with all the good things that have been happening lately, these rejections still hit me hard.  I literally wanted to cry because it brought up all my fears of not being able to make my writing more than a hobby.  I want to make it a career, and I thought I was on a roll.

BUT, something is different.  When I received a rejection before, it took me weeks to recover, to want to write again, but this time I couldn't wait to get back in front of my latest WIP.  What was the difference?  Has my skin grown thicker?  Actually, the truth of what it means to be a career writer hit me.  One acceptance doesn't mean I'll never have to feel the sting of rejection again, but it does mean that a rejection doesn't have nearly the power over me that it used to.

I've written about rejection quite a bit on this blog, mostly because I am early in my career, and I know it will be a concern to me for a long while to come, so that's why I refuse to allow a rejection to keep me from writing.  The true key to a long-term writing presence is not acceptance after acceptance.  It is persistence in the face of rejection.

So is rejection getting you down?  Are you thinking of throwing up your hands and giving up?  What keeps you going?

Happy Writing!

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!