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Monday, April 25, 2011

Bleeding Rejections



"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
-Ernest Hemingway

The Writer Magazine recently published an article by Lisa Shearin: To modify an old comedy routine, you might be a iwriter/i if ... - The Writer Magazine Ms. Sharin posted a writer's version of Jeff Foxworthy's, "You might be a redneck if..."

One of Lisa's points: The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitute a fire hazard.

Any writer I know, who has submitted their work to publishers or agents, can say this is true. If I made two separate stacks, one of my manuscripts and the other my rejections, the rejection stack would be at least twice as high. Possibly, three times the height, depending on how many times I've submitted a story.

Does this upset me? Sometimes. Ok, most times. Anybody in their right mind will tell you rejection hurts and there's nothing worse than repeated rejection. It's hard to not take a rejection personally, especially when you're excited about your creation.

So, sometimes I cry and sometimes I crawl into a hole for weeks on end and refuse to write but today I realized I need to think with my "write" mind and view the rejections as another chance to make my manuscripts the best they can be. I'm going to take out my pile of manuscripts and see what I can polish. Heck, maybe I'll write new stories while I'm at it.

It's often said that anything worth having doesn't come easy and while I wish acceptances came a bit easier and more frequently, the few times I've had a manuscript accepted, I forget all about the previous rejections and my "happy dance" is all the more joyous.

How do you deal with rejections?

4 comments:

  1. I scream, I cry, I whine to my friends, I eat chocolate, I drink wine. Then I get back to work. The very next day. Being rejected means you are out there. And you are that much closer to your next acceptance. Keep the faith, and keep writing!

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  2. Rejections - some hurt more than others, but I guess we live through them. Still dont particularly like them, but I'll survive.

    I awarded you the stylish blog award. Come on over to my site to check it out. www.ctnyrene.blogspot.com

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  3. Love this because I could wallpaper a bathroom with my rejections.

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  4. You see, this is how unorganized I am. I somehow missed your comments. But, I'm working on it.
    Thanks for stopping by, The Desert Rocks.
    Thanks for the award, Courtney!
    Pam, thanks for the encouraging words. I keep plugging along. I honestly couldn't stop writing if I tried. :)

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Thanks for your comments. I LOVE hearing from you! :D