And a Happy Monday to all of you writers out there! I hope the weekend was restful and you are ready to send your words out into the world today.
Today we are going to discuss rejection. I know, not a very pleasurable topic, but it does not have to be depressing if we are willing to learn from it.
Consider the quote of the day……
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.”
Bo Bennett
If you are a writer then you need to learn from your rejections. The bottom line is that there is a reason why your work was rejected, and that reason does not have to be that you are a poor writer. Maybe the publisher or editor just isn’t looking for the subject matter that you wrote about. Maybe they have their plate full and can’t take on any more new material…..and yes, maybe what you submitted wasn’t good enough.
Take each rejection slip and learn from it. If you want, ask the editor, agent or publisher why they rejected your work. Many will tell you in the rejection note, but if they don’t, write them back and ask them why they rejected you so that you can learn from it.
Rejections are a way of life for writers. Find the positives in the rejection and move forward. Harper Lee, the brilliant writer of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” tried for five years to find a publisher that would take on her project….five years. She never gave up on her story….let me say it again….five years! One of the greatest books ever written was rejected for five years, ladies and gentlemen. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
It is too easy to give up. Do not give up on your talent. Become a better writer because of the rejections you receive.
SITE OF THE DAY
The Association of American Publishers is a handy site to bookmark. You can find them here.
There you will find hundreds of publishers and links to their sites, and there you will find submission guidelines when the time comes to hawk your next great novel. J
PROMPT OF THE DAY
I hope you are finding these prompts inspirational. The whole idea is to generate ideas and from that articles. Don’t over-think these prompts. Look at the picture and jot down first impressions…and then let your mind roam….and hopefully your next article will be born.
WRITER OF THE DAY
I know, I know, it seems I am constantly highlighting friends of mine, but that’s because I know some incredible writers, so why not?
Go see my friend Pearl at her blog. You can find it here. She writes about what she knows…mainly birds. If you have ever wanted to attract birds to your yard, this is the lady you need to become friends with.
ps….her blog site isn’t working…you can find her on HubPages here….and her name is actually Connie but she calls herself grandmapearl on HP. 🙂
AND THAT’S ALL FOR THE DAY
I hope you are having a great Monday. This is the most productive day of the week for me. My mind is always alive on Mondays….that might have something to do with my resting over the weekend. Hmmm….perhaps there is a lesson in there somewhere. J
Bill
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 
It was a fabulous weekend and now tomorrow we have Emma’s Pre-School Circus, where I just can’t wait to see her perform (she has been practicing for weeks now). I hope you too had a great weekend with Bev and your families, too!! 🙂
I love those events for the little kids…they are always so fun. Have a great time there and take loads of pictures, Janine…and thank you.
It’s so crazy how many brilliant books were rejected many times over. Just think of how many we’ve missed because the authors gave up!
The link to Pearl’s blog isn’t working. Skylar and I love birds, so I’d like to check it out!
Shoot, Lizzy, sorry about that. Find here on HP under grandmapearl…here is her link….http://grandmapearl.hubpages.com/
Rejection stings, but yeah, you’re absolutely right. Now, in between the art, blog, teaching and photography, I’ve been writing and I need to publish something, lol…I have two unpublished, unedited books sitting on my computer. Why? I don’t know…not feeling like they’re good enough or just being plain ol’ scared. Plus I’m working on another writing project…I seriously need to start getting stuff published. All in good time; I’ve really only been hard at this for a year and a half and started the memoir three years ago…all in good time. LOL
Cyndi, you are right…patience is needed. I have so many projects going that I get dizzy thinking about them, but slowly I finish one and then move on…and some are not ready to be finished. In the end I am the only one who can determine when they will be ready.
I do dislike rejection some days, especially when I am so proud of the work I wrote! I try to remember that every writer has a stack of rejection slips and that finding the right market for the work is key. Thanks for a good reminder on Monday, Bill.
Christy, it’s so nice to see you here. Thanks very much for stopping by…this is a tricky business and there is no telling sometimes why our work is rejected. Hopefully we learn something from it and never give up.
Well it wasn’t a human rejecting me this weekend, but my computer and the programme I was using to try and upload my ebook. I swear, EVERYTHING went wrong. It’s like something didn’t want me to publish it. I spent 8 hours on Saturday reformatting over and over again. And 5 hours yesterday. After a week of proof-reading. I was about ready to give up on the whole thing. Why did I think it would be easy?! LOL. But I’m happier today. Ready to get back to normal schedules again. I can’t do anything until that book is published, and that’s happening today. Hallalooya. As for rejections. Yes, my time is coming, I know. Got to grow that thick skin. Helps to have friends like you to talk to on the really bad days though. Have a great day Bill!
Mel, I am so happy for you….sorry you had so much trouble but so happy. This is a huge step in your career and I want you to savor it and treat it like the special moment that it is….once in a lifetime, Mel…the first book!