Contrary to the title, no, I'm not currently miserable. Still, being that it's spring, I thought I'd shine a ray of hope to those who may be lamenting rejection after stinging rejection. Believe it or not, pain is a good sign. It means you're still kicking as a writer.
And you're not alone. Take a stroll down the hall of shame..
C.S. LEWIS received over 800 rejections before he sold his first piece of writing.
MADELINE L'ENGLE's A Wrinkle in Time was refused 26 times before she found a publisher who said yes.
STEPHEN KING's Carrie took 30 tries before someone picked it up.
J.K. ROWLING got Harry Potter turned down a dozen times before someone finally gave it a chance.
MEG CABOT had The Princess Diaries rejected by 17 publishers before one gave it a chance.
These authors aren't super sore about being rejected...but the publishers who rejected them sure are.
Bottom line: hang in there. Polish up that manuscript and send it out yet again. Then let me know when you sell it and I'll add you to the list.
WIP STATS ~ DAY 66
Word Count: 43,266
Sentence of the Day: Whoever wore that tiara would be the queen of the ball--and she'd long since felt she was royalty.
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6 comments:
Wow, that is an inspiration to continue writing. Never give up:)
That's right, Joy! NEVER!
It helps to remember that the great writers got rejected numerous times too. :-) A good friend called me today and let me vent at her, and after praying together, I calmed down about the work ahead of me. On the bright side, I now recognize telling sentences, and know to write a character's thoughts in third-person and use first-person italicized thoughts sparingly. :-)
Yippee! That's progress, Gwen! I remember when I sent out my first manuscript and got back rejection after rejection all saying the same thing...too much telling, not enough showing. I was like what the heck does that even mean?
Last night I heard the greatest line EVER from Jenny L Cote. When she finally reached the point of giving her writing over to God to use as He saw fit ... to publish or not ... she also asked Him to give her the BEST He had for her. That meant the BEST agent and the BEST publisher.
Then whenever she received a rejection she said, "Bless their hearts, they aren't the chosen one."
What a great way to look at it! I've adopted that saying. ;o) As I wait for Him to say, "Now."
Great insight, Anie girl...thanks for sharing!
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