You may be asking yourself, "Why the hell is she writing about this publicly and why is there a happy little exclamation point at the end??" Well, here's the thing. Rejection is something every writer has to deal with, all throughout his/her career. From the evil internal editor voice that wants you to know in no uncertain terms that whatever you're working on is crap, to constructive feedback received from your critique partners, to agents and editors letting you know your work isn't for them. Rejection can take many forms and a writer who wants to be in this for the long haul needs to be ready to deal with them all.
So, when I received my first "no thank you" from an agent yesterday, I didn't freak out. I took it in stride and thought about how I had just experienced an important rite of passage. I allowed myself some time to think about the ways that rejections can be stumbling blocks: they can make us feel less confident, make us question our self worth, make us question our skill level and doubt that bright, shiny future we've been imagining for ourselves.
Then I spent more time thinking about the ways they can be stepping stones.
When I think back on the various types of rejection I've experienced in my life, most of it resulted in a better, stronger version of me somehow. Sure, the journey that began with the rejection (or, arguably long before the rejection but stick with me here) and resulted in the new! improved! me was sometimes long and painful, but the end result was almost always worth it when I look at the situation objectively and holistically. Those rejections became stepping stones on a path of growth and improvement that has brought me to the place I am today--a place I'm very, very happy to be in.
So! I'm holding a little contest to celebrate this latest
2 comments:
I'm sending big hugs through the interwebs. But, I'm so proud of your positive attitude. I probably never told you this because I don't tell many people. (But I might have told you because your such a good friend) I find that most people aren't so open-minded about "failures" actually being a positive thing, so it's my dirty little secret.
I failed out of a PhD program.
It's really a long story, so I'll spare you the details, especially since you know how it ends.
Oh, and there is that whole moving to the South thing...
"Oh and there is that whole moving to the South thing..."LMAO!!
Well, as you've pointed out, one of those already has its happy ending and the other is moving in that direction, I think. You've clearly used both to further your growth as an individual and I have so much respect for you for it.
Thanks for the hugs and for being so fabulous. :) xo
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