Rejections

Low-cost rejection therapy

A part of every writer’s life, for sure. And there’s a half-myth, half-truth that they get easier with time and experience.

Well, in some ways they do. One thing that working as both an editor and a writer has taught me is that one editor’s “no” is not a verdict on the quality of the manuscript. One editor’s “no” doesn’t preclude another editor’s “yes.” And some manuscripts just don’t hit the market at the right time, even though they are reasonably good in themselves. It’s a combination of skill and timing and luck each time, and if the luck isn’t there–well, it just isn’t.

But every now and then there comes a rejection that really stings–of a book I particularly love, at a moment when I particularly need an injection of hope. A writer’s career is built on hope, after all–you write a book (or at least work up a proposal), putting time and energy and skill and love into it, and then you hope it will spark the right kind of response from someone and they’ll want to pay you some money for it. (Truly a terrible business model.) Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

Then it’s time for long walks, hugging the pets, sweet tea, and patience. The sting wears off eventually, and it’s back to work on the next book, sending hope out into the universe, crossing your fingers that you’ll get some back.