Dealing With Rejection

Rejection is part of the writing business. Today, my guest is author J.E. Seymour who shares her methods for dealing with it. Welcome.

Rejection is something that every writer has to learn to deal with. The only writer who has never experienced rejection is the writer who has never sent anything out. Like it or not, every story is not going to be every editor’s cup of tea. I keep hoping that someday I’ll grow immune to those little slips of paper. I can’t say that it ever gets easier. Even when the little slips of paper turn into real letters, signed by an actual editor, starting with my name instead of “dear author.” It still hurts.

Every rejection takes some little piece of my ego. Then I’ll get an acceptance. For a short time, that changes everything. Once in a while I get that acceptance that makes it all worth it, like the one where the editor said I'm one of the best noir writers around. That makes the rejections worth it. Then another rejection comes along. And they’ll keep coming, as long as I keep sending out short stories and novels. My favorite word? Persistence. Seventeen years, three novels, hundreds of rejections, one published novel. Priceless.

Turning the Tables

In the world of writing, one of the dreaded chores is submitting. Whether it's a simple query letter (or is that an oxymoron?), a proposal, a partial, or the exhilaration resulting from a request for a full manuscript, you're still left relying on the decision of someone else. And, odds are, given the percentages of acceptances in the business, you're going to have to deal with a dreaded rejection letter.

Right now, I'm waiting to hear from one publisher about a full manuscript submission, and from my agent about a new proposal. To avoid stressing, I'm also back to working on my 4th Blackthorne novel (although that's stress enough, since it's book number 3 that I'm waiting to hear about). I'm a little over 200 pages into it, and I'm still a non-plotter. Yesterday was one of those two steps forward, three steps back days. However, even though I'm writing 'on spec', with no guarantee of a sale, I find even a day of frustrating writing is better than a day of not writing at all.

As followers of the 'real life' portion of this blog might recall, we've been renovating and remodeling our house. Whereas the upper floor was a simple matter of swapping out existing materials, downstairs, we're converting a basement that's basically one large L-shaped room with a bathroom and laundry area into functional living space, including a tv room, an exercise area for those snowy days, and a dedicated guest room..

Tennis anyone?

What I'm reading: Lying in Wait, by J.A. Jance

What I'm writing: Chapter Six

I confess to being hooked on Grand Slam Tennis. Don't ask me why. The only time I ever played was during the "Individual Sports" unit in high school PE. I did try racquetball for a while when it was new. The best part was that it was indoors, in the air conditioning, and if you waited, the ball would come back. I started having the Slams on while I did needlepoint, because you didn't have to watch the matches. If something exceptional happened, you'd hear the crowd, and they'd do an instant replay. The 'thwack-thwack' rhythm of the ball was nice background noise. It's not the same if I'm trying to write.

But with 10 hours of television coverage daily, I'm going to have to do more multi-tasking. I do find the evening hours are fine for writing, but my husband comes home tomorrow after a week out of town, and I'll have to be more available. Like, cooking dinner.

I'm also on the last days of my day job, and dealing with all the loose ends means I'm actually working more hours than when I was working.

But -- yesterday's email brought a new review for Hidden Fire. In the wake of another rejection letter--the very nice, friendly one agents seem to get, but one that had me wondering if the editor, or third-level editorial assistant--actually read the manuscript, it was nice to find another person who thought my writing didn't suck.

From Night Owl Romance

This page-turner turns on the heat between our hero and heroine while circumstances surrounding them seem destined to bring their relationship to an end. Lack of trust runs high, deception seems de rigueur, and unexpected plot twists keep the reader guessing. This was a superb who-dun-it well worth the read.
Gail

Read the full review here.