Well, I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but having just received two rejections five minutes apart, even though both agents were very kind in their responses, I decided I needed to post this now, to remind myself of what I already know…
I understand that rejection is inevitable when one writes – part of what makes life so interesting is that we are all very different, but that makes our perception of what is publishable correspondingly different as well. Regarding the writing life, I really appreciate something Victoria Marini, a literary agent for Gelfman Schneider / ICM Partners, said when asked what advice or encouragement she would give to aspiring writers. She responded, “Practice resilience, patience, and generosity of spirit. Practice being happy for others. Keep going. And going.”
I think that is a great philosophy, not only for writing, but for life in general…
It’s hard not to take rejection personally because we are exposing ourselves, we are allowing ourselves to be vulnerable when we offer the results of our hard work to a stranger and await their response. But isn’t that what we do when we offer ourselves in friendship to others? Our most satisfying relationships started in the realm of the unknown, and I think that is a little about how it is when offering your writing to someone. You are taking a chance, but it may just end up to be one of the most satisfying relationships in your life. And if it ends up in a rejection, than just like those folks that you didn’t strike a chord with when you were testing the friendship waters, it simply wasn’t meant to be and something much better for your specific manuscript may be waiting around the corner.
So while I am momentarily discouraged, I will refuse to stay there and instead I will choose to follow Ms. Marini’s advice, “Practice resilience, patience, and generosity of spirit. Practice being happy for others. Keep going. And going.” If I can do that, it changes everything.
[image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]