How To Avoid The Rejection Blues
by JD Wylde
No one likes to be rejected. Deep down inside I think each one of us has the desire to be accepted. To be liked. Even praised.
It’s the same for our writing.
We start with an idea. We nurture it into a story. We work tirelessly for months, maybe years creating what we think is a great angle, a unique twist, and we perfect it until it’s the very best we can make it. Then we send it off with all our hopes and dreams tied up in a pretty bow on top of it. And we eagerly wait to hear those special words. I love it! It’s exactly what I’m looking for. Why aren’t you already published? Let me be the first to offer you a five-book contract.
Some do hear those words.
Some of us don’t.
We told although our story is good, it’s not great. What we thought was a unique twist, was already done. Or the real heartbreaker, we’re told that they love our story, but there’s no place to fit it into their current lines. Or, another heartbreaker, they don’t have room to take on a new author. Or we get the photocopied rejection letter with our name scribbled across the top. (I’ve gotten one of those.) Or the rejection letter with someone else’s name typed on it. (I’ve gotten one of those, too.)
Or the enthusiastic request for a partial submission with no response back. Ever.
It’s not fun.
So what do we do about it?
Chocolate’s a good idea. I keep an emergency kit in the refrigerator for just that reason. Hershey has never rejected J.D. Wylde. (Although to be perfectly honest, I don’t really need any reason to indulge in chocolate.) Ice cream works, too. A large spoon and a quart of Double Dutch Chocolate is a good elixir for rejection.
I’ve been told alcohol works, too. Personally I have enough other vices, so I haven’t tried this one, but I’m told a little Gentleman Jack goes a long way toward soothing pain. And smoothly, too. Captain Morgan, Jim Bean, Johnny Walker. These men don’t reject!
But seriously, allow yourself the time to feel bad. Come on! This is your dream that’s been trampled on. Your ego is bruised. You really thought you had a winner this time. Allow yourself time to mourn, to rage, to pout, but then set that letter or email aside.
You’re a writer.
One rejection letter, or a hundred, is not going to stop you. I have received enough of them over the years, I think, to possibly paper a wall in my bathroom.
Salve your ego. Dust yourself off, and try again.
Come up with a new idea. Another story line. Take an on-line class. Beef up your characters, your plot, your sagging middle (and not the one from eating too much ice cream). Just don’t give up.
Keep trying.
Keep writing.
Author Bio
J.D. Wylde is the author of four books currently published. (WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, THE JOURNEY, KARMA IN CAMO, and BLISS.) She has been married for thirty-four years to her very own superhero, and together, they have three handsome sons, one beautiful daughter-in-law, and a very crazy Cairn Terrier. She’s busy at work on two new releases coming soon. (WHEN LAW MET DISORDER and THE DREAM.)
You can visit J.D. at her website, www.jdwylde.com, her fan page on Facebook (J.D. Wylde) and Twitter (@jdwylde).
Five authors contribute five novellas to this romantic collection set over centuries, in one home on the Albemarle Sound.
Home is where the heart is…
One stately residence on North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound. Five stories of heart-warming romance. Told against the backdrop of the Civil War, the loss of an unsinkable ship, the patriotic zeal of the second world war, the heart-rending conflict of Vietnam, and the thrill of modern day Nascar, Jamie Denton, S. K. McClafferty, Kathleen Shoop, Marcy Waldenville, and J. D. Wylde deliver a variety pack of poignant, sexy, and sweet.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Romance
Rating – R
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