Or something like that.

My partial just got rejected, but alas, it's not all bad news.
While I didn't get a "helpful" rejection (as in detailed feedback), hearing the agent really liked reading the partial is good news.
Being rejected because it isn't right for the agency isn't as disheartening either. It does mean the story has to land on the right desk, at the right time, and the agent or editor has to be the right one.

I'm not going to let a rejection get me down. If I did, I'd best get out of this writing business right now, because once I do find the right agent, the right editor, it won't be all smooth sailing.
There will be people who hate the story and they will probably say so. In a way, I see rejections as a precursor for any bad reviews I might get. (No book gets 100% good reviews, let's not deceive ourselves.) I'm determined to remain positive and look ahead, and treat every rejection the same way I want to treat a bad review: They didn't like it, but it doesn't mean it sucks. Move on.

I have seen authors get into veritable wars with reviewers or nay-sayers. I refuse to join that particular club.
Sure, I have my own opinions, we all do. I'm not one to never speak up, either. I do, however, respect someone elses opinion and while I may not agree with them, they are entitled to it. I may change my mind, after all, I'm far from perfect. But I try to be amicable about it, and what's more, I try to be professional about it.

Writing is what I do in my spare time, but I would like to give up the day job some day and write full time. It's not a hobby, it's a business I love. An obsession, if you must know the truth, because if I didn't write, you'd have to eventually find a nice padded cell for me.

Many of us budding authors treat writing far too casually, far to "hobby" like. If you plan to make a living from writing, then tell people who ask that you are a writer first, everything else second. After all, if YOU don't take it seriously, why should they?

So go ahead, take your writing seriously, treat it like the career it is. Just don't go overboard in the wrong direction.
Don't fight with readers, other authors, agents or editors.

If you're rejected, take it with dignity.
If you get a bad review, take it with dignity.

You can learn from a rejection, and from a bad review. In fact, you probably learn a lot from a bad review, if you take the time to get over the battered ego and find out why the reader didn't like your story.
If you have the chance to contact the reviewer, do so, but only to gather feedback, not to yell at them.
You never know, the things they didn't like might be avoidable. It may give you an insight you didn't have before.
Yes, it hurts. Of course it does, it's your baby, your lover, your life – all rolled into one. Still, get over the hurt and see the positive side. You can learn from it, if you really choose to.

So I'm not going to beat myself up over the rejection, although I would have loved to work with the agent I queried.

I'll go over it again, double check everything, and one day I will find a home for the book.

Bookmark It

It's difficult, loving a story and it being rejected.
I feel like I'm missing the boat, which is probably not the case.
I feel like my writing sucks, which is perhaps not the case either.
Will it ever happen for me? Who knows. It might.
The fact is, if I don't keep sending out queries, it will definitely not happen. That's the only constant of the process.

Of course I get jealous of others selling their books. It's natural to be envious, when it is something you want yourself.
Are they better writers than I? No. They are different writers.
They have different stories to tell.
Alas, we continue.

Oh, I haven't heard back from the two contests yet.
Fingers crossed.

Bookmark It

I’ve just had one.
It made me feel bad, naturally. It made me question if I’m any good, naturally.
My crit partners think the story rocks, the writing rocks.
The agent I queried… didn’t.

Well, I will continue and not let it daunt me.

So if you are in the same boat, and you’re garnering rejections — don’t let it get you down.
Continue. Hang in there.

Remember:

“Optimism doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.”
– Norman Cousins

And in that vein — Onward!

Bookmark It