Uh-Oh: Am I A Rejection Junkie?

I ran across a book titled The Rejection Junkies Book in my travels. I read a little bit about it, and I guess I have to admit I qualify. The author's blog asks the provocative question: "Are you tired of being rejected by the world?" Um, yes. I am. But I'm used to it. Did you know that by 8 years old, 80% of our emotional patterns are formed? Was I therefore raised to be a writer? My family would be surprised to learn it, I think. They wish I'd stop writing; it makes them uncomfortable. Hmm...I'm going to go lie down on the couch and think about that for awhile.

More Rejection Wisdom From the Virtual World

• “You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” –Ray Bradbury
• “Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” –James Lee Burke
• “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.” –Neil Gaiman
• “This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.” –Barbara Kingsolver 
• "Rejection slips [are not]...messages to stop, but rather tickets to the game.” –Anita Shreve 

Some Wisdom Is Needed Here

Let's hear a few words from other writers like ourselves who have struggled with rejection and made it. (Any writer could probably qualify under those terms.) Though, do you think anyone ever feels like he or she has made it? I know of a very famous writer who lives in fear of never writing another book as good as the one that won him the Pulitzer Prize.  I also know of a very famous writer who was awarded a Nobel Prize after she was too old and infirm to collect it in person. Ah, life; a kick in the teeth, no matter how you slice it, right?

• “Rejections slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil – but there is no way around them.” – Isaac Asimov
• “I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, ‘To hell with you.’“ – Saul Bellow
• “I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” – Sylvia Plath
• “Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.” – Kurt Vonnegut
• “Often, you have to fail as a writer before you write that bestselling novel or ground-breaking memoir. If you’re failing as a writer – which it definitely feels like when you’re struggling to write regularly or can’t seem to earn a living as a freelance writer – maybe you need to take a long-term perspective.” – J.K. Rowling

Control Your Wrath, O Rejected One

The weather turned nasty out there, hurricane like last week. Maybe they shouldn't have rejected you so glibly:

Thank you for sending us your manuscript to the Antioch Review. The return of your work does not necessarily imply criticism of its merit, but may simply mean that it does not meet our present editorial needs. We regret that circumstances do not allow individual comment. The Editors

Words to Live By

"...don’t get bitter about rejections, ever. Transform whatever bad feelings you might have into useful feelings; you should never feel ashamed about a rejection."--Sheila Heti (author of How Should A Person Be?)

A-novel-a-year novelist Sheila Heti offers the above advice here, which is sound.  She has the kind of career I always wanted to have, but alas, I'm more the book-every-decade-or-longer type of writer. Oh well, hope in the end it's worth all the time it takes.  She also has a super cute hair do.  Just saying.

Social Media, Social Media, Social Media

But will it save you from literary rejection? This article at Business2Community has some words on the matter and a very tenuous (IMHO) association.  But check it out anyway and then forget it, but have a nice weekend.

What is the Sea God Telling You?

This article by Matt Love over at Powell's Book Blog should cheer us up for the New Year of rejection. At the very least, it means you are alive as a writer.  That's saying something, people.

Terribleminds

Here's an article called "25 Things Writers Should Know About Rejection."  Self described as "booze-soaked, profanity-laden shotgun blast of dubious writing advice." Note how Chuck Wendig sells his own books. Enterprising.

It Was the Worst of Times. It was the Worst of Times.

Here's an interesting little ditty from GalleyCat about why not to pitch your book, bug your agent, approach your editor, or basically breathe in publishing this week.  Hmm....very interesting, Dr. Lockhart!

Revise for Us!

I regret that these structural flaws prevent us from making an offer on [Title]. However, if you are willing to revise the manuscript, we would be interested in taking another look at it.

It's always tricky to know when to revise for someone. These people don't even tell you what they want, so that's either good or bad.  Not sure which is better.  The question is always whether or not to go down this path.  It's hard to remain confident after getting a note like this, but I always send it out to many places before taking it back and thinking long and hard about what to do next.  Sometimes, a revision is called for.  Other times you stick to your guns.

77 Solutions

This guy has 77 ways to solve your problem. Bully for him! Or if that doesn't work, perhaps praying with him will.

There's An App For That

Here's a rejection app for your iPhone? It's called Rejection Therapy--The Game. The only rule is that you must be rejected by one person every day. The therapy part is this: "Do nothing and continue living..."

Words to Live By (?)

"Champagne for my real friends. Real pain for my sham friends." Can't even imagine.

According to Health Magazine, writers are at number 6 on the list of the 10 careers with high rates of depression. Thanks to GalleyCat for the news flash.  I think we all probably already knew this. But it's nice to have reality confirmed. There's medication and therapists for this, you know. I used to worry that my depression was the source of my creativity, but I'm over that phase of crazy thinking. I'm just as exuberantly writerly without feeling suicidal it turns out. Who knew?

Update: Smoothing the Ruffle

Had a little ruffle with Agent 99 after delivering the new-to-her information that my novel had been seen by a few other editors a while back. She seemed unhappy with the news, but I described to her the previous plot line (so very different from current) and the fact that it had gone out under a different title, and I got this note back: "No worries -- it does sound very different, and I don’t think it will be a problem." Things in publishing have heated up, so she needs some more time to read the newest revision; she hasn't gotten to it yet.  You know, micicles, I'm going to have to stop reporting her every word on this blog. It's starting to feel a little uncool because she doesn't know about it, and I'm developing a relationship with her. I can tell you that I do not relish telling her about this blog, but will probably have to at some point feel like I must. Or maybe I will need to close it down before long, assuming it has had its day and run its course. Any opinions about how to handle this?

Submit Where You'd Love to Be

I just caught up with the foxy Book Fox, John Fox, who has an interesting report from the AWP conference on the hierarchy of literary magazines.  Interesting post.  If you need some suggestions about where to submit in terms of breaking in, try this list of respected cliterature and illiterate magazines.

Once Upon A Time

Or maybe you've been doing it WRONG all these years and that's why you're a reject! This theory is capitulated by some people. (He looks like a nice guy, Charles Deemer; maybe he's right.) Maybe you just need an orphan/ wanderer/ warrior/ martyr protagonist plus a beginning, middle and end.  Funny, my novel has one character who is (nearly) all four of those things in an ordinary/extraordinary world. People should be banging down my door! Nah, never mind.

I Have Much To Be Thankful For...So Ignore This Post

So, we have officially entered the season of silence, the months of no response from publishing professionals. You know the routine: holiday, holiday, New Year, see you in 2010.
     But here's a question for you: I still have the manuscript of my novel out with 3 potential agents: one has had the thing since August and wrote in September to say she was reading and would be back to me soon.  (Guess it wasn't a very impressive partial read.)  The other two have had the manuscript since early October. So, do I shake the trees to see if my novel falls out thrice rejected? Or do I just let it ride until January when my novel will come back on its own thrice rejected for the New Year? Remember this bold assertion that's now so sad?
    It's always a dilemma for me: rejection now or rejection later. I have decided to ignore the nauseating thimbleful of hope that inevitably gets in the mix to pull me out of reality. But I have had a piece about being a writer accepted for publication in a very widely read journal, so I could use it as an excuse for getting in touch.
    Any advice?

A Case of the Evil Pencils

Can't get your novel published?  Well, it could be worse.  You could have writer's block, too.  I had writer's block once in the early 90's for about 5 years.  It was total hell.  Anyway, if you are suffering from can't-get-published and writer's block, read this article for your writer's block and keep coming back to the blog for the company.

More On The Fate of Agents

There's more debate over at media bistro in the comments section on a posting titled "Literary Agents, Bah, Who Needs 'Em?"  Here's a highlight from the article: One published author who asks to be unnamed disagrees, "What do you need an agent for anymore, really? Why? To negotiate a meager advance? You can't get them on the phone anyway. You're stuck promoting the book yourself because publishers don't put any marketing dollars into your book unless you're John Grisham. I don't see the whole point when I can hire an attorney to negotiate my publishing contract for a flat fee or just upload the book to Kindle myself."  And a juicy highlight from the comments: You can't get them on the phone anyway. You're stuck promoting the book yourself because publishers don't put any marketing dollars into your book unless you're John Grisham. I don't see the whole point when I can hire an attorney to negotiate... Well, that's good 'cause my agent quit a couple of years ago and headed for the hills, clutching a newborn infant to her chest. I suppose she got herself and her family out just in time.