Reveling In Rejection

When I first began writing seriously I told myself I’d make 100 submissions before becoming the slightest bit frustrated. Five rejections later, no problem. Fifteen, still doing well. But somewhere around the 30-something mark, I lost my muse, got stuck in a rut and found myself battling writer’s rejection blues. It felt like I’d never return to that hopeful state of blind faith, believing that eventually I’d succeed. Luckily it was at this point that I got the next best thing to an acceptance call--a personal response--and an encouraging one at that, signed by an editor herself! Finally, proof that my manuscripts were not being sucked into a black hole (my equivalent to receiving a form letter or worse, nothing at all).

That one response meant so much, I made several copies and hung them around my house to remind me that my efforts would not go unnoticed. Since then, I’ve made it to the halfway mark with fifty submissions. And although I’m still waiting for my first publication, I must be doing something right as my last three rejections were each personalized, making for an overall count of ten--twenty percent of everything I’ve done. Not bad when thought of that way.

Although an editor's note may seem insignificant to some, for a struggling writer, being able to revel in rewards, no matter how small, keeps us going.