Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

You've all suffered through it, whether you're  a writer or not. Rejection. The bad word for most humans. The one that hurts unless we have more callouses than than a guitar playing finger.

Tamela Murray Hancock had a great post about writing rejections recently, and I thought it would be appropriate to remind and encourage my writing readers what certain famous writers went through.

I know we've all read and heard, but still. Sometimes it's good to remember, to look at history, to understand that we're not alone.

• Margaret Mitchell garnered 38 rejections with Gone With the Wind.
• Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, authors of the multi-million dollar Chicken Soup for the Soul series received an astounding 140 rejections. A book that went on to become a 65-title series, has sold more than 80 million copies in 37 languages.

(Me: I imagine those all those editors are still kicking themselves!)

• Emily Dickinson, only 7 poems published during her lifetime read this rejection: "(Your poems) are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities." (Me: What?)
• Ernest Hemingway, regarding his novel, The Torrents of Spring: "It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it."
• William Faulkner, "I can't publish this!"
• D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover: “for your own sake do not publish this book.”

• William Golding, Lord of the Flies: "an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.”
• Norman Mailer, The Deer Park: "This will set publishing back 25 years.”
• The Diary of Anne Frank: “The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.”

• Irving Stone, Lust for Life, rejected 16 times but found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies: “A long, dull novel about an artist.”
• Stephen King, Carrie: “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” (Me: Someone made a booboo!)
• John le Carré, The Spy who Came in from the Cold: “You’re welcome to le Carré – he hasn’t got any future.”
• George Orwell, Animal Farm: “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”

• Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H: 21 rejections.
• Dr. Seuss, first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street: 27 rejections. (Me: love this silly children's book!)
• Jack London: 600 rejections before he sold his first story. (Me: Remember the Call of the Wild?)
• John Creasey, English crime novelist: 753 rejection before publishing 564 books. (Me: Whoa!)
• William Saroya:more than a thousand rejections before he had his first literary piece published.  (Me: Double whoa!)

Encouraged yet?
Blessings.

Second-Guesses

What does it take to be a second-guess-er-writer?

Hmm.

Take some: Anxiousness.
Throw in a few: Wishes that didn't happen.
Check out the: Fast heart rates.
Sprinkle in: A touch of inferiority.
Toss in a dash of: impatience.
Smother it all with: Rejections!

And you have a situation that is ripe for second-guessing yourself. You get to thinking:

I should have written this novel differently. Or . . .
This novel isn't any good. Or . . .
What am I doing trying to write anyway?

But, if you're a writer, with a great agent, then you've got a chance of
coming out of that thick soup of despair! Ha.

She/he can set your feet right back on the solid earth where they belong with a few words of encouragement, advice, or suggestion. Instead of swimming in a fluffy cloud and never getting anywhere, she/he can help you re-focus your ambition, your calling, your career, right where you know it should be, but are so moody, sometimes, you let IT all side-track you.

Thank God for agents. Heaven's gift to writers!


Quote:
Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others. --Robert Louis Stevenson

Blessings

Crazy Writers

Yeah, we're crazy.

• Who else would humbly lap up critical remarks about our works-in-progress and beg for more?
• Who else would work for hours, days, months, years . . . for mere pittance, at times?
• Who else would spend literally hours researching to get it right?

• Who else would research the craziest things, ignoring the strange looks from librarians and knowledgeable people we've begged information from?
• Who else would spend their last dime to get to a conference?
• Who else would go crazy over a dying computer?

• Who else would have lofty feelings of superiority that "those others" aren't a writer?
• Who else would jealously guard your backed-up, saved manuscripts above anything else. Steal everything else, lose everything else, forget about insurance for everything else, but our writing? We're talking valuable stuff here.
• Who else would ignore the continual questions about when you're going to "get" published? After all, un-normal (uh, those who don't write. Smile) people have no idea how hard it is.

• Who else considers all this normalness?
• Who else waits forever to get published?
• Who else endures rejections, critiques, failures, mind blocks, hand cramps, headaches (from concentration and eyestrain), and work, work, work?

Why, crazy writers, of course.

Me.


Quote:
Persevere. Even the snail made it to the ark.


Blessings

Some Like It Hot; Some Like It Cold . . .


On one of my writing loops, they've been discussing rejections. How to handle them, how to use them to push yourself farther up the road; how to relate to God's will for yourself when you receive rejections.

Actually, I've only gotten one rejection, and that was years ago as a teenager when I sent something to a publishing company. They rejected my submission, but were kind enough to encourage (what they surely realized came from a young person just learning the ropes!) me to try again.

What makes one person love someone's writing and another turn up their nose at it? What makes one editor pant to have that new novelist and another send out a standard rejection form letter?

Ach, I think the reason is as simple as being individuals. I'm not crazy about paranormals or science fiction, but my son loves them. I love mysteries and cozies and action stories, but I have friends who'd rather read historicals.

Here's my seventeen-year-old niece's take on Cindy Woodsmall's "When the Heart Cries." I let her read my book on the condition she write a review of it. Obviously you can tell she was smitten.

"When the Heart Cries" is about a young Amish girl who falls in love with a Mennonite and decides to marry him against her father's wishes. Shortly after she accepts his proposal, a tragic incident occurs.

"When the Heart Cries" is a very good book, and I would love to read more like it. The characters, plot, and setting were excellently portrayed. It really gives a lot of information about the Amish and Mennonite people, and shows what a struggle it is for those who want to break away. --Leci

Anyone who can write with conviction enough to make you want to read more has found the depth to make a good writer. And no doubt, has received her/his share of rejections to help her reach that spot.

Some statistics:

• Melanie Dickerson: 78 rejections on one book before it became a Christy Award winner.
• Mitchner: his agent broke the contract between them because he was difficult to work with and not a good writer. When he went to work he found out he'd just won the Pulitzer Prize for South Pacific!
• Pearl S. Buck received a letter from one publisher that said, "It's good, but these days no one's interested in China."
• One of Jane Austen's characters was called a "husband-hunting butterfly."
• One publisher called "Alice in Wonderland" a stiff overwrought story.
• Another told Tony Hillerman "to get rid of all the Indian stuff."
• Mr. Kipling: You just don't know how to use the English language.
• Harry Potter was rejected by over 30 publishers before finding a home.

And this doesn't even touch the tip of those who've received rejections.





Household Hints:

• Candles last longer if placed in the freezer at least 3 hours before using.
• Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers. Fresh smell for weeks!
• Spray a bit of perfume on light bulbs for a lovely scent. (Cold light bulb!)
• Spray your plastic ware with nonstick cooking spray to keep the tomato based sauces from staining your bowls.
• Wrap celery in aluminum foil before placing in fridge; it'll keep for weeks!
  

Quote:
Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is? --Frank Sculby


Blessings.