The first time I’d really ever experienced that word was in sports.
At a basketball game it’s often shouted out when a shot is blocked. And chanted rather mercilessly, too.
But then I learned about a different side of the word rejection….
See…I’d never planned on being a writer when I grew up. Never had that dream. So, I had no clue what I would experience when I finished my first novel.
My best friend told me to, “Take the next step.”
I was like, “Okay” and I started surfing the internet trying to find out what that next step might be. I mean, I didn’t even know a writer to ask them…
So, the first thing I found out was “you need to get an agent.” I start searching online….needless to say, I didn’t really understand that I needed to try and find an agent AFTER my manuscript had been critiqued.
Um…yeah. **blushes**
So, you can pretty much guess my manuscript was totally rejected.
And rightfully so!
I didn’t really understand the weight of a rejection yet, though…until I found a crit group and started writing more novels. As I grew in my craft I figured I was ready to send out a few more queries.
Now those rejections stung a little more. Because I’d started spending more time and money honing the craft. Before, I was just clueless.
But, I didn’t let the rejections get me down. I learned from them. Took suggestions and comments that were offered to heart. It made me press on. I kept taking the next step.
And on March 11th, 2011, I signed a contract for my debut novel, Wasteland, and it releases in September from Crescent Moon Press.
So, whether you’re a writer or not, don’t let rejection get you down. Use it as a motivator and keep taking the next step. I mean, I’ve had some bumps along the way, but I truly believe that’s just part of the journey. Not the “funnest” part, but a part.
Write on, my friends!
Your Friday Fox,
Lynn Rush!
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Excellent post, Lynn! And I love the cover for Wasteland…proof that no matter how many rejections it takes, the reward is so worth it. I can’t wait to read it.
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Thanks, Micki!! 🙂
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Great post, Lynn. You’re right, rejection should be a stepping stone springing you to the next level, not a brick wall that stops you dead. Woo-hoo for Wasteland!!
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Totally!!! 🙂 Stepping Stone…I like it!
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Congratulations, Lynn and thanks for the encouragement to the rest of us.
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I never thought of using rejection as a ‘motivator’ per se. The rejections are among the hurdles or obstacles we face as writers. They represent being ‘knocked down’. Whether we get back up of just roll over and play dead is the dynamic which varies in all of us. So, yeah, in that back-handed sort of way, I suppose rejection has ‘motivated’ me to continue to write. But I could also say ‘stubbornness’ has motivated me to some extent.
More than any of those, however, is a lifelong dream of sharing what I write with readers who acquire it because they LIKE it. Not because it was assigned (like in school) or under pressure (as in “please read this and tell me what you think”). My dream is a goodly number of readers who see my material on a shelf, on in a catalog, or on a list …and say, “That looks interesting” or “that looks entertaining” … or whatever type of book it happens to be.
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Congrats Lynn,
My human can commiserate with you. Don’t know how many RLs you’ve gone through, but he had enough to paper the Hilton hotel before…….
Sandy
http://www.sandysays1.wordpress.com
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