IWSG: Valuable Lessons
It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means hundreds of us will be posting about our insecurities. If you haven't yet, join in. You'll be glad you did!
Each month we have a question. This month's question is:
What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?
When I think back to the moment I had the brilliant idea of writing a novel, I realize I've learned so much. But some of the best lessons I've learned have been through the very thing that might have led me to give up.
After a while, you get used to rejection, as strange as that sounds. Sure, it's hard. It's always hard. But it's also a good thing. The more you're being rejected, the more you're putting yourself out there.
Even after you've landed an agent and sold your first, second, third, and fourth books, rejection will be here to stay. Maybe Stephen King doesn't get rejected (not sure about that), but almost every other author does. It's not a rejection of us--it never was. It's a rejection of the particular book we're sending at that exact moment.
As a full-time freelance writer, rejection is part of my day job, too. I put myself out there for opportunities all the time, only to get radio silence in response. Eventually, you start to think of it as playing the odds. If you put yourself out there 50 times and one pays off, it's worth it, right?
Even with all the rejections, we wouldn't be doing anything else. What other career gives you the possibility on any given day that amazing things could happen? Life-changing things? It kind of makes the rollercoaster worth it.
What are you insecure about this month?
Each month we have a question. This month's question is:
What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?
When I think back to the moment I had the brilliant idea of writing a novel, I realize I've learned so much. But some of the best lessons I've learned have been through the very thing that might have led me to give up.
After a while, you get used to rejection, as strange as that sounds. Sure, it's hard. It's always hard. But it's also a good thing. The more you're being rejected, the more you're putting yourself out there.
Even after you've landed an agent and sold your first, second, third, and fourth books, rejection will be here to stay. Maybe Stephen King doesn't get rejected (not sure about that), but almost every other author does. It's not a rejection of us--it never was. It's a rejection of the particular book we're sending at that exact moment.
As a full-time freelance writer, rejection is part of my day job, too. I put myself out there for opportunities all the time, only to get radio silence in response. Eventually, you start to think of it as playing the odds. If you put yourself out there 50 times and one pays off, it's worth it, right?
Even with all the rejections, we wouldn't be doing anything else. What other career gives you the possibility on any given day that amazing things could happen? Life-changing things? It kind of makes the rollercoaster worth it.
What are you insecure about this month?
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message 1:
by
Jennifer
(new)
Jul 12, 2017 08:17AM
Rejection is tough, for sure! And even once our novels are published, we face rejection from readers at times. ;-)
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