Writing as a way to collect rejection slips

It has occurred to me that writing is a laborious way of collecting rejection slips. I got my first one in 1979 and publishers turning down my manuscripts still outnumber the times they have agreed to publish my work by a factor of ten or so.

Getting a rejection slip is a disappointment for any author. Here you are, pouring your soul or at least many hours into a project and some stranger says it's not worth publishing. Feeling hurt, wronged or angry is normal.

But it would be wrong to assume t...