Today I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw a post from an author in tears because she’d written several children’s books that hadn’t been published yet. Granted, I don’t know her particular circumstances, but based on her tearful assertions all I could think was, “Really?”
In this business rejection is inevitable. Multiple rejections are inevitable. There are mediocre writers who get book deals. There are amazing writers who get rejection letters. Writing isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be frustrating, grinding, emotionally draining work. There aren’t any guarantees you will ever be published. Writers write because they have no other choice. I write because it’s my joy, and if I never get “the call” I, like most writers, would still write.
If the author expected the path to publication to be quick, smooth, or easy she was bound to be disappointed. Because she measured success by such a narrow standard, anything less than traditional publication meant failure to her. Rather than celebrating the accomplishment of completing several books, she bemoaned being rejected by yet another publisher.
While I understand and sympathize with her disappointment, relying solely on being published as validation of her work is misguided. She should know the value and quality of her writing regardless of how many rejection letters she receives. Crying on Instagram isn’t going to secure a book deal or make her appear professional in the eyes of a publisher, editor, or agent.
Writers must be thick-skinned because we expose our soft, vulnerable, creative selves to the world and often get rejected. Our skin thickens with each publisher’s rejection, harsh book critique, and negative review.
I hope the author learns to see her completed, unpublished work as a success and grows a thicker skin, one that will insulate her from her own doubts and insecurities. The path to publication will always be difficult, and the challenges will only intensify once she becomes a published author.
Wishing you (and her) happily ever after.
Lynn
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