Importune – definition: to plead or beg persistently
When we submit our work, whether to a publishing house or a magazine, our natural instinct is to silently plead that it is accepted. We make bargains that if we are successful we will do x,y, or z. Then we wait; the hardest part. An email pops up weeks (or even months) later and once again we plead before opening it up and reading the response to our submission.
Rejections are part of the writing life, an occupational hazard you might say. We can sit and feel sorry for ourselves or use them as a learning tool. The latter is harder to do but with persistence it pays off. If we are lucky we received comments on the rejection – these nuggets of advice are worth their weight in gold. Re-work your article or revise your novel – tomorrow is another day and another chance.
I found this great interview on Joanna Penn’s blog,The Creative Penn, which deals with this topic. Pop on over to read it.
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/04/07/writing-tips-persistence/
How do you maintain your optimism?
Check this post about rejection : http://mikeallegra.com/2012/12/07/my-second-repost-my-rejection-collection/
All I can say is, all great writers have been through it. I’ve read Stephen King’s On Writing and his life story is quite remarkable. I wouldn’t know how it feels like to be rejected hundreds of times (I know how it feels with women, but I don’t think it’s entirely the same!) because I’m still practicing to get better at the craft. Right now, though, I’m a bit indifferent. I mean, there’s always self-publishing, right?
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Yep, rejection is a big part of life. It’s an even bigger part of the writer’s life. I wrote a post about rejection a few months back. Check it out if you wish:
http://mikeallegra.com/2012/12/07/my-second-repost-my-rejection-collection/
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Good post..I’ll copy it into this post of mine.
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Glad ya liked it! Thanks!
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