The Dreaded Rejection

When I first started writing, the idea of someone rejecting my work was always in the back of my mind.  For a really long time, I didn't tell anybody I was writing.  What if they asked to read it?  What if they laughed at me?  What if they hated it?  What if they loved it?  All these thoughts circled through my head for months, but still I continued to write because once I started, there was no way I could stop.

Finally, I got the nerve to tell my husband.  He was so supportive, beyond supportive.  He was awesome.  My husband is not a reader, unless you count Sports Illustrated (yes, I know, I can't imagine either), and he definitely doesn't read what I write.  So, even though he was supportive, he wasn't a good person to critique it.  I kept writing and now I actually had someone I could talk to about the process.  I still hadn't let anyone read it.  I told a couple more people.  Finally, I told a friend who was immediately like, "You have to let me read it."  I was terrified.  Terrified!  When I got the nerve to print out a couple of copies and took one over to her house, I handed it to her with trembling hands.

All I could do was wait.  I waited for a couple of days.  Didn't call because I didn't want to pressure her.  Two days after handing it to her on her front stoop, she texted and said, "I loved it!  Do you have another for me?"

The best compliment anyone could give me.  She wanted to read more!

I got similar positive feedback from others so I decided to submit it.  Rejection after rejection poured in.  The first couple brought me to tears.  I obsessed about each one for days until the next came in.  After a few months with no success, I tabled that first manuscript and moved on to another and another and then another.

Now, I can look back and realize I faced one of my biggest fears.  Rejection had always been difficult for me to the point where sometimes I didn't even try.  I think that's why I waited to try my hand at writing my first novel until my mid-thirties.  As I prepare to start the submission phase again, I realize there is no fear this time.  Rejection is a valuable part of the process.  You grow from it and you get better.  Most importantly, you get stronger.

So, here I go.  Ready to get rejected, many times probably!