Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Writer's Alphabet - N is for No

No.  No thank you.  Not a chance.  Nyet.  Nada.  Not in my lifetime. Not in yours.  As a writer, you will hear variations of No in every rejection letter you get.  And you will get them.  Even Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey received rejection letters. Stephen King got them.  In his book On Writing, he relates that he received so many rejection letters for "Carrie", that he papered one slanted wall in an upstairs room in his home.  And we all know what happened with him.

So, the word NO is important to you as a writer.  I have been asked in the talks I give for aspiring writers how I react to rejection letters.  I'm sure they expect me to say I handle them well, and I use every one as a jump start to a wonderful new novel, but that's not what I tell them.  I tell the the truth.  I am personally offended every time I get one.  And I am FURIOUS.  I vent and steam and rant and rage and then spent, I sit back down at the computer.  Sometimes for revenge's sake alone, I write an seriously good story.  A damn good, get-me-a-contract-quick novel.  As much as I hate to admit it (truly, i feel physical pain to admit this), that NO I received is the exact thing I have to thank for my great new story. (Ouch).

Each time you get a rejection letter, don't wax philosophic about how amazing the damn thing is.  Shred it up, throw it in the air and write your epic opus!  Or better yet, pin them to a wall in your room.  You just never know......*wink*

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