Wednesday, September 08, 2010

When Life Throws You Lemons

Recently I asked my Facebook friends the question "when life throws you lemons, what do you do?"

Common answers were "Duck!" "Make Lemonade!" and one said, "Duck, and then make lemonade!"

When it comes to rejections in the writing world, the "duck and then make lemonade" rings true. It's easy to tell others to just shrug it off and continue on, but when it happens to you, it's a bit more personal. The advice is good, but it may take a while to reach that point where you want to make lemonade.

First, you must lick your wounds. If that means you retreat from the writing world for a day or so, then do it! But, then you must come back with a vengeance. Rejection letters do not mean that you will not become published. Instead, a rejection letter should be looked upon as a rite of passage. You must submit your work to receive a rejection letter, so that means you've come much farther than a lot of people. Now, you just need to find the right agent or editor. That takes a lot of work and perseverance...a lot of lemonade.

So, hang in there and don't just duck when you get bombarded with lemons. Pick them up and make gallons of lemonade!

Thanks for stopping by!

2 comments:

Jennifer Shirk said...

Good advice. Don't let those lemons rot. :)

Maggie Toussaint said...

Hi Carol Ann! Lemonade - it's something I've got a lot of, and it comes from agents, editors, and reviewers, in little bits. There are times I feel as if I have a lemonade IV. You know those times - everything seems a bit off and the world is busy tossing those lemons at ya. Hopefully, I'll adjust to mainlining the stuff!