Viva The Rejections!

“How would we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be, 
Let the more loving one be me.”  W.H. Auden, taken from, The More Loving One
 
 




Being appreciated and recognized as a writer is lovely.  – Acceptance and recognition is something that we want but rejections, being edited and rebuffed are part of the writer's life.  However,  when we do get an acceptance from a publisher or editor,  we often forget all the rejections it took to get there. I could wall paper my home with the rejections I received on my first  manuscript. I landed Doubleday with that book. I had rejections from agents and publishers for my latest manuscript (my 11th book), until I received a contract from Shanti Arts. A perfect publisher for this book and its message.

I see that all my acceptances (even in personal relationships) are built on upon a multitude of rejections. 

So, viva la rejections. This literally translates into LIVE THE REJECTIONS. 

Then, after the acceptances, comes the editing, which becomes another dance of letting go on what we thought our piece would look like. The editor will reject some of your sentences, and challenge your ideas and how you present them on the page. Excellent! These mini rejets are again what will lead to something beautifully written.

So viva the mini rejections!

I submitted a feature article to the local paper, not having all the skills for this particular genre of writing. The editor accepted my article but I had to work on the craft of writing for a paper. So, his mini rejets made for a better article.  

"Love the piece more than yourself,"  Matt Geiger, executive editor of the local paper said to me (as he challenged some of my writing!). Such great advice to all of us writers: make the piece more important than feeding your ego. Have our focus be on making something beautiful, or at least something of interest to our readers.  
 
In this weeks consultation with the I Ching I received: "Concern yourself not with the form things take but with there content." An invitation to cut through my bravado and concerns about appearances . Instead, I can focus on what makes this piece genuine and meaningful to me, and hopefully, to my readers. 

Create something meaningful for readers from your JOURNALS and NOTES. Or learn how to USE YOUR JOURNALS and notes to make a great written piece. From Journal to Reader: 4 Evenings of Turning Your Ideas and Journals into Blogs, Articles, Essays, or Book for Readers. 4 Thursday nights, two  in June and two in July at Healing Services on the River in Prairie du Sac. June 14th and 28th; July 11th and 25th.  5:30 pm till 9:00. Room for 10. Register soon, as this will fill up fast. Your investment is $220.00, includes personal attention and consultation and critique of 10 pages. You will leave with a solid template and path to sharing your ideas with the world.  Contact me at [email protected].  

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