In
The Times late last year there was an article on how writers cope with rejection.
Three quotes stood out, one from essayist and memoirist TobyYoung (“How to Lose
Friends and Alienate People”):
“I treat each rejection as just more oxygen, each failure as one more obstacle to overcome. You have to get into the mindset of enjoying being challenged. When I felt left down by the people who fired me, I just wanted to prove they were wrong. I was determined to demonstrate that I’m not useless, I’m actually a person of extraordinary ability.”
Screenwriter
and playwright Ronald Harwood (“The Pianist,” “The Dresser”) said:
“In a creative life you have to keep faith with yourself. If you take the
knocks too deeply, it kills the creative process. You have to believe that the
work you do is better than they say it is. I try not to read any negative
reviews.”
And, finally, children’s author Judy Blume said this about two years of getting nothing but rejections:
“I would go to sleep at night feeling I’d never be published, but wake up in the morning convinced I would. Each time I sent a story to a publisher, I’d begin something new. I was learning more each time. Determination is as important as talent.”
I think Blume’s notion of learning more each time is crucial—without that, determination can just be treading a path deeper in the wrong direction. But with learning and determination, we get closer to the goal.
(You'll find encouragement as well as practical tips in my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
