If the writing business is famous for one thing it’s the rejection letter. Despite having eight published novels under my belt and two more under contract, plus a handful of short stories published in various magazines and anthologies, I continue to have work rejected on a regular basis. Rejected by my wife, who tells me this manuscript is lacking a certain sparkle. Rejected by my agent, who tells me this manuscript isn’t commercial enough for the current market. Rejected by editors who tell me that there’s no place for this manuscript in their list at the moment. Rejection just goes with the territory.
Whenever the subject of rejection comes up I think about my first days at art college. There we were, fresh out of school, terribly precious with our pencils and convinced that every drawing we did had to be a fine and finished thing. To drum that out of us, the tutors spent the first few lessons mercilessly throwing drawings on the floor and getting us to walk on them. Cruel? Maybe. But it was a highly effective way to free us greenhorns of the illusion that the act of the creation is all about the end result. Because it’s not. It’s actually about the process. Accepting artistic – and commercial – criticism is all part of the game. Accepting editorial advice is something we should all do gratefully, and gracefully.
Does that mean I don’t get pissed off when what I thought was a pretty good piece of work gets roundly trashed by everyone I show it to? Of course not. But it does mean that, after I’ve thrown things around the room and consumed a bottle or two of Cabernet Shiraz, I either set to work improving it or move on. Because there always is a next thing to move on to – you just have to seek it out.
So, my message to all you struggling writers is simply this: the struggle won’t ever go away. Yes, I’ve had some publishing success, but I’ve also got trunk novels that have never seen the light of day, a heap of equally unloved short stories and any number of pitches for books that may or may not ever find a home. I’ve had more rejections than you can shake a stick at, in other words, the most recent of which came thudding into my inbox just last week.
Is this a negative blog post, then? Not at all. It’s a call to arms. Because the next project beckons. It always does. I’m waiting for feedback on my latest pitch and who knows, maybe this will be the one that catches the lightning in the bottle. Right now, however I’ve a new short story to finish.
As for you … haven’t you got something to be getting on with too? That bestseller won’t write itself, you know.
Graham Edwards 