So today I want to talk about rejection. I haven’t gotten a rejection letter in a while, but that’s only because I haven’t submitted anything new in a while. Rejection is a part of the writer’s life. I bet every one of us has a file full of rejection letters - from agents, publishers, conference planners, etc. Or maybe the feeling of rejection comes from reviewers or poor sales numbers. Regardless, if we’re working anywhere in the arts, we’ve heard “no thank you” more than once. It’s a challenge. We’ve put our heart and soul into this creative baby of ours, and not everyone loves it like we do.

I tend to talk about sports a lot in my posts, baseball in particular. Team play teaches us many lessons, and one of the most important is how to lose graciously. Loss and rejection feel pretty similar. Sometimes, in hind site, we could have done something differently, better. But sometimes, we’ve done all we can and we don’t walk away with the win, or the signed contract, as the case may be.

Losing has taught my kids how to shake hands and congratulate the victor, respect the officials’ calls, appreciate an elevated level of play, take an honest look at where they need to work harder, and finally, let go and show up on the field again the next day. They’re good lessons, and ones I try to embrace every day.