Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Tenacity

Most of you who have been at this game for awhile know all too well the sharp sting of rejection, the tempering of hope, the expectation of failure. I still recall my first request for more material about 4 WiPs ago and thinking, 'wow, I'm gonna make it.' Foolish mortal. Now that I'm a bit wiser (read: jaded), requests for more material are met with a self-defensive shrug and rejection with a quick stab to the heart masked by a quick eye-blink or two.

Yet, despite all the failure, we struggle on, not because we have to, but because there's still that seed of hope buried deep within a seemingly barren field. Now, perhaps (hopefully) you aren't as dour as I sometimes wax, but I imagine most of you have fallen prey to the indelible misery of shattered hope.

I salute you for the courage to carry on, to volunteer for rejection, to put yourselves out there. It's a hard row to hoe, and I hope all your labors come to fruition. Regardless, stay happy, stay sane, and keep swimming.

5 comments:

Davin Malasarn said...

:)


I had to laugh when you talked about requests for material. I barely even notice those anymore. Sometimes I forget to send them. :P

L. T. Host said...

Well said. Tenacity is a big quality to have in this game, because as quite a few people point out, it's really a numbers game. So, the longer you stick around, the more likely it is something will happen.

Hopefully. That's what I'm counting on, at least.

Stephanie Thornton said...

We writers have to have thick skin. It's a tough business to break into, harder than most people realize!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

"Volunteering for rejection"

Thanks for that! And sign me up. :)

dolorah said...

I'm talking big about getting on the query kick again and researching agents; but the more I think about it the happier I am to participate in blog fests and write about other people's success.

I'm looking for some tenacity myself. The prospect of putting myself - my writing - out there for serious contemplation is very scary. I commend people who have several dozen "rejections" to their name, because at least they're doing something about their dream.

I'm with you Bane; I'll tip my hat and cheer when things go well for my fellow aspiring writers.

.........dhole