I have the skin of a rhinoceros

Listening to: Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

Mood: Preoccupied

Whether a querying author, one on submission to publishers, or are already published, we’ve all been dealt blows that make us question ourselves (and our work). Querying authors are just trying to get one agent to love their work. Authors on submission desperately want a publishing house to pick up their story. Published authors have to deal with harsh comments from reviewers and readers who don’t like their novel. The business of publishing requires a thick skin.

Listen, rejection SUCKS. It hurts. You’ve put your heart, soul, sweat, blood, tears, and sleepless nights into your manuscript. Every “no” can feel personal; each rejection like a stab in the heart. Sometimes it more painful than having your heart broken by someone you love. We’ve all had our share of those, and that feeling of being inadequate, unwanted, , can be suffocating.

So when I get a rejection, I allow myself a five minute pity party, followed by some conciliatory shopping, and then I get the fuck over it. I press on. I try harder, do better, and keep working towards my dream. But I don’t give up. I NEVER give up. I wrap myself in more mental armor and charge forth, sword (figuratively) drawn, ready to revise my story or tighten my prose further.

It takes a lot to train yourself to have thick skin, but every writer I know has it in some form or another. We have to in such a subjective field if we want to persevere and not abandon all hope.