Being a professional writer is, to me, all about rejection. There’s a lot of it. A metric shit ton, cubed and delivered. Pardon my French. Oh, I’m not alone with this. My twitter feed is filled with advice from the writing community, posting every day.

“Don’t give up!”

“Rejection does NOT define you.”

They’re fantastic, by the way. The support I’ve gotten from complete strangers has been staggering. And yet, I’m sure the old writer adage holds up still, to this day. “The difference between a published writer and an unpublished one is that the published writer does not give up.”

But can we talk for a second about how hard that is? You try not to let it bother you. But it does. You see, I’m a positive person. I try to look at the positives of a situation and make the most out of a bad one. For me there’s no point in looking towards the negativity because it doesn’t help me at all, you know?

Doesn’t help anyone for that matter, but I think you get what I’m trying to say here. You can let the negatives weigh you down, or you can look towards the positives and pick yourself back up.

I think that’s why this Writer’s Rejection is getting to me so much. So many factors weigh against you that it’s impossible not to feel down at least a little bit. Where’s the light at the end of the tunnel? Where’s the green grass on the other side? Why is this damn industry so rooted in old tradition that doesn’t work anymore?

I have been officially rejected by agents whom I’ve queried thirty-two times. Unofficially the number is higher since I’m only counting the official form rejection emails which I’ve received back from my queries.

I keep each one, putting them in their own folder in my mailbox. Then I continue the search.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?

It sometimes feels like I’m spinning the tires in the dirt. I’m making a big mess, and I’m not moving anywhere. But the thing is, that’s how you get out of the hole. Look up any of the great writers of our time. Stephen King, George R.R. Martin. Basically, pick a book and look at the author. With few exceptions, they all have a stack of rejection slips somewhere.

“It’s good, but it’s not for us.”

A few successes change that “not for us” part in a BIG hurry. So I’m told, anyway.

The decision to publish my upcoming novel Far from Ordinary on Amazon was a tough one, at first. But why not! The goal for me was to publish a book. And, soon enough, that dream will be a reality.

I’m pushing through the wall of rejection, little by little. It’s not always easy, but anything worthwhile rarely is. It’s not going to define me as a writer, or as a person. It is not going to bring me down. Not anymore. 

I get to live my dream – my best life – every day. What could be better than that?