Season 3, Episode 13 - Embracing Rejection and Failure in Your Writing Journey
Hosts: Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid
Episode Theme: Navigating Failure and Rejection in Writing
Key Discussion Points:
1. Personal Experience with Rejection:
- Shared a recent rejection of their Cat’s Rule picture book.
- Importance of closure in rejections, even without feedback.
2. Interpreting Rejection:
- Sometimes, rejections hide internal conflicts within publishing companies.
- Creating narratives around rejections can be a coping mechanism.
3. Detaching Emotion from Rejection:
- Lisa's approach: Rejection is not personal; it's part of the writer's journey.
- The literary world's competitiveness requires resilience.
4. Strategies for Handling Rejection:
- Reframe Rejection: It's not a measure of your worth as a writer or person.
- Feedback is Gold: Use any feedback from rejections to improve.
- Query in Batches: Small batches of queries can help identify and fix issues faster.
- Celebrate Small Wins: Finishing a manuscript is a significant achievement.
5. Learning from Rejection:
- Every rejection is an opportunity to grow and refine your craft.
- Success stories are often built on numerous rejections.
6. Building a Support Network:
- Importance of having a community that understands and supports you.
- Sharing rejections and victories helps build resilience.
7. Staying in the Game:
- Writing is an endurance game; persistence is key.
- The journey is as important as the destination.
Conclusion:
- Embrace rejection as a step towards growth.
- Keep writing, submitting, and believing in your journey.
Next Episode Teaser:
- Discussion with Lisa Riddiough on rhyming picture books.
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