Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Gaze into my crystal (rejectomancy) ball...

Some days should just not be allowed. At the moment it is days with a 'y' in them.  Despite my mood I have managed to find some more juicy links for you. There is this lovely run down on 25 things every writer should know about rejection from terrible minds (via janet reid ). I have wittered on about the subtle art of rejectomancy in the past. Here Mr Wendig explains how time and multiple rejections hone our rejectomancy skills (No. 24). The more you read, the more you know about the writing business, the more able you are to recognise what different types of rejection are actually telling you. Here, finally, is a plus in having received many rejections. There are differences and they do have different meanings. Some are indeed positive and encouraging and manage to give you hope and faith about your writing even though they are still saying 'no'. I think it is also important to note that editors/agents do not always get it right and one rejection should not be seen as the final word on a manuscript.

My other lovely link is uplifting and disheartening all at once - Sandra, in her post on Bad Reviews, reminds us that relying on the praise of others is ultimately futile. There is a wonderful logic to this that cheers me up, however having had some nice reviews recently I am now wondering if I must regard these with the same eye with which I would regard a poor review. Perhaps it is futile to rely on the praise of others but what I will cling on to is the idea that people are reading my book.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Melinda
I regularly read your blog and enjoy it a lot. Your opinions and experiences are always thought provoking and intelligent. So thank you for sharing your journey.
I've come to the realisation that I harbour a dream to be a writer of fiction for children but it really does seem impossible! The New Zealand industry is so small and it seems dominated by a few. Realistically what are the chances of published?
Kath

Melinda Szymanik said...

Wow Kath, thank you for the nice words :) Blogging often feels like I'm talking to myself so its very encouraging to know that someone is reading and what's more, finding it useful or interesting.

NZ writers of children's fiction are definitely still getting published, both previously published and new writers too. Don't give up. I think I'll have to blog about this...

cheers
Melinda