Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Insecure Writer's Support Group

Soon I will put up the first post in my Thirteen Tales of the Gothic series, but first it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh, this is a group where we share our writing woes and support one another through this challenging (and often demoralizing) process.


This October I thought I’d do something a little different and talk about the support I received after my gut-wrenching rejection last month (the subject of my last IWSG post). All of my friends, blogging buddies and critique partners immediately came to my aid with words of encouragement and offers of comfort (or in some cases, blueberry pancakes, my favorite comfort food). But one person in particular stands out as the most helpful during that depressing time – my Uncle John.

He sent me an email that said:
- Walt Disney's 1st animation company went bankrupt.
- Vicent Van Gogh sold just one painting in his lifetime - and that was to a friend.
- John Grisham's first book, A Time To Kill, took 3 years to write and was rejected 28 times. 
- Steven Spielberg was denied two times to the prestigious University of Southern California film school. Instead he attended Cal. Tech.
- Stephen King's 1st book Carrie was rejected 30 times and he threw the book in the trash. His wife retrieved it and the rest is history.

Rejection is painful, and something every writer dreads. But if everyone who’d ever been rejected quit, there’d be no Lion King or Little Mermaid, no E.T. or iconically bloody proms. Not to mention Harry Potter, which was rejected by twelve different publishing houses before it finally found a home at Bloomsberry.

So for anyone who – like Disney, Van Gogh, Grisham, Spielberg, King, Rowling, or myself – has faced rejection, follow my uncle’s advice and keep fighting.


22 comments:

  1. You uncle is awesome! And correct. Rejection sucks, but it places you one step closer to success. Just don't quit.

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  2. It's only painful because we put so much effort (and pieces of ourselves) into this. I'm glad your uncle boosted your morale.

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  3. Damn right. Keep at it. And if you ever need a reader, you have my email address.

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  4. What an amazing uncle. I love that he did that for you.

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  5. I am surprised by how many times amazing books have been rejected. It does give me hope!

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  6. Great words of wisdom! I can't believe how many times awesome books/people were rejected at first. Makes me wonder what those people who rejected them are thinking now? XD

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  7. Well said, Lauren. It is the challenges that make the rewards all the more rewarding.

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  8. Your Uncle is right, so right. Need to post that on the bulletin board!

    Good post, thanks for sharing!

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  9. Just so you know, I make the absolute best blueberry pancakes in the whole world. Seriously. They were mentioned in one of my camping posts, because I made them on our trip.
    Seriously.

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  10. Wow. I didn't know those facts - definitely encouraging.

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  11. Your Uncle John is awesome. I want to print this and hang it prominently in my writing nook so I stay encouraged, thank you so much for sharing!

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  12. Right on! Knowing the people who made big but had to face rejection is a great motivator. Great site by the way.

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  13. It's inspiring to learn about the obstacles successful people have run into as they tried to get their work out. Great post!

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  14. Good for your uncle! Not all non-writing friends and relatives really understand what rejection in the business entails, and not all of them care whether you keep going or not. Even small successes can be followed by rejections that feel like you are sinking back into failure. But it is not so.

    The path may be windy, but as long as you keep walking it, you are going somewhere.

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  15. What a great uncle. I wrote about my rejections this month too. Stupid universe.

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  16. That is always the way, sometimes people just need extra convincing that something is awesome :)

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  17. What a lovely, thoughtful email. Can I borrow Uncle John sometimes please?

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  18. Great perspective. A rejection isn't a universal condemnation of your work - rather it increases the chances that your work will be found by the right person :)

    Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom

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  19. Your uncle sounds like a wise man.

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  20. Arrg! Your blog never shows up on mu dashboard page so I keep missing your posts and I don't know why.

    Anyway, that small freak out aside, I think your Uncle John is awesome. That's a great email.

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  21. I'm not getting notifications either of your posts. Rats! Yea for Uncle John. I have a file with 26 (TWENTY SIX) rejection letters of SAVING GRACIE. I think JK Rowling got 9 so I'm WAY ahead of her:)

    Keep plugging girlie. You've got a lot of amazing stories to tell.

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