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.