Dealing the Rejection as a Writer
Have you ever been picked last for something – or worse, not picked at all? The Director of Education approached me about teaching a class on Wednesday nights and I eagerly agreed. My husband has surgery the night of the first class, but he pushed to wake up so that we would be able to make it home in time for me to teach.
I arrived in the class room and prepared for the evening. I sat in that empty classroom for the whole hour feeling like the last man standing. All of the other kids were playing in their groups and I was left alone in the corner of the playground.
Being rejected comes with the writing territory. There will always been an editor, publisher, agent or reader that does not like the words that I produce. It is a fact of the industry. How I deal with rejections determines how far I will go in the industry.
No one WANTS to be last. No one WANTS to be ignored. No one WANTS to be left out. That fear of rejection can be the one factor that holds many people back from pursuing their dreams.
I met again with the Director of Education and she was hurt for me that no one had come to the class. She was trying to keep me from falling into the pit of “I’m not good enough.” I know that I have talents and abilities. I have been in a position to lead a writing workshop, be one of the lead instructors at a writing workshop and spoken to groups of 100, 200 and hundreds online. The more I do, the more opportunities open up.
Being alone was not all that painful. I used the time to begin tweaking the next week of material and thinking about how I could develop the classes into an online study. I choose to see the possibility and not the disappointment.
Rejection can be accepted. It will begin to dictate your direction and your path. Accepting rejection will cut short your future opportunities.
Rejection can be turned back on itself and rejected in its entirety. You become like the kid with his hand in his ears screaming “I can’t hear you.” The same steps continue to be taken with the same results occurring.
Rejection can be taken in and developed into possibility. Look at the why or how and understand the actions of others. Never take them personally, but look at them with an objective eye. Then you will be able to launch your own actions to the rejections that will allow you to leap into the possibilities that the future holds.
