Monday, July 11, 2005

Rejection Blues

Today I received another rejection letter. :(

The editor made the effort to give me detailed feedback, for which I'm grateful. I can use it to revise the story and make it better. But not yet.

I have to set aside that manuscript and work on something else. Rejections are a part of the writing business but still manage to give me a 24-hour case of the blues. Ordinarily I'd drown my sorrow in a big Hershey bar, but I'm on Week 3 of the South Beach Diet. :

So today I'm celebrating the 5 pounds I lost in 2 weeks instead of the disappointment of yet another of my "children" being turned down for publication.

My critique partners have been wonderful to commiserate with me. However, there's no benefit to prolonged pity-parties, hence the 24-hour limit. Tomorrow I'll begin again with another project and renewed passion. Tonight I'm drinking hot tea and wishing it were a Pecan Cluster Blizzard from Dairy Queen. :)

Cheryl

3 comments:

Patricia Rice said...

ha, I actually found your blog even though the search function didn't work.

Total sympathy on the rejection. It's like being slapped in the face with a wet fish and told you stink. It's a personal stab to a writer, even though it's only business to an editor.

Since I don't keep chocolate in the house, I just beat up things when I'm furious with the business. Stomp on the rejection letter a while. Make copies of it and think of creative ways of demolishing it. Eat it, if you have to. How many calories does paper have?

Charlee said...

Hi Cheri,

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging from a fellow First Coast Cheryl. :) Sorry to hear of your rejection. I can’t imagine trying to face one without chocolate. You are so brave! My favorite rejection food is ice cream and hot fudge.

Your news strikes close to home. My current WIP is targeted toward Silhouette Desire. I don’t have a back up plan for this work at this point. I guess if the big-H doesn’t want it, I’ll have to do some research on alternative markets.

Good luck revising the manuscript. You never know when the timing will be right.

Wishing you cyber-chocolate. At least it’s no calorie. ;)

Cheryl Norman said...

Thanks, my dear writing friends, for cheering me. It means a lot.

I bought some chocolate caramel tea. No joke! It's by Celestials Seasonings and if I add a Tablespoon of half-and-half and a packet of Splenda®, it's almost like having a wicked dessert. Almost.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments.

Cheryl