by Charlotte Bennardo
Everyone knows what a rebound means: in basketball, it means to catch the ball when it doesn't go in the basket and make another shot. In love, it means to find a new partner/spouse/companion after a breakup. When someone says, I'll catch you on the rebound, it means to catch up with someone another time.
For me as a writer, it means that when I receive rejections from editors and agents, I don't throw in the towel and quit. I may (and usually do) throw a tantrum, but I keep on going. I keep submitting, querying, and writing. By keeping my 'head in the game' I may catch that one 'shot', that one agent or editor that wants my work- allowing me to score a win, a contract.
A failed shot, a rejection, means I have to focus on my craft, look for submission opportunities and approachable agents/editors, and mostly, believe in myself and my work. There should never be a one and done in writing. I advise beginning writers all the time, and remind myself, that one person (editor or agent), at a specific time, with one particular manuscript is not the singular answer. Just like a basketball player gets more than one chance to make other shots, so we as writers get more chances for success--if we keep our head in the game and don't let one failed shot define us.
As a writer, it's always Game Time!
Charlotte writes MG, YA, NA, and adult novels in sci fi, fantasy, contemporary, and paranormal genres. She is the author of the award-winning middle grade Evolution Revolution trilogy, Simple Machines, Simple Plans, and Simple Lessons. She co-authored the YA novels Blonde OPS, Sirenz, and Sirenz Back in Fashion. She has two short stories in the Beware the Little White Rabbit (Alice through the Wormhole) and Scare Me to Sleep (Faces in the Wood) anthologies. Having finished her MFA, she's applying what she learned and is working on several children's and adult novels, along with some short stories. She lives in NJ with her family and her floofy cat. When they trimmed the backyard tree, the crazy squirrel couple had to move out.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteSo true about the one failed shot.
ReplyDelete