For Writers: How to Rebound from Rejection

Irene Latham, still writing,
in spite of it all

 While the author-journey sometimes yields Mt. Everest-type vistas, it's also pocked with valleys of despair, swamps of hopelessness and desolation.

I've experienced many a day when I've wanted to unlace my hiking boots and call in the rescue team. When I've wanted to quit, when I HAVE quit.

But here's the thing: There is only one way to fail as a writer, and that is to stop writing.

I'm here to tell you: DON'T STOP.

Or rather, stop, but only for a little while. 

Consider this your short tutorial on how to rebound from rejection from a writer who has been walking the path—and going off the trail— for quite a while now. I've had some marvelous successes! And SO. MANY. HEARTBREAKS.

Here's how to rebound from rejection:

1. Sit with it. I get really irritated when I've just gotten a rejection, and someone oh so cheerily tells me it's no big deal, just part of it, blah blah blah. It IS a big deal. Time to acknowledge that you really wanted this YES, whatever it was. That you're disappointed. No need to put on a brave face. Just own your feelings.

2. Relax. By which I mean, step away from your writing. Read, meditate, walk, kayak, do pilates. . . or whatever gets your body moving.

3. Connect with your tribe. The best way to get perspective after a crushing disappointment is to remember this is not a singular experience. All writer experience rejection. You are not alone.

4. Reframe. Ask yourself what the message is. What can be learned? What adjustments need to be made?

5. Remember: If it didn't work out, it just wasn't meant for you at this time. Something else is waiting for you. It's up to you to show up and be available to accept whatever that thing is.

6. Also remember: your words are important. The world needs your stories. You are the only one with your particular truth. You must carry on. You've been given a gift – the love of the written word, the patience and wonder it takes to create poems and stories – share it with the world. Love yourself enough to resist judgment and comparisons and envy and those other wastes of energy. Write like the world is on fire, and it's your job to save it. Write like you're an alien visiting from another planet. Write like your heart will stop beating if you don't. And someday, when you get that YES, celebrate the NO's that got you there.

7. Above all: KEEP GOING. xo
   

---

Want more insight, inspiration & imagination? SIGN UP FOR MY "ADVENTURES IN WRITING" NEWSLETTER!