Yay, you did it!
Take a bow.
While tediously laboring over your book manuscript, you quickly transformed into a sleep-deprived, caffeine-addicted insomniac.
This production wasn’t like writing your grade school book report on the Adventures of Tom Sawyer or the essay explaining how your dog ate your homework — this was, in your opinion —a masterpiece.
Relieved that your final edit was completed, you moved to the next step in the process — submitting the work. Your hour-long stare at the submit button caused you to sweat profusely and experience a racing heart.
Fear and anxiety had developed.
Resolving to move beyond such paralyzing emotions, you courageously took the plunge —pressed submit — and resolved to wait it out. Although patience was one of your strong points, it’s not for the faint of heart. So, with eager anticipation, you waited for the publisher’s acceptance reply.
Waiting can be downright painful — even physically painful. And never, ever hearing back from the publisher is like being blindfolded and thrown in a torture chamber. It goes with the territory, and it’s a vital process of the writing journey.
During the progression of your writing career, waiting for a response is both inevitable and necessary. There are no workarounds or shortcuts. Nobody is exempt, and it’s an agonizing challenge all writers must face.
We’re all willing to wait. But for how long?
The Tormenting Delay
A publisher’s delayed response felt like an eternity. The negative thoughts that flooded your mind led you to make assumptions about the publisher’s reasons for the delay, like
- A down email server
- Out sick or vacationing
- They’re swamped with submissions.
- The manuscript landed in file 13
Staring at your MacBook Pro and repeatedly refreshing email messages in hopes of a reply was pointless. You checked incoming email messages a dozen times to no avail.
After three agonizing days of stomach-turning fear, you began to panic. Then the days turned into weeks, then an entire month. You never heard anything back — not even a peep.
Not even the customary “we’re not interested” rejection letter — nothing, zero, zilch, nada.
Then, it hit you.
It was a feeling akin to being gut-punched, thus, forcing you to face your greatest fear.
Fear of the unknown.
The excitement of finally getting published suddenly turned into a catastrophic nightmare. This threw you into a profound state of insanity, and your mind flooded with a myriad of anxious thoughts. What then followed was an anxiety-inducing lump in your throat.
You thought, “What a bummer.”
The toddler-temper-tantrum-get-what-you-want-when-you-want-it meltdown began. You then slumped over into a state of despair while banging your head and fist on your desk while dramatically crying out,
“Why? Why? Why?”
This juvenile entitlement reaction revealed it was time for a reality check. Once you emerge from your rejection-induced coma, you must gaze into the mirror to see what’s staring back at you. It might surprise you.
Reflections of Pride and Arrogance
Wiping away your mirror’s hazy fog will allow you to see yourself truthfully and clearly.
Stare at yourself intensely.
What reflection did you get? Who do you see?
The shocking truth might feel like being gut-punched, thus, leaving you in a daze of reality.
What you see in the mirror are the side effects of rejection: pride and arrogance.
Don’t believe me?
Read what this publication says about it:
According to a published article in Entrepreneur.com,
“Nobody is immune to pride and arrogance. To say you’re beyond pride and arrogance is a little…well…prideful and arrogant. Losing is the glass of water for that bitter pill of pride. But that unpleasant process gives birth to humility. Which is perhaps the most attractive and profitable virtue anyone can possess.
As the well-known proverb goes, pride goeth before the fall. Rejection and loss exchanges pride for humility, and humility may be the saviour that keeps you from a truly damaging fall.”
Being affected by rejection can lead to pride, but humility is a mark of maturity. Of course, you probably didn’t realize it until now. Or, if you’re really “full of yourself,” you’re probably in denial.
We’ve all been arrogant and prideful at some point in our writing career journey. I have, and so have you.
Please don’t say, “No, not me!”
Okay, I’ll admit it for you.
You, too.
The rejection made you think, “How dare they reject such a masterpiece!”
For some reason, you assumed the editor was flattered they had finally met Einstein incarnate. You assumed possessing impeccable writing skills guaranteed acceptance of your priceless work.
Why?
Because you’re the expert, genius, mastermind, pro, guru, and so on.
You have convinced your submission “glittered with gold.” And you were delusional enough to think you were the best writer ever to walk planet Earth.
The “best thing since sliced bread, huh?”
So, you thought.
Rejection is the driving force behind mastering the writing craft because it motivates us to analyze, learn, observe, improve, adapt, and grow. Even a successful author like JK Rowling has experienced Rejection at some point in her career.
According to an article published in Forbes Magazine, How To Deal With Rejection As A Writer,
What Makes a Great Writer?
Great writers can swallow their pride and remain open to constructive criticism. It’s part of evolving as a writer. We’re all a group of growth-in-progress word enthusiasts. Let’s lean on each other for support and feedback since we’re on the same journey.
Remember this: You’re not always going to hear “Bravo!” or receive recognition.
Just write, relax, have fun, and enjoy the process. When you master those things, you’ve already succeeded as a writer.
Eventually, we’ll evolve into better writers, but only when we look in the mirror, remove the blinders, erase the fog, and face the reality that we all struggle with the same human frailties: pride and arrogance.
Humility is the key to sustaining your success; conversely, if we shift to arrogance, we will remain stagnant. Further, we’ll miss out on the opportunity to explore new ways of honing our craft and, consequently, thwart our potential for personal growth.
Are you ready to assess your reflection in the mirror?
If so, you may realize that pride hinders you while humility propels you on your writing journey.