Taking the positives from the rejections

Rejection is something that all authors have to deal with at one point or another, but for a new author struggling to get their work recognised it can be so deflating, so demoralising.  We can cope with perhaps one or two by just brushing them aside, but three or four - twenty?  It is so hard not to think 'oh what's the point?' and give up.
So, can there possibly be anything positive to take from the many rejections?  I believe there is.

Firstly, anything that comes too easily to us is never appreciated in quite the same way as something we have had to struggle and strive for.  It's hard at the time of the struggling and striving, but when you finally get there - well that feeling just needs to be bottled!  Remember as a kid learning to swim?  Ride a bike?  Watching all the other kids doing with ease what you're finding so difficult to grasp?
It's the same with anything we desperately want we've got to be prepared to face the obstacles and keep on trying to overcome them: persistence is the key.

Also, remember that you are not alone; others are going through exactly the same struggle, so find some way to connect with them and share their experiences.  Social media is great for this and if you are a self publisher use the forums provided.

But, the biggest way to deal with rejection is to look at all those best selling authors who were at one point in exactly the same position as you.  J. K. Rowling didn't give up and accept the rejections!
Publishers and Agents are like any other business - they need to be able to make money.  It doesn't matter how good your book is, how well written, if they don't feel there is a market for it you're hit with the rejection stamp without a second thought!  It's not always that your work is rubbish, not worthy of print, a lot of the time it's because it's different.  It's not what is trending at the time. This is good!  Be original!  Don't try to be the next J.K. Rowling because you never will.  For me the biggest part of the charm of the Harry Potter books was their originality.  They were just so different from anything else that was about at the time. Their uniqueness unfortunately earned them many a rejection, but in the end that same uniqueness helped them sell in their millions.

Another obstacle to your success as far as publishers are concerned is that you're not already 'famous'.  You don't have a name that will sell.  How many books out there that are written by already 'famous' people would have avoided the rejection stamp if they had been written by you or I?  This may not appear to be a positive, but it is.  It means there is hope.  If you read a book and think, genuinely mine is as good as that,then that is a positive.

And finally, always always always counter any rejection with any positive reviews for your work.  At the end of the day it's what the reader thinks not the businessman/publisher!  If you have a small audience that love your work that audience will inevitably grow.  They will talk.  They will recommend. They will sell your book better than anyone else!

Keep positive!

Kim

Dealing with distractions........or not

I have been wondering if I'm the only person that this happens to; you get a precious couple of hours to yourself to sit down and actually get those ideas that have been running around in your head for so long into format, but as soon as you do those niggling little voices start..............shouldn't you be dusting, hoovering, washing up, weeding the garden?  Ok, easy solution to that - do all that stuff first!  The trouble with this is then those precious couple of hours you had to yourself have suddenly disappeared and you haven't written a word!
My biggest niggle is the one that insists after a full day at work, and all that entails that I am then too tired to write. I've been looking forward to coming home to do just that and then as soon as I sit down at my laptop the little niggle insists that nah, you're way too tired to concentrate, just give it up.
Too often I give in to the niggle and end up falling asleep.  I then wake up the next morning really frustrated with myself that I've let another evening slip by without doing anything and am determined to not do it again................right?

So, I've been experimenting with a few things to get my focus back and banish the niggle.  Here are some of the things that seem to be working for now:

1. Reading - if I loose myself in a good book, preferably something along the same lines as the stuff I'm writing this seems to silence the niggle.  At the moment I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books to help me get into the fantasy mind-set that I need for Prudence.

2. Listening to some suitable music.  Depending on what is happening in your narrative the right kind of music can be so inspiring.  Music has always been one of the biggest sources of inspiration for me as I believe I may have mentioned in a previous post, and it never fails to stir the creative juices!  Of course, it has to be the right kind of music in order to create the right mood.  For instance, at the moment Prudence is in a particularly tight spot and is about to face a fierce battle to defend the capital city of Ealdhun, so listening to something light and frivolous is hardly going to create the right atmosphere for the tension and drama I am trying to portray.

3.  Going for a walk.  It's summer, which means nice, light, long evenings, so sometimes it's just nice to  switch off and get out in the fresh air - particularly when you've been stuck indoors at work all day.  This is not something I have tried for a while as at the moment nos. 1 and 2 seem to be working pretty well, but it is something I've done in the past to get my focus back.

As you have probably gathered by now if you have read my previous posts, discipline is not one of my greatest features.  Writing can be a terrible series of highs and lows.  It can also be a tad lonely; it's not a 'team sport' and when you hit one of those lows and the niggles start to take over and hold you down it's hard sometimes to talk yourself back into a more positive frame of mind and get you back on track with your writing.

So on that somewhat depressing note (sorry!)  I would love to hear your ideas for keeping your focus whilst writing.

Kim