Tuesday, November 17, 2009

TENACITY

Have you ever been that chubby little kid standing in the line, waiting while the team captains call out the names of the people they want on their team? You stand there, hands in your pocket, holding your breath in anticipation. "Will they call me next?" And finally by default, you are on a team. That's rejection of sorts. I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't faced some type of rejection. A boy you are madly in love with in high school, asks your best friend to the prom. Your husband continues to date, even after you are married. If you live long enough you will face rejection. Writers face rejection all the time. Stephen King replaced a nail with a spike to hold all his rejections. I can't remember the number but J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author) received an outrageous amount of rejections before she found the right publisher. When you receive a rejection you have two choices. You can whine, or you can shove it on the nail and move on to the next publisher. One of the best decisions in my writing career has been to hire Tiffany Colter, The Writing Coach. Tiffany is much more than a writing coach to me, she is also my friend. She is a published author, speaker, columnist as well as a writing career coach. She has held my hand, wiped the tears and kicked me when I needed it. If you are finished with your manuscript, but not quite ready to send it off to a publisher, you won't regret hiring this fabulous woman. When my kids were small and they were ready to quit I used to wipe the tears and say to them, "have you ever heard of Homer Glockenspeil" (if you are a real person, I apologize right this minute.) They would shake their head at me, like I had totally lost my mind. I would finish by saying, "You've never heard of Homer because he quit." My next question to them was, "Have you heard of Abraham Lincoln?" "He didn't quit." Neither can you my friend. Hang in there. Be tenacious, persevere until you have polished that manuscript, sent it off to the publisher, and you are reading the email, "we want to offer you a three book contract." When that happens, let me know. We'll do the happy dance together!

6 comments:

David Ebright said...

Katt - I recommend a visit to my friend Cheryl Pickett at The Publishing Answers Blog
http://www.publishinganswers.blogspot.com/

She has linked to an excellent article that includes stats from a NYTBS author sharing sales & income info. Eye opening - particularly the disparity between publisher take & author income. I wonder what the hourly rate works out to for this author's work.

It's an example of only one of many reasons that I chose to 'do it myself'. I never queried - EVER. No regrets. It's not in my nature to let someone dictate terms (or cover art or content or marketing duties). I'm stubborn. I do things my way - always have. Rejection? With me - What you see is what you get, always. What others think? ZZZZZZ

I DO hope you get your 3 book deal.

Kathryn Neff Perry, PhD, MA, LMHC said...

The "three book deal" is the prayer of a friend-----but I love your attitude-----thanks for your comments and thoughts Dave-----
Hugs
Katt

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I think rejection is the worst and best part of life. Those little bites of pain help sculpture us into beautiful works of art.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter said...

Kathryn,

I'm misty eyed. Thank you so much for this incredible post. I am so glad I have helped you so much that you'd write this.

Wow. I want to tear in my my WIP right now.

Kathryn Neff Perry, PhD, MA, LMHC said...

Joy, it's a difficult lesson for parents to teach our children too. But that's just the way life is---rejection and reward---I think life would be boring if it was all reward----wait a minute---I can't believe I just said that!

Kathryn Neff Perry, PhD, MA, LMHC said...

Tiff, you have been wonderful. Not just to help me sculpt my manuscript and improve my writing, but also as a friend and confidant. I lean on you, and you have never let me down. Even though we are thousands of miles apart, there are times I feel like we are sharing a diet coke!
Thanks for everything Tiff!
Blessings and hugs
Katt