Yesterday I received yet another rejection. I tried to count in my head, to find a number for how many that adds up to, now. It was impossible. I've been querying this one book for two and a half years now. I know that some people say, "Just shelf it and move on to the next" but I simply cannot do it. I believe in the book I have written that absolute much! Is that insanity? Not to me and it shouldn't be to you, either. You should believe in your work enough that you will take a thousand rejections with grace and then prepare for a thousand more. Keep writing, in the meantime, of course. Write your heart and soul and brains out. Write until the keys fall off your keyboard. Write until your fingertips become calloused. Whatever you do, write! But also, keep querying.
If I can get rejected as many times as I have, and still have complete faith in my work, and keep seeking out representation, then you can as well. There isn't any magic formula that makes rejection feel okay. It's basically just, Suck it up buttercup! LOL! Not what you wanted to hear? I know. I don't want to say that even to myself. But that's the truth. Keep in mind that you aren't the first to get rejected more times than you can track. There are plenty of people in the world that can fill the slot of giving up easily enough. Don't be one of them. Be one of the persevering writing god or goddesses!
Here's my bottom line, because I am going to keep this short: if you don't believe in your work enough to keep learning, keep trying, to keep researching and seeking ways to be better, then why should you deserve to land an agent and ultimately a publishing deal? You need to be so certain of your work that you can take rejection for as long as you have to. That's being a writer. That's having a story to tell that you just have to get out to the world. If it doesn't mean enough to you to try even when others say stop, then it won't mean much to anyone else out there.
Oh! KEEP WRITING! You don't have just one story to tell.
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