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Remember that story I submitted?

Last month, I waxed on and on about submitting manuscripts and how I did it and the different pain points I had with it. Do you remember?

If you’ll recall, I knew the timeline for acceptance or rejection.

And the time has come.

Are you wondering what I heard?

Take a guess. Do I sound disappointed? Excited?

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Oh, you can’t tell?

You will have no trouble guessing this in five words. I actually realized it in two.

We regret to inform you…

Oh, boy! They don’t regret to inform me as much as I regret being informed.

Rejection Hurts

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about this. I’m the type of person who puts thought into every thread I dip into the sea of possibilities.

I imagined myself signing the contract and working with the other authors at the first brainstorming session.

The lead author and I would hit it off so well, she’d ask me to join her in the workshops she sponsors for young writers. After all, I love teenagers and teaching them about writing books would be a blast.

This time, I pulled the reins on the runaway horses of my dreaming, though. The disappointment when things don’t happen as I imagined has been debilitating for me since my recovery from creative burnout.

I didn’t want to slide into that chasm of hopelessness again.

I read the email at six something in the morning. Then I jumped in the shower so the water could wash away my tears.

The bottom line: rejection hurts.

No matter how many times you experience it. No matter how thick you’ve made your rhino skin.

And the more you want something, the more it hurts when the answer is no.

But I prayed about this. Daily. For almost two months.

“If this is the door you want me to walk through, Lord, I know you will open it.”

No matter how good or bad my audition sample was. He can turn the hearts of kings, so I’m sure he can do the same with those editors at the press.

He didn’t open this door, so that tells me many things. It says more than, “No, you’re not writing for this line with this press at this time.”

Now What?

Hello, December. This is the time of your that I plan my projects for the next year.

I’ve been tossing around another workshop idea. And wondering if it’s time to build an online course so I can have an evergreen income stream (provided I can get anyone to buy my class).

There is a mastermind of different writing coaches coming up in January, and I need to create some things if I’m going to participate. I didn’t know if I would have time to do that if I got the contract.

Plus, writers are looking to me more often for story development editing, and I’d been wondering if I should stop offering line editing and proofreading, and stick with the one I love.

Should I continue producing weekly content for my YouTube channel? What about the free coaching group I invest many hours in every week?

I’m releasing the interconnected short story collection. Will I revise the novel I finished last month? Or maybe work on a collection of fantasy short stories to publish in 2024 (because I have a TON of those in rough form and they’re SO fun to work on)?

I won’t stop writing. And I won’t stop submitting. But I’m still uncertain if writing novels is where I’m supposed to land.

So this month, I’ll be seeking the Lord’s direction about what I’m writing next. And what I’m publishing next.

How do you feel when you get a rejection email?

4 thoughts on “Remember that story I submitted?”

    1. That’s the rub. Lots of stories I’ve written have brought joy to me and been fulfilling. The publishing? Not so much. I’d love to share my stories with the world at some point.

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