100 things, writing, disappointment.

[jana_denardo]

{Take the 100 Things challenge!}


Probably one of the most important things you need to realize if you're going to write and hope to publish (or heck even if you're going to write fanfic), you are going to be facing disappointment. It's part and parcel of the whole deal.

Today, for instance, I learned that the anthology I was in Cross Bones , did not win a Gaybie award. Heck, I was happy as hell just to be nominated and while I'm not bitterly disappointed, that awwww is still there in the back of my mind.

Every submission you send in, you have to be prepared for a rejection and don't let anyone kid you, those sting, each and every time. I could wallpaper my apartment with the old-fashioned rejects via the mail. The email ones don't hurt any less and they usually are they to slap the disappointment into you even faster.

You can not please everyone no matter how good your story is. For every good review on Amazon and Goodreads, you're going to get bad ones too (I'm not even talking about the trolls, you know who I mean, the ones who only signed up so they can purposely denigrate everyone they can find, every review is bad). Sometimes the bad ones teach us something but even then you're still disappointed.

It's what you do with the disappointment that matters. You can't let it get you down. Oh, sure we all have of off days when we're floating in the pity pool but after that, you need to dry yourself off and get back to it. It helps to have a good first reader or friend to bounce the disappointment off of, see if you can find a bit of wheat in that chaff and move on.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

This is a very good point to make.

And awwww, your collection didn't win.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

thanks.

and I still really want that icon to be what it looks like

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Sorry. It's not.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

I know

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

thank you and yes disappointing but I will survive

[caffeinified.livejournal.com]

+1 to all of this. It is what you do with the disappointment that matters. I need to remember that.

[jana-denardo.livejournal.com]

thank you!