Rejecting rejection is hard work.
A strong work ethic is one of the many great traits my parents modeled for me growing up. My mom usually had two jobs and also started going back to school to get her doctorate when I was in elementary school. In my early years, my dad worked as a longshoreman on the ship channel. He later went back to school and got a teaching degree. I adopted this strong work ethic, and it has served me well in my writing life as I wrote and rewrote, submitted and resubmitted.
Listen to Grandma.
When I was little bitty, I called the woman who took care of me while my parents worked “Grandma.” One of the biggest impressions she made on me was the following phrase, “Lindsey, honey, if you put your mind to it, you can do it.” These words have come back to me again and again in my writing life.
If at first you don’t succeed, swim, swim again.
As a child, there was one summer that I wanted to swim the length of the pool. I just knew I’d get it accomplished in one day. I swam and swam and by the time I reached the middle, I’d peter out. Finally, in a moment of despair while standing on the steps of our pool with goggles pressed to my forehead and swimsuit dripping, I wailed, “I don’t understand. I’m putting my mind to it but I just… can’t… do it.”
I was heartbroken.
It takes more than a day.
My mom encouraged me that it might take more than that afternoon to work up to swimming the length of the pool, but she knew I would be able to accomplish it. Sometimes, we just have to keep on keeping on. Eventually I did swim the length of the pool and later joined a swim team. But it took years, not a day. The same is true of getting published.
It’s not all about you.
In college, I majored in business and more specifically entrepreneurship. That background helped me when it came to pursuing writing as a profession. When I sent queries out, I understood that there were multiple variables at play and that editors were making business decisions as much as they were making artistic decisions. When a story is ready and marketable, it may still be rejected, and it’s not about you or your manuscript.
After college, I did sales for a period of time, and I learned that if the product and the pitch are good, then sales become a numbers game. I transferred that attitude to querying.
Remember, it’s hard work.
I sent queries for my first manuscript out into the world again, and again, and again. It did garner some requests. It never made it past that stage. That first book is a middle grade novel still on my hard drive. It is still one I love, though it is not one I am pursuing at this moment in time. Some manuscripts may not see the light of day on a shelf, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t make you a better writer for your next novel.
Remember, if at first you don’t succeed, swim, swim again.
The first book I wrote was a middle grade novel. While that manuscript didn’t land me an agent, it did teach me about plot and marketability and story and structure and revision and editing. I wrote another novel, this time a young adult. When it was finally time to query, I was excited as I began sending it out again, and again, and again.
Remember, it’s not about you.
I reminded myself that art is subjective. I felt my story was ready and marketable, so I tried looking at things as a numbers game instead of taking rejection personally. I sent the email out in small batches and waited for the responses.
Remember, it takes more than a day.
It took around three years from the time I wrote my first manuscript to the day I received my first contract with an agent on my second book. My first contracted book was published about five years after I pursued writing as a professional endeavor.
Remember, listen to Grandma.
Riptide hit the shelves May of 2013.
I felt that same pride and accomplishment I’d felt all those years ago, when I swam all the way across the pool. And in the words of my beloved “Grandma,” “Honey, if you put your mind to it, you can do it.”
Finally, listen to Lindsey.
You can do it, too.
Lindsey Scheibe lives life on the edge. She’s tried her hand at surfing, bouldering, and most terrifying of all… publishing. Lindsey’s YA novel, Riptide, sold to flux books and debuts in May of 2013. These days, you can find her hanging out with her family, where she’s traded her hiking boots for family dinners and theatrical bedtime stories.