A Pin Up for Rejection

It happened again. A criticism came my way on a new work in progress, jolting my confidence and making me wonder why I even bother to write. Then another comment came in on the same section that said, “Great writing!” It seems that like so many other areas of our lives, the judgment about the quality of our work will vary according to who is doing the evaluation.

We’ve all read the stories of famous writers whose initial outstanding works went through layers of rejections. Now any publishing house would offer these people millions of dollars regardless of the quality of work because of their recognizable name. It would seem then that the beauty of our writing is in the eye of the beholder. And in many instances that view is scarred by dollar signs. We know it. We understand how the industry works. But when our masterpiece is criticized or rejected, it still hurts.

We’ve done the best we could. We’ve honed our craft to the point our heads hurt. We’ve increased the pool of submissions, and we’ve put ourselves into debt for the rest of our lives to attend conferences and take writing courses. Yet, those rejections keep coming. And we wonder why do we bother? The frustration mounts and we stoop from the weight of discouragement. Shouldn’t we have developed a tough enough skin by now? Not necessarily. Unless we are made of stone, those rejections will continue to sting each and every time. We chastise ourselves, go to the mall, eat chocolate, or my favorite is to be defiant and resend it somewhere else. We wallpaper with our rejections slips or create a dart board. We collect them for the biggest, best, or funniest rejection stories like fishermen talk about the one that got away.

The why or manuscript got the heave-ho could be as variable as the weather or as simple as an editor’s indigestion on the day they opened our query. But the one reaction, we must not have is to quit. Then the enemy has won.

Here is my favorite verse to pin up when that self-addressed envelope lands in my mailbox or when that critique says, “Do you really want to be a writer?”

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward (Hebrews 10:35 KJV).

Time in the Word

For the last three weeks, I've been teaching a study on the books of I and II Timothy and Titus. The curriculum I'm using has twelve lessons. We've been studying for three weeks, and we've already learned so much. I think we've made it through the first two chapters.

Recently I completed a writing assignment writing short pieces of devotion and prayer. When I finished, I had written about 6,000 words. I praised the Lord because in the not too distant past, I doubt I could have written 600 words.

My pride in my accomplishment was short-lived though. The next time I studied for my class, I realized that I Timothy - the book I've spent three weeks teaching and barely scratched the surface, has only 2,269 words. How rich and how wonderful is the Word of God! He inspired Paul as he wrote these three short letters.

Have you ever griped and complained about studying the Bible? Perhaps you've felt guilty because you never seem to have the time. I've been there myself. With God's help, I intend to change my attitude. When I read the Bible, I go over and over the verses until I understand the meaning and the message. I hope the pieces I write have an inkling of the depth I'm striving for.

I imagine I've read 6,000 words of email today. Or 6,000 words in the newspaper. Yet I can't find time to read the Bible? We need to know the Word of God before we can incorporate His wisdom and principles into our writing.

How much time do you spend studying God's writings before you pen yours?

Operation Soul Survival

We all join in prayer for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Our hearts go out to those who have lost homes, possessions, and - far more importantly - loved ones. We can't imagine the suffering they have endured, and we're praying for all of them.

As we give to the relief organizations for the physical survival and recovery of evacuees, let's not forget the need for inspirational and uplifting books. Operation Soul Survival: Books for Katrina Survivors has information about where to send books to survivors in shelters.

If you're an author with a supply of author copies or a reader who has accumulated lots of books to share, you couldn't find a better place to share than Operation Soul Survival.