And Sometimes the Answer is...

GOOD NEWS!!!

That was the subject line of an email I received last November.

I knew who sent it, and I knew what it was about, but I could barely open it.

It seemed a bit surreal.

After all, I’d waited for this particular moment for a while.

Okay, a long time.

The picture book in question had gone through about 10 months of revision with my acquiring editor.

But that’s not what I mean by “long time.”

The truth is, I’m pretty sure this entire process began when I was 10. That’s when I wrote and illustrated my very first “picture book.”

Alas, the writing was wanting and the plot was thin.

And then there were illustration issues. 

The turtle character I could handle. A rock with appendages — piece of cake. But the frog dude? Now, that was a lot of leg to deal with.

Trust me, you can only hide your amphibian behind a leaf so many times before even a 10-year-old realizes that a book is DOA.

The project was abandoned. And from then on, I left the illustrations to the professionals.

Fast-forward another decade or so, and I was starting to submit manuscripts in earnest.

But the YES did not arrive.

Sure, the stories were likely lacking. But I’m pretty certain that the main reason for all of that rejection was the sad fact that my acquiring editor hadn’t been born yet.

And then he was.

Of course he had to navigate through teething and walking, reading and writing, and all the rest.

He did it with flying colors — especially that reading and writing part.

Then he spent 10 months helping me make my little book the best that it could be so that he could take it to an acquisitions meeting.

And only then...

after all of that...

could he type the words I’d been waiting for:

GOOD NEWS!!!

Yeah, it took a long time...

But not quite as long as the Cubs.

And YES! It was worth the wait.

PROMPT:                         “Never, never, never give up.”

~Winston Churchill

Who Gets the Last Word?

Dear Author:

“It’s too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant selling.”

And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr, Seuss

“It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”

Animal Farm by George Orwell

“You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby character.”

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s

“It’s too nicey-nice.”

“Nobody wants to read a book of short little stories.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

“A dreary record of typical family bickering, petty annoyances and adolescent emotions.”

The Diary of Anne Frank

“An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.”

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

“An irresponsible holiday story.”

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

“We don’t think we could distribute enough copies to satisfy you or ourselves.”

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

“Not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.”

Carrie by Stephen King

 “There is no market for this kind of tiring writing.”

Kathryn Stockett’s 40^th rejection for The Help

PROMPT:

Never, never, never give up.
Winston Churchill

The Noes Have It

Oh Yeah

No fat

No cholesterol

No mortgage

No bills

No 1040

No IRA

No IRS

No 401K

No SUV

No PTA

No wonder

I could dance

I thought we should spend today celebrating noes. Noes, noes, wonderful noes! There are so many different kinds of noes in the world, don’t you think?

First there are the noes associated with rejection. We've covered them here previously, and in my opinion, those are the noes you can largely ignore.

Then there are the noes allied with independence. If you’re a parent you know exactly what I am talking about. I remember a morning when my dear, sweet, charming, and docile 18-month-old boy awoke, stood up in his crib and shouted “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” at the very top of his lungs. And so it began… the terrible twos a few months early (that kid has always been an over-achiever).

Of course, there are those parental noes, too. The ones related to any danger that could befall your once sweet, charming, and docile 18-month-old boy. My husband and I had to say no so many times regarding the electrical outlets that our children took to calling them “no-noes.” In fact, they referred to outlets as “no-noes” for so many years that we once fretted they would head off to college and say, “Excuse me, could you please direct me to the nearest no-no? I need to charge my iPhone.”

There are also those “positive” noes associated with advertising. As in – NO FAT! NO CHOLESTEROL! NO SUGAR! NO FLAVOR! Sorry, that last one was mine and would be an unlikely find in advertising.

And what would we do without the “NOOOOOOoooooooooooo!” linked to Luke learning that Darth was really his father?

PROMPT: Tackle those noes today! The noes that mean no. The noes that mean maybe. The noes that mean What the H...? What does no mean to you? What image or story does no evoke? Create. Create. Create!

And NO procrastinating!

A Special Collection

If you’re a writer or artist, rejection is something that comes creepin’ ‘round your door pretty often.

Or it should.

You see, rejection is always one of the necessary steps on the path to success.

Well, the other day I was doing a little “rejection” cyber searching and stumbled upon a game called “Rejection Therapy”. It was started by Jason Comely in 2009.

Apparently, the Rejection Therapy Game has only one rule. And the rule is that you must get rejected by another person at least once a day. 

Note: not TRY to get rejected, but actually get rejected. And that’s rejected spelled with a NO — not a maybe, perhaps, or some other time.

I don’t know whether this game was created to help people make dates, get jobs, or proselytize, but Writers and Artists, we are totally going to pinch this concept!

I’m thinking that a great goal would be to have one of those success-making rejections coming in once a week.

The once-a-week rejection would be so good on so many levels —

• First off, you’d have to be doing a lot of writing and art to have enough submission material.
• Second, all that word and art-making would improve your craft.
• Third, you’d be getting it OUT THERE! Your work wouldn't be hugging the inside of a drawer. Because, face it folks, your manuscripts and portfolios should be hugging an agent or editor instead.

Are you game?

If so…

Welcome to Rejection World!

A groovy place where NO means, “YES! I so ROCKED that rejection!” (commence happy dance)

Because in Rejection World —

Can I write/illustrate for your magazine? NO

Will you be my agent? NO

and

Will you publish my book? NO

Means HOME RUN!!!

WaHOOOOooooooo! That’s three weeks of celebration right there!

PROMPT: Start your rejection collection. And don’t forget the happy dance part — six-pack abs, here we come! Can you say Bonus Feature?