Wasting a Year: Novels and Rejection

I recently saw some tweets from some writers I know who suggested that when your novel came back with a rejection, that was a year of your life wasted. Another writer I know suggested that was why she didn't write novels. Of course, I thought about that, and it all comes down to why you're in the game, doesn't it?

Scenario One: Immediate gratification and/or approval from others It is NOT easier to write a good short story. Some people can't write short stories at all. NOR is it necessarily faster to write a publishable short story. But in general turn around is faster, rejections are faster, and the opportunities for acceptances are greater. You can maybe turn around anywhere from 5-20 short stories in a year if you work at it, considering variation of speed. The odds (not calculated mathematically) mean you have a higher chance of acceptance on short stories.

The above scenario assumes you are in the game pretty much for ACCEPTANCE. For whatever reason. Publication is the end all, be all for your writing. Perhaps you crave attention. Perhaps you have a message Perhaps you want money. Because if a rejection means you've wasted your time, then it logically follows that an acceptance means you haven't.

Of course, this can also lead to scenario 2: My novel is good enough. Screw you, publishing industry. I will strike out on my own. Which people do for a variety of reasons, but one of which might be the immediate gratification and/or approval from others scenario. And that's frustrating, because in most cases, when you hear crickets, that's worse.

Go on, ask Hugh Howey how long it took him to cultivate a readership. I'll be here when you get back. That's work too, and not wasted work. It's another kind of rejection and I would suggest, not a waste.

This takes a while. So are rejections of your work, whether self published or submitted indicative of time wasted because you don't get the result you want immediately. I will use a very strong British word: Tosh. That's just tosh.

***

That seems a rather bleak reason to write. It seems to imply that the only reason to write is publication and money and acceptance and maybe even immediate gratification, and that if you don't get it, you've wasted your time. You may agree, and I don't want to judge or diss you. As a matter of fact, a cut is called for. Peace. Off you go. Good luck with those acceptances. Hopefully, you'll stop wasting years of your life soon.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.