Oh those dreaded rejection letters!

Your story doesn’t fit us, your story isn’t marketable, you can’t write… I made that last one up, they don’t say that anymore (political correctness and all) but it used to happen.

Did you know that Rudyard Kipling was told he didn’t know how to use the English language and that Sylvia Plath was told she didn’t have enough genuine talent to take notice?  Seriously! John Grisham was rejected 25 times but all it took was one acceptance. So why not keep submitting?

Of course, who am I to talk? I self-published.

Yes. But I did submit to quite a few publishers and agents before taking that route. I did it for the Kaitlyn Jones series, I did it for the Hamilton Troll series and I did it for Dandy Lion and Rainbow and the Bonfire and Alley Cat and I will do it for the Star Story, constellation crimes and every other book I am working on.

Why?  Because I can!

Yes, I can self publish – I am thrilled that modern technology has provided this option to us – we as authors deserve to have the ability to get our stories read… but I will give any publisher the opportunity to back my work, to stand behind my story, to give me that needed push into the lime light.

So submit your stories.

Follow their rules, do what needs to be done and if all else fails, after 10 rejections, 25 rejections or even 160 rejections (like Dick Wimmer “Irish Wine”) go to plan B. But don’t jump to plan B first to escape criticism.

It’s not considered giving up.  It’s not considered cheating… If you do nothing – you are nothing!  And we all know you are anything but nothing!

To escape criticism – do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.
– Elbert Hubbard