I just received another rejection letter this morning for my chapter book I'm Just Daisy. I placed it in an enveloppe called "Tickets to the Game" along with the six other tickets. Why would I call it a ticket when it's a rejection letter? I read a post online in which the author called her rejection letters "tickets". Rather than seeing each letter as preventing her from getting published, she saw it as a ticket, bringing her one step closer to the game.
What a great idea! Since rejection is part and parcel of the writing and publishing world, writers have to get used to it. Why not see it as a step in the process? Why not see it as an opportunity rather than a shut out? As a beginning rather than an ending? I used one of my rejection letters, which was very detailed and helpful, to write an improved second version of my book.
It's a talent in life to be able to see the good side of something bad. I could have easily shredded those tickets. But instead, they are tucked away in an 8 1/2 by 11 envelop. It's like I'm treasuring them. They are proof that I've written a book and that I'm getting it out there. It's like Babe Ruth. He was the strike out king. of baseball. But he was also the home run king. I want to be the strike out-home run queen of writing.
So, as I carefully slide my tickets into my envelop, the way Babe Ruth slid into home plate, I am one step closer to the game. I can actually smell the juicy hotdogs and buttery popcorn. I can hear the crack of the bat when it hits the ball. I can feel the rumbling of Yankee Stadium as the fans cheer. Let's play ball!
Yankee Stadium circa 1920's courtesy http://buchholtzsidoramericanstudies.wikispaces.com/The+House+that+Ruth+Built,+Babe+Ruth
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