BE YOUR OWN CHEERLEADER

At a recent 'meet and greet', one of the questions asked, was "What would you tell aspiring writers about getting published and on writing?"


One of the most important things I've learned about writing is that writers must believe in themselves and learn to be our own cheerleaders. Any time we send out a piece of writing to market, we're setting ourselves up for possible rejection. Rejection is inevitable. A part of the process. It is naturally discouraging to be rejected, and it's hard to separate the writer from the work and to keep in mind that the particular piece of writing has been rejected not the writer. The rejection may have nothing at all to do with the writing; the story may just not be right for the market it was submitted to at that time.


Still, the reason may not matter at first. All we know as writers is that the work didn't make the cut, and that hurts. If this happens enough times, and likely it will happen plenty, particularly during the early stages of our careers, the discouragement and pain can shut us down.


So, how do we keep on keeping on? We become our own cheerleaders. We believe in ourselves. We celebrate the accumulation of pages, even the rejection slips that we wouldn't be getting if we weren't writing.


Becoming our own cheerleader doesn't have to be limited to our writing lives, I think. Why can't we cheer for ourselves in every aspect of our lives?


Here's hoping that you're cheering for yourself right now.


Regards,
Karen