Bouncing back

“…memorable, hilarious moments…”

“…lively and interesting…”

As you can see, if I ever get this novel of mine to print, I’ll have some excellent jacket blurbs. Unfortunately, the above are from publisher rejections. They’re Canadian publishers; that’s why they’re so nice.

The most recent rejection came last week. Whadya gonna do? Writers mistakenly believe that publishers are sitting at empty desks waiting for this very manuscript to arrive by email. It ain’t so. Even with all your brilliance, you remain Joe X, obscure author.

I briefly let this latest rejection get me down, and performed a search query that essentially asked, “When should I give up?” I came across this good bit of advice that reminds first-time novelists that their manuscript, truth be told, probably isn’t that good.

BUT don’t let that get you down. Learn from the exercise of writing and rejection and get back to doing what you love to do — not clamoring for attention from agents and publishers but writing. Write your next novel. It’s bound to be better.

I’ve started doing that. Sort of. I began but realized I’m not quite ready. The idea needs to stew more. It needs to ripen. And now I’m hungry.

Bouncing back from rejection is something we all have to do sooner or later. Some things, of course, are harder to bounce back from than others. Thank God you’re not this guy. Or, good lord, this guy!

Like writing, politics is all about that shot in the dark and the looming possibility of rejection. As a candidate, you pump up everyone’s expectations, though, in the end, we’re all just flawed humans who really need to pee.

Here’s my first piece of the fall for CBC Radio’s “Breakaway,” in which I throw my sorry hat in the ring. Vote for me. I’m lively and interesting.

P.S. Some-Notes-on-Your-Manuscript