hemingwaywantabes

Ernest Hemingway knew all about rejection from his earliest days as a writer. Many of his first attempts at fiction were scolded, thought unworthy of publication. But he was never one to give up, and through hard work, his writing became so good that when people read his words it took their breath away.

Hemingway’s honed his craft as a newspaper correspondent for the Toronto Star. Soon he had gained a reputation for vivid description and the ability to present characters as if they were standing right next to readers. When he began to write fiction, this trait aided his efforts and the result is many of the great books in history.

We may learn from Hemingway about rejection and never giving up. In Step 8 of “How to Become a Published Author: A to Z” that you may download or print out from this weblog, I talk about these subjects. And I do so from experience. When my first book, Down for the Count, chronicling the Mike Tyson rape trial, was published, the reviews nationwide were terrific. But my hometown newspaper critic hammered the book with the headline, “Shaw’s book on Tyson worthless.” After I yelled and screamed for a few minutes at the disappointment, i finally settled down and said, “I’ll show that critic. I’ll just write another book.” I did, and it did well, and fifteen years later, I have had nearly twenty books published with more on the way.

Hemingwaywantabes, never, ever let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. And don’t let rejection cause you grief. Learn from what you hear, but then keep going forward, using the rejection as inspiration like Hemingway did. This will help you when you are trying to find a literary agent or a publisher for your book, because as I tell writers at my seminars, it only takes one to say “yes.” Keep the faith, keep trying, and in the end, you will find the success you are looking for.