Hemingway and Rejection Part II
Posted by Mark Shaw on February 9, 2009
Hello hemingwaywantabes and good day to you. Hope all is well.
Recently, I began a journey toward understanding many of the great writers in history by reading several biographies. First up was Hemingway himself, then Norman Mailer, then Jack Kerouac. Currently, the choice is Albert Camus with F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce on deck. All this while I am completing a new biography of the gifted wordsmith Thomas Merton for publication by Palgrave MacMillan in November.
If there is one common denominator to each of the books read thus far, it is that rejection is never limited to aspiring authors and poets. Indeed, all the famous writers experienced this hurtful emotion more than once in their lives. Just imagine – one of the great literary works of all time, Kerouac’s On the Road, was passed over many times by some of the most celebrated New York publishing editors of all time including Robert Giroux who discovered Merton. Each time Kerouac suffered since each time, an editor found something he didn’t like about the writing, or the story, or the sales potential for the book.
The lesson to be learned here, I am sure you realize, is to never give up trying by turning rejection into inspiration. Continue to listen to feedback or criticism, but stay the course realizing it only takes one editor, one publisher to say, “yes.”
Keep the faith, my writing friends. Never, ever, give up your dreams.
