Monday, March 26, 2012
More on Rejection
#links
When I think of rejection two things initially come to my mind... a child showing something to a parent, a teacher or some other adult that they are particularly wanting to share and being quickly dismissed. The other image that comes to my mind is s new salesperson at a sales meeting being told by a more experienced pro that being rejected in a sales pitch is just a part of the numbers. You must be rejected a certain amount of time before you make a sale.
There seems like a very expansive divide between these two images. For starters there is no positive outcome for the rejected child. On the other hand, if you buy the goods (the argument the sales pro is making) at the sales meeting then you come to see that as unpleasant as it may be to hear no, it is an essential part of success. Yes, even the best Realtor, the top auto dealership, the biggest publishers are going to face rejection.
Kelli Agodon who has a litany of publication credits, awards, grants won, etc. address her recent rejection blues in a both light hearted (she rarely fails to amuse moi) and yet thoughtful blog post earlier today. I don't know any writer, poet, or artist of any kind that doesn't relish accolades. Conversely, a rejection slip to a writer can be a very personal thing because it is often the cost of putting yourself out there. I've been through my share of slumps. After a flurry of acceptances one year I went the whole next year and then some with one rejection letter after another. It can feed doubt in yourself, in the very endeavor you have been undertaking.
Kelli has reminded me something I really should be constantly aware of. In some of these dry spells I have actually reached points where I've asked myself why I even do this... why don't I just quit right now? So far when each of these negative thoughts have entered my mind I have in fact issued my own rejection and refused to quit. Is it the prize we write for or is it to flush out something on paper that takes guts? Is it publication credits or the birth of our art on a page?
I'm pretty sure I will sometime in the future swear off writing again - and yet very likely keep on keeping on. I think it's just something writers do. They don't have a choice.
When I think of rejection two things initially come to my mind... a child showing something to a parent, a teacher or some other adult that they are particularly wanting to share and being quickly dismissed. The other image that comes to my mind is s new salesperson at a sales meeting being told by a more experienced pro that being rejected in a sales pitch is just a part of the numbers. You must be rejected a certain amount of time before you make a sale.
There seems like a very expansive divide between these two images. For starters there is no positive outcome for the rejected child. On the other hand, if you buy the goods (the argument the sales pro is making) at the sales meeting then you come to see that as unpleasant as it may be to hear no, it is an essential part of success. Yes, even the best Realtor, the top auto dealership, the biggest publishers are going to face rejection.
Kelli Agodon who has a litany of publication credits, awards, grants won, etc. address her recent rejection blues in a both light hearted (she rarely fails to amuse moi) and yet thoughtful blog post earlier today. I don't know any writer, poet, or artist of any kind that doesn't relish accolades. Conversely, a rejection slip to a writer can be a very personal thing because it is often the cost of putting yourself out there. I've been through my share of slumps. After a flurry of acceptances one year I went the whole next year and then some with one rejection letter after another. It can feed doubt in yourself, in the very endeavor you have been undertaking.
Kelli has reminded me something I really should be constantly aware of. In some of these dry spells I have actually reached points where I've asked myself why I even do this... why don't I just quit right now? So far when each of these negative thoughts have entered my mind I have in fact issued my own rejection and refused to quit. Is it the prize we write for or is it to flush out something on paper that takes guts? Is it publication credits or the birth of our art on a page?
I'm pretty sure I will sometime in the future swear off writing again - and yet very likely keep on keeping on. I think it's just something writers do. They don't have a choice.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Shameless Self Promotion
A poem of mine is up at Montucky Review. A thank you to the Editors!
To view the poem simply titled Sis, Click here
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Confession Tuesday
It’s been a week since my last confession. Come along and
let’s get started on this week.
Dear Reader:
I have realized over the past week that I’ve been feeling
good. Energy level is up and it’s been so long since I’ve felt like this (way
back before Thanksgiving for sure) that it seems a bit scary. Scary as in I fear the resurgence of some
kind of illness. Probably some kind of exotic one like plummetodivanitis. I confess I made that up but of course you
surely knew that already. The truth is I’ve had so many boom-a-rang rebounds
since Thanksgiving; I’m seriously worried that I’ll be back in bed on my back
battling something as early as tomorrow.
Feeling better has worked well for me. I’m less tense about work, about writing,
about most everything and I firmly believe that my improved health is a big
part of this as well as the absence of some routine stressors that are no
longer a factor.
I’ve realized today that change is in the air. I confess
that I don’t know any Capricorns that are especially fond of change and I of
course would be one. In the near future
there will be some changes impacting foremost my wife, but certainly things at
home as well. These are not necessarily bad things and I need to keep reminding
myself of this. No matter how things pan
out, I need to be supportive of my wife to help make these changes easier for
her as well.
Over the next week I will be making a decision on something
that I have been toying with and I’m not going to go into detail here at this
point but I confess that it is not an easy decision for me to make. All I can say is the fact that I am feeling
more energized will help make the decision a little easier.
I’m behind where I’d like to be with writing submissions for
this point in the year. Hard to believe the first quarter is nearly over.
Confessing here that I am not sweating it is important to me because I’ve felt
way too lousy these first three months of the year to be on the top of my game
when it comes to writing or the administrative stuff (submitting work) which
I’ve come to dread. I believe I will be
able to double down and move swiftly into gear.
That’s all I got for the week. May the rest of yours be
super!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
About Last Night
I read some of my own material last night, and as I like to do when I read out in public, I selected another poet and poem to introduce to the crowd. Last night I read Kelli Russell Agodon's poem Under The Covers We Find Jesus from her book, Letters From The Emily Dickinson Room.
Besides being owners of the coffee house, Doug and Jalene are a supporter of the Arts rotating artwork on their walls and of course supporting spoken word and poetry. I enjoy their coffee and I'm pretty picky about my coffee. They are located at 310 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, Mo 64108
Sign of the Times
Love this sign... it has gotten a lot of laughs around the courthouse. I realize these are tough times but forcing your car to get a job to make ends meet is taking things to a new level.
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