When Life's a Lemon

When Life's a Lemon

By Lydia Rule

The feeling is universal... that heart pounding throb of expectation, hands that shake, and that wishful feeling deep within your chest. Then comes the plunge... You've jumped over the moon and now, planet earth greets you as you fall towards it, face first!!!

The word is disappointment.

Several months ago, I received an e-mail entitled, "RE: Book Proposal". I had sent out a proposal for a novel I had started at age fourteen to a major publisher, and now, I had received an answer. The first thing that greeted my eyes was, "Dear Lydia." Yes! I just knew it was...
Hold it. A rejection? No, that couldn't be. I read the note again, but there was no denying it. It said my story was "amazingly mature" in its plot, but it just didn't "fit" into their book line. I didn't know how to feel. Something inside of me had known not to get too excited, and yet...
I couldn't cry, that's not my nature, but I couldn't exactly get up and start dancing around either. What do you say when a dream's been so real you could hold it, and then it vanishes? How do you get back up? How do you have faith again?

The old saying is, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Modern translation, get up and do something about it! Don't sit around and bawl. Tears only produce red eyes and extra time spent in the bathroom trying to hide them. Sure, it's rough, but get back up! If you fall to pieces every time you're disappointed, you won't be able to see what you can gain from the experience.
You're probably thinking that it's easy to say what someone should do when they've been let down. And you are absolutely right. You've got to follow your own advice before you dish it out. In my defense, I did do something constructive about my disappointment. After I received that (rather painful) rejection notice, I wrote this article!

But on the more serious side, how do you cope with rejection? How do you get over it? Here are some basic steps to get out of your disappointment and move on.

First, start writing something--anything. It could be an all-out rant against the editor (but make sure it never gets sent!), an article you’ve never finished, or a small story that’s been in your head for years. Just start writing and let your mind focus on something else.
Secondly, try again. Don’t let one rejection hold you back… you have plenty of other markets to submit your work to! (If you don’t believe me, check out the Writer’s Market Guide from your local library and browse through it!)

And lastly, distance yourself from your work. Don’t make the editor’s comments or rejection of your submission a personal issue. They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting your submission. All authors have, at one time, been rejected. It happens. The difference between a writer and an adamant writer is that the adamant writer picks himself back up, keeps going, and seeks to perfect his craft.

So go on! Hit the keys! Start typing! Make lemonade!