Accept Your Journey

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I got my first rejection on the manuscript for my rural crime novel, BURY ME BENEATH THE TWISTED TREE, last week. It hit a little harder than the rejections from short works. I’m used to those.

Today, the rejection finally felt distant enough I could turn it into blackout poetry.

A screen shot of an email with blacked out lines showing only the words: "Dear James, Sharing your work but not being successful does not mean that your story cannot go on. Accept your journey."

There are still three publishers in this batch of submissions, so I’m expecting three more rejections. But, I have no plans of stopping there. I’ve already started polishing and revising for the next batch after getting more feedback from early readers.

Most of us are conditioned to avoid rejection at all costs. One nasty rejection is all it takes. What’s your rejection story? How do you feel about it now? Did you learn anything?

About the author

J.E. Teitsworth

I grew up in the rural Midwest in a blue-collar family. I still live in the Midwest with my exceptionally creative wife and youngest daughter in a house full of half-finished art projects.

I feel most like myself in quiet, open spaces. In my free time, I like to be outdoors fishing, kayaking, or walking along the Mississippi river near our home in southeast Iowa.

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