Dear Jessica Brennan,
I now know a few things about rejection since writing my mystery.
All creative people, whether musicians, actors, writers or visual artists, must brace themselves for rejection. It comes with the territory. Agencies, publishers, record labels and their equivalents have people on staff who reject way more than they accept. When I say way more, I mean fifty or sixty or one hundred times more.
All rejection isn’t equal. Many agents simply ignore submissions. Some deliver the news dismissively with a form letter. Some enjoy the superiority and power of rejecting others and take their time picking work apart word by word. In rare cases, as I found recently, some do it constructively and with grace. Thank you for that, Michael.
Of course, whether agent or author, publisher or reader, how we treat people is a reflection on us, not the person we are rejecting.
As an author, the most important thing to me is that readers like my stories. Of course, it would be great to have a partner in publishing to help me navigate the process, but ultimately, my characters and their stories keep me pushing forward and save me in moments of rejection.
I didn’t bring Amanda Maxwell and Wil Waterman to life for a corporation somewhere to give me their stamp of approval. Instead, I brought Amanda and some other beautifully flawed characters to the world for the reader’s entertainment; for you. I created Clifden, Ontario, so that you could get lost there among the terror, trees and townsfolk—an escape from daily life, and I will bring the next Amanda Maxwell Mystery to you for the same reason.
If I have any advice as I travel this road, it is this. Whatever you’re doing, be your own measuring stick. Commit to incrementally growing better than you were yesterday with practice and time, even when you don’t feel like trying. Find joy in that process, and never let rejection stop you from telling stories, making music or doing what lights you up because that’s why you’re here.
Love,
Mum xo