Posted on by Writer of Words, etc

A nail, a hammer, and a bike ride

So. I have bad news about some pieces I submitted. But, that’s ok. I’m going to get myself a long nail and a hammer, so I can start a collection of rejections. Like Stephen King did. He mentioned this in his book On Writing.

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/848294-by-the-time-i-was-fourteen-the-nail-in-my

 

So far, 2 of my stories I wrote recently were declined, the other 5 still being reviewed, and the rest ongoing.

Wonder what mom would think if I started hammering nails into walls in her house… 😵

Anyway I was derailed last night and kind of depressed, but this morning, things are already looking up. I saw 4 new calls for submission.

But first, my girl and I went for a bike ride after breakfast. I had brought her bike along from home because it fit in the wagon, but left mine back home. Mom has a bike here and I can just use hers, she said.

It was about 9:30 am and the sun and air already felt like an oven when we departed.

🔥 hothothot 🔥

But I/we persevered. Here is proof:

My girlie decided to come home 20 minutes later but I did another circuit, albeit a shorter one. My leg muscles feel tight, and I choose to take this as a good sign.

I am however looking forward to a cool shower now. 😥

Anyway. I think today is another indoor day. May as well get my sore butt back into my chair and hit the keyboard. The girl mentioned she wanted to bake meringue…you know I’ll report back on that later. 😉

Happy Sunday!

28 Replies to “A nail, a hammer, and a bike ride”

      3. That’s my plan with the novel I’ve just finished. I believe it’s good enough to go through the traditional route, but I’m nearly 64. I have no desire to go through the stress of rejection. Life’s too short.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I have lots of rejections from Submittable and some journals which have never responded to me after a year. That is why I appreciate so much the bloggers and people who acknowledge my work when it is published. It takes a big person to do this. Writing is challenging and sometimes a kind word goes a long way. I just received a note from my friend that she read my writing I am submitting for the children’s book and she liked it. A few suggestions. I do wish she worked more on my time as I read her suggestions right away and corrected them but I appreciate her feedback. Keep moving forward.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you. The guy at the publication sent me not only a friendly personal note why he declined, but gave me good feedback. I thought that was out of the ordinary and unusual which reinforces that it sometimes is a business decision, not a ‘you’re a sucky writer and you suck’ comment. (I know I’m not, but it hits hard when you read the words ‘declined’.)

      Thank you for your words.

      PS Can your hubby go buy me a spike at one of his stores? lol

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Michael Jordan, basketball superstar: I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  7. I believe F. Scott Fitzgerald or maybe it was Hemingway, wallpapered his bathroom with his rejection slips? The most amazing rejection story I ever read was Kathryn Stockett who wrote The Help. I think it was rejected 65 times, because they thought who would want to read a book about maids in the south? She kept revising and revising it, and even hid the attempts from her family by booking into a motel.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. I find it encouraging to read those kinds of stories, esp. as her family thought she should just give up on so she hid out in a hotel to revise so they wouldn’t know she was still working on it. I wonder how much she made on the movie rights alone…..

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Did you know that Tom Clancy’s “Hunt for Red October” was rejected so many times, he paid thousands out of his own pocket to get the “Naval Press” to put out 10,000 copies? Well, since it was the Naval Press, a copy automatically went to the President (Reagan) who carried it once onto Marine One (Presidential Helicopter), and a journalist asked him about it. He held it up, and said it was a “good yarn”. Those 10,000 copies were gone within minutes, and a major publisher paid for the rights to reprint. The rest is history. By the way, I HAVE one of those 10,000, and the fricking thing is now worth a good chunk of change.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. That’s an awesome story. Very cool. I can picture it…

      Like I said, I’m working on staying motivated. Finding the proper and suitable publication that accepts my writing is the trickiest part.

      Thank you for sharing this story. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  10. “On Writing” was so inspirational to me.

    I used to joke that I could wallpaper my house with rejection slips and save on paint. Just keep plugging along; eventually, somebody’s going to love your work!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  11. Rejection is one way to hone your talents, and your submissions. Recognize that there might not be anything wrong about the story–except possibly that it doesn’t belong in the submitted forum. Keep writing, keep going. I find hot weather to be a muse. It’s too uncomfortable to be out, so I hunker down and work in the cool indoors. After a long period of not writing, four chapters this week.

    Keep riding that bike, too. It’s hot here as well–hoping for a break with some rain, mid-day. But I won’t even consider baking until the temperatures come down.Good luck with that merangue.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. See, this is one thing I thought – the story is relatable to some people and I know this because I had a similar version up on a pseudonym blog a couple of years ago (I took it down and revamped it). Maybe now is the time to find another publication that may be more suitable for that type of topic…

      And biking? Gotta do it early or later. Early is better for me because late=wine and wine+bike+me=not good. 😛

      Liked by 2 people

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