Disappointment

No Golden Heart "call" for me yesterday. I'm not surprised, but I'm disappointed. And I'm definitely not alone. There are over 1000 other people feeling the same way today, and I know that some of them, maybe even most of them, are talented writers. The votes just didn't come in their favor this year. And that's part of the thing about writing and wanting to get published - disappointment is just part of it. It comes with the territory, so to speak.

Some writers collect rejection slips by the hundreds before finally selling a manuscript. For some writers, it took years to find their voice and reach their audience. I know this is not an easy business. There will probably be more disappointments over the years than successes - especially at the beginning. And according to my record so far, I'm still at the beginning. I've collected now 3 contest non-finals and five rejections from agents and editors. That's nothing in the grand scheme of things. And the fact that four of those five rejections have included a personal compliment to my writing shows that I'm on the right track. They all could have easily sent form letters.

The key is to keep writing, even in the face of disappointment. To keep telling your story. To say to yourself, "It's okay. I'll keep writing and I'll get better. I'll keep entering and I won't give up." Hard work and perseverance pays off in writing the same way it does in just about every other profession or endeavor in life. So today, despite not becoming a finalist in the Golden Heart, I am at my desk, ready to write and work hard. I am writing a new book that I can enter in the 2011 Golden Heart Competition. And maybe next time, I'll win.