*It's me who is my enemy
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence.
~Paula Cole, "Me," This Fire*
Me who beats me up
Me who makes the monsters
Me who strips my confidence.
~Paula Cole, "Me," This Fire*
As writers we have so many people to impress.
Sometimes we write a great scene, or great book (at least we think we do) only to have it ripped apart. Either by a friend, colleague, agent or editor. Critiques can sting. Rejections can sting. Especially if you go into it thinking your book is perfect and there isn't any room for change.
I still get down after a critique. I still don't think I'll ever be good enough, but I think that's human nature. If people say we suck, we think we suck. If people say how wonderful our writing is, or how much they love our book, we still think we suck. We will never be good enough in our own eyes.
I think what I'm trying to get across, is this. YOU have to believe in your work. YOU have to love your book, even if you've read and edited it a million times. If you don't believe in yourself, then no one else will either.
Everyone has an off day, and I can definitely work on having a better attitude about things. Instead of saying "This will never sell", or "Why do I even bother writing anymore", I tell myself that I AM good enough. That I WILL get published someday.
Now I'm not going to say rejections don't hurt, because every time I get one it rips a little piece of my heart out. I'm good at hiding my frustrations and doubts, but inside they tend to eat me alive sometimes. No matter how hard we work, we are never going to be perfect. Not even bestselling authors are perfect. Someone will always have a suggestion on how it could be better, and even after we hit the bestsellers list, we still won't think we're good enough.
That is why we need to keep going. Keep doing the best we can, and eventually things will all work out. Have a positive attitude, love what you do, and kick your pessimism to the curb. Your hardest critic will always be yourself, so learn to see the good in your work and all you do.
How do you handle rejection and criticism? Do you let it roll off your shoulder? Or do you stew about it until it drives you crazy?
*I swear I'm not depressed or anything, this topic just happened to be on my mind. :)
