Hit 200 rejections on my manuscript and honestly I'm relieved now

I hit 200 rejection letters for my novel last Tuesday. Stacked them all up on my desk to count. At first I thought I'd be crushed but honestly it just feels like I finally finished something, y'know? Each one is proof I actually tried instead of letting the draft rot in a drawer. My friends keep telling me to quit but 200 feels like a milestone, like I earned something even if it's not a book deal. Has anyone else got a weird number like this that flipped how they felt about failure?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie94028d ago

Your post about 200 rejections hit me right in the gut (in a good way). I had a similar thing happen with my chainsaw - it broke down for the third time last summer and I just sat there counting the failed starts on my fingers. Turns out I'd been trying to start it wrong for months, but the real point is I kept showing up. That feeling of "finally finished something" is real, and honestly more valuable than most people give it credit for. You earned every one of those letters, and that matters.

oscarc1228d ago

Oh man, that chainsaw story got me. I had an old lawnmower once that would only start if you kicked the right wheel exactly three times. Not two, not four, exactly three. I spent a whole summer thinking I just had bad luck with engines. Turns out I was just bad at remembering to check the gas cap. But you're right about that feeling. When you finally hear it roar to life or get that last rejection letter in the mail, it's like a weight lifts off your chest that you didn't even know you were carrying.

murray.jana28d ago

Oh goodness, I think you might have that backwards a bit. The kicking the wheel three times is usually the symptom of a loose spark plug wire or a dirty carburetor, not a gas cap issue. I had an old Toro mower that did the same dance, and I spent a whole afternoon counting kicks before my neighbor came over and just wiggled the wire connector. It fired right up. But you're absolutely right about that rush of relief when something finally clicks into place, whether it's an engine or a job application.