Rejection is an important part of the publishing process—but it hurts! Here are seventeen quotes to inspire you after rejection.
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” C. S. Lewis
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas Edison
“Do not waste yourself in rejection; do not bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you want the rainbow, you’ve got to put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton
“If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.” Isaac Asimov
“I wrote poems in my corner of the Brooks Street station. I sent them to two editors who rejected them right off. I read those letters of rejection years later and I agreed with those editors.” Carl Sandburg
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain
“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” Bo Bennett
“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” Ray Bradbury
“If you’re not failing now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.” Woody Allen
“Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” James Lee Burke
“Failure is success if we learn from it.” Malcolm Forbes
“As a writer, the worst thing you can do is work in an environment of fear of rejection.” Carol Leifer
“I wrote poems in my corner of the Brooks Street station. I sent them to two editors who rejected them right off. I read those letters of rejection years later and I agreed with those editors.” Carl Sandburg
“I think that you have to believe in your destiny; that you will succeed, you will meet a lot of rejection and it is not always a straight path, there will be detours—so enjoy the view.” Michael York
There. Don’t you feel better?
How do you pick yourself back up after you are rejected?
Betsy and Laurie
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