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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Rejection

Rejection

Handling Disappointment

By Steve Laubeon June 19, 2023
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I do not like to experience disappointment. I do not like rejection, even when it isn’t my personal project being turned down. I do not like to be the bearer of bad news.

And yet I do experience disappointment, rejection, and the telling of bad news–every week. That is the nature of the arts.

The arts (meaning music, writing, dance, and painting) are comprised of thousands of hours of practice, long days of solitude, and truckloads of self-doubt in a world where everyone is a critic.

However, I am inspired by the recitation of the failures of Abraham Lincoln during the 26 years before he was elected President of the United States. During those 26 years he:

Lost his job.
Was defeated for the state legislature.
Failed in business.
Lost his sweetheart to death.
Had a nervous breakdown.
Was defeated for Speaker.
Was defeated for nomination for Congress.
Lost renomination.
Was rejected for land officer.
Was defeated for U.S. Senate.
Was defeated for nomination for Vice President.
Again was defeated for U.S. Senate.

I find that list invigorating. I began in this business forty-two years ago as a part-time shelf-duster in a bookstore. In these ensuing years, I experienced many disappointments and failures, yet God has blessed our family in so many ways.

If you get slapped with a rejection letter today:

“Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest” (Jeremiah 45:3).

If your agent tells you that your latest proposal is flat and needs work:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

If your editor goes on a rampage and takes a machete to your manuscript:

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character (Romans 5:3-4).

If your self-talk begins shouting the word “Loser” in a shrill voice:

As I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless . . . like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

If any of these things hit you, remember:

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

 

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Category: Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, Personal, Rejection, Theology, Writing CraftTag: disappointment, Encouragement, Faith, Rejection

Fun Fridays – May 26, 2023

By Steve Laubeon May 26, 2023
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When a picture says a thousand words:  

Read moreFun Fridays – May 26, 2023
Category: Fun Fridays, HumorTag: Rejection

Rejection: A Fact of the Writing Life

By Steve Laubeon August 15, 2022
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Rejection is a fact of life. Especially the writing life. As one crusty publishing veteran said: “Welcome to the industry that will break your heart.” Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it? But let me put a little perspective on it. I admire writers. You put your souls on a few pages and send them to strangers and pray for acceptance. How do you do that, day in and day …

Read moreRejection: A Fact of the Writing Life
Category: RejectionTag: Get Published, Rejection

Responding to Criticism

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 18, 2020
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When someone tells me she’s not sure she wants me to read her manuscript, I know she’s not ready for publication. Such sentiment shows a lack of confidence and a fear of both rejection and criticism. Even though readers usually treat writers with respect, a critical word can puncture the heart.

Imagine the wounds delivered on Internet sites such as Amazon from readers who lack that respect. A …

Read moreResponding to Criticism
Category: Book Business, Career, Social Media, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Criticism, Rejection, Writing Craft

4 Things I Learned from Rejection

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 12, 2020
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Nobody likes to be rejected. Not middle-school dance attenders. Not job applicants. And definitely not writers. Unfortunately, however, rejection pretty much comes with the territory for writers—at least for writers who are brave enough to submit their work to agents or editors for publication. And it hurts. Every. Single. Time. Take it from me, I know. I’ve been rejected hundreds of times, and …

Read more4 Things I Learned from Rejection
Category: RejectionTag: Rejection, rejection letters

Never Burn a Bridge!

By Steve Laubeon December 2, 2019
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The sale of Thomas Nelson to HarperCollins and last week's sale of Heartsong to Harlequin brought to mind a critical piece of advice:

Never Burn a Bridge!

Ours is a small industry and both editors and authors move around with regularity. If you are in a business relationship and let your frustration boil into anger and ignite into rage...and let that go at someone in the publishing company, …

Read moreNever Burn a Bridge!
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Business, Career, Communication, Rejection, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Agents, Editors, Get Published, Rejection, Trends, Writing Craft

Criticism Is an Unhappy Part of the Business

By Steve Laubeon April 22, 2019
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I would like to tell you about a most enjoyable day. Our agency's guidelines request that unsolicited manuscripts come via the post (I know it's old-school but it works for us), but we still receive e-mail submissions. I spent an entire morning going through that particular in-box, having an assistant send standard e-mail rejection letters, since none were anything our agency could/would …

Read moreCriticism Is an Unhappy Part of the Business
Category: Agency, Get Published, RejectionTag: Book Review, Criticism, crtics, Editors, Rejection, Writing Craft

Even the Best Get Rejected

By Steve Laubeon April 15, 2019
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I've written about rejection before and yet it is a topic that continues to fascinate.

Recently Adrienne Crezo did an article on famous authors and their worst rejection letters. I thought you might enjoy reading a couple highlights of that article and some additional stories I have collected over the years.

George Orwell's Animal Farm was rejected by Alfred Knopf saying it …

Read moreEven the Best Get Rejected
Category: Career, Get Published, Rejection, Writing CraftTag: Rejection, Writing Craft

That Conference Appointment

By Steve Laubeon April 8, 2019
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You snagged one of those valuable 15-minute appointments with an agent or an editor at a writers conference. Now what? What do you say? How do you say it? And what does that scowling person on the other side of the table want? You’ve heard the reputation of that agent as being rough and gruff. What if you blow it? What advice would you give to a beginning writer about attending a writers …

Read moreThat Conference Appointment
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Conferences, Get Published, Pitching, Proposals, Rejection

Why I’m Not Mysterious

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 13, 2018
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I don’t believe in being mysterious, especially as an agent. Since I used to write books for publication, I know what it’s like to put your career in the hands of others. As a writer, I wouldn’t want to send off my precious work and then hear no updates or any word from my agent. I realize any agent will update a client when a contract offer is made. And I realize that, technically, that’s all the …

Read moreWhy I’m Not Mysterious
Category: AgentsTag: Agents, Contracts, Rejection, The Writing Life
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