Expect a Fair Amount of Rejection
I have a shoebox full of rejection letters
Wake Up and Write is a regular advice column from Moms Don’t Have Time to Write. Today, we have Daniel James Brown — author of the New York Times bestseller, Facing the Mountain— who shared writing advice on the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, hosted by Zibby Owens.
“Part of me wants to say start before your mid-fifties because I kind of wish I had forty more years to be a writer.”
“I really enjoy it. It’s great work. It’s fun. It’s rewarding.
I don’t think I actually would say that. I think one should start writing whenever one feels like it, whenever one feels ready for it. The main thing is to simply do it. The hardest is overcoming the initial blank-page syndrome and to just get something down on paper or on your computer screen.
That first step is the hardest step in a lot of ways. There’s plenty of hard steps along the way. Get started. Do it. Then keep at it. Expect a fair amount of rejection. I have a shoebox full of rejection letters, probably dozens of them, from my first book. It took a lot of hanging in there and continuing to try before that first book got published. Once it did, it led to another book.
Have perseverance.”
Listen to the episode:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/daniel-james-brown-facing-the-mountain?rq=daniel%20james%20brown
Buy the book:
