Rejections - ritual and celebration

Photo by James Homans on Unsplash

Recently, one of our own here, Cindy Heinrichs (you’ll know her work if you’re active in the picturebook workshop) shared with me her “rejection pottery.” It makes me think: Beauty from… what? The word “loss” comes to mind. Rejection can feel like a form of loss.

Forty years

The nature of rejection has changed in the years I’ve been writing. In the 80s and 90s, rejection came in an envelope in the mail. I had days when I didn’t want to open that box. Now it comes via email. Or—more often with the new expediency—it “shows up” via “ghosting” and silence. That silence can be particularly tough—dehumanizing. Far worse, to my mind, than the old “form letter” used to be.

I wonder about the lack of physicality to the rejection of now.