Thursday morning on Good Morning America there was a segment on the importance of having a support group when you are looking for a job. They are even sponsoring Job Clubs in cities around the country for people in the midst of a job search. The bottom line: support is crucial when you are in a situation in which rejection can happen on a daily basis.
There was also lots of advice about keeping a positive attitude, generating good job karma and staying focused on your goal. Similar to the Randy Pausch mantra that brick walls are only there to inspire us to find a way to go over them.
All of which brings me to the psychological effects of rejection which happens to most writers on a fairly regular basis. It is hard to keep a stiff upper lip when you work in a solitary profession, pour out your heart and soul to an inanimate object and then proffer it up for the world to critique. And most of the time those critiques are based on things that have nothing to do with the quality of your work; the person on the other end is simply having a bad day.
Writer's groups are helpful; so are online editorial groups and just getting out of the house to do something not related to writing. And so is the knowledge that rejection happens to everyone and it is not easy for anyone.
It is very difficult to keep plugging but often there is no other way to beat the odds. You have to believe that there is someone who is going to like what you write just like you have to believe there is someone who needs your services.
And very often the difference between belief and reality is plain old persistence.
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