From Rejection Comes Success
The Unexpected Outcome of a Story Declined
In May of 2010 I submitted a creative writing story call, A Short Story with a Moral Lesson - The Sailboat Two weeks later it was returned as declined. To date, it has over 10,000 page views. For some 10,000 views may seem minimal for a single online story. As much as I'm flattered by the daily number of page views what truly intrigues me is the public's connection with this particular short story. The subtitle, " A Young Man's Story of Selflessness and Sacrifice " is the core of the story. How a young man's choices and selfless decisions effected his life and the lives of others. It's a simple and timeless parable.
As an online writer, I purposely gear my work toward the general public; concentrating on pieces of work that share a commonality of interests, timeless subject matter and a broad spectrum of informative. The success of The Sailboat has given me the personal conformation [I need] to continue this form of online writing. I'm pleased to know that it's reaching a collective of readers who share a personal connection to a particular article, poem or story.
A Short Story with a Moral Lesson - The Sailboat is my cash cow stories earning between $4-6 dollars per month. Again, for some of the more seasoned and accomplished online writer it may seem an insignificant amount. Nevertheless, the success the of The Sailboat was an unexpected outcome of a story previously declined. I think the moral of this story is simply "From rejection comes success - Never Give Up!"
Published by Deb Martin-Webster
Originally from Pennsylvania, author/artist Deb Martin-Webster and her British husband Pete, currently live on a small farm near the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. They enjoy the simplicity of their... View profile
- How to Keep Writing After RejectionVirtually every writer has received the dreaded rejection letter on something they wrote. Nearly every writer has felt the sting that only article rejection can bring
A Short Story with a Moral Lesson -The SailboatA young man once dreamt of owning his own sailboat. He dreamed of traveling around the world, with a small crew and visiting different ports along the way.- The Memorable Cooler: A Short StoryThe Memorable Cooler: A Short Story. This is a short story about first memories.
Review of a Short Story Collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges b...A quick review of Nathan Englander's short story collection. All connected to Judaism, his stories still have tremendous range but are tied together by a subtle writing style.
- Spiders: A Science Fiction Short StorySpiders: A Science Fiction Short Story. A fictional sci fi short story. A peak into another world. One beyond ours. Or, is it?
- Dealing with Rejection Letters from Agents and Publishers
- Reject! Overcoming the Fear of Rejection
- Alice Munro's Runaway Short Story Collection is a Runaway Hit
- Press EN! 12.09.08: the Rest of the Story
- Writers: How to Overcome Rejection and Criticism and Get Published!
- Dealing with Failure and Rejection in a Job Search
- Setting Aside Your Fears to Achieve Success
17 Comments
Post a CommentAlfonso, Bonnie and Brian thank you all for your supportive words of encouragement!
This is a very good point. Thanks
Reward is that window Spirit opens when a door of rejection slams. My dear, in your case God opened a skylight. Stay in your integrity and write from your soul. I truly believe we shall be rewarded, if not in money, in reaching the person who is confused and needs to hear our message.
I really enjoyed this article Deb, this brings to light about the raod less traveled is often times the road that become our learning lessons in life.
Mike congratulations on your front page success of 6000 PV's. From one photographer to another I love your work and as a Featured Gardening Contributor the photos of your roses are spectacular and they don't make me sneeze, lol! Thanks for taking the time to read this article.
LOL what a creative costume idea Tracy. I'll have to check it out!! :)
Very well said! I did the best with Chilean Miner Halloween costumes! Who would have thought? lol
Many people respond to rejection by introspection, self-reflection, and self-examination. I respond by cursing and questioning the marital status of the editor's parents at the time they were born.
I was rejected for upfront payments 23 times for writing in the first person. And 12 more times for not loving Jesus enough.
I decided when I joined AC that I was writing for comments not PVs, so after my fourth submission was rejected for upfront payment, I went to publishing strictly DO. Most of my submissions are slideshows, so they are not eligible for upfront payments anyway. I am beginning to appreciate PVs more, but the money will never be a motivator; it is just too puny! And my biggest moneymaker was a slideshow that made it to the front page during Christmas -- over 6,000 PVs.