Today, I am now a card-carrying member of the Rejected Writers Club.
Back in June I wrote and submitted a story, Project X. This is a short scifi piece that was not only a fun story I crafted but holds the honor of my first ever submitted work. For the first time in my life, an impartial third-party read my stuff and made a decision.
As the years have passed with me writing, editing, submitting and self-publishing, I’ve come across many wonderful people and lots of interesting information. One such piece is the concept of the “10,000 Rule”. The rule was created by Anders Ericsson in the early 1990’s, it states the following:
It takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill.
For instance, it would take 10 years of practicing 3 hours a day to become a master in your subject. It would take approximately 5 years of full-time employment to become proficient in your field.
In working towards my 10,000 hours I’ve achieved milestones but there is one major rite of passage ALL writers must face: rejection. Oooh, it hurts just typing it! Yes, that dreaded word we all hate: rejection. It’s the reality check, the opinion and the fact that our contribution to our 10,000 hours simply wasn’t good enough in the eyes of another. It’s a club all serious writers belong to and one that successful writers re-join all the time.
So where does that leave me? With a slightly-wounded ego but it’s a scar I wear proudly. It’s a scar I know will be joined by many more as time goes on.
Where does that leave Project X? You’ll have to tune in tomorrow to find out. 🙂