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| Christina Ryan Claypool |
If you’ve
experienced rejection in your writing career—and most of us have—you understand
the sting and discouragement it can bring. Author Christina Ryan Claypool
experienced her share of “no thanks,” but she kept writing, and she encourages
us to do the same. ~ Dawn
Forget
Rejection: “Keep Writing!”
If I could tell an aspiring or discouraged writer only one
thing, it would be to never give up, despite the reality of rejection. Once at
a writing seminar, a speaker said that to be considered a “real writer,” you
must experience at least five rejections. I found this humorous, because I used
to keep a manila file folder for negative replies, before the advent of
electronic rejections. When the file grew discouragingly bulky, I stopped
saving them.
Over a decade ago, there was one creative response I’ve never
forgotten. Initially, the national literary agent declined my manuscript
proposal tactfully. Then he added, “Even though we are not going to be
representing your book, use this letter to line your cat’s litter box and keep
writing.”
“Keep writing!” Here’s the primary key for most folks who have
been successful in their writing career. They have mustered the emotional
stamina and maintained the self-discipline to write with scheduled regularity,
perfecting their art to become the best wordsmith they can be.
“We learn by practice,” said the late Martha Graham who is
referred to as the mother of Modern Dance. The famous dancer and choreographer
explained, “Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to
learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same.”
Therefore, it only makes sense that one learns to write by
writing. That’s not always easy though, because like most wannabe authors, for
years I had to work a day job to pay the bills. This means when your friends
are chatting over coffee, enjoying the beach, or going to a movie, you have to
sacrifice your free time to put pen to paper.
Then there is the tricky feat of continuing to believe in
yourself when literary achievement has eluded you. To combat this, at another
seminar I gleaned the importance of sending out a new submission for every
rejection.
It would have been easy for me to believe that as a writer, I
wasn’t that good, despite some sporadic success. Rejection does that. It makes
us compare ourselves to others, and many of my colleagues are prize-winning
communicators.
Yet over the decades, I had never won any writing awards. Then
I happened to read the now classic book, The
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio subtitled, How
my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less by the late Terry Ryan.
Evelyn Ryan, [no relation to me] supported her large family in
the 1950s and 60s by writing contest jingles. Somehow, reading about the now
deceased Mrs. Ryan’s indomitable spirit made me realize that even though the
odds are definitely stacked against a freelanced or contest submission, you
just never know.
This was my mindset when I sent several submissions to the
former National Amy Writing Awards in January 2012. In no way, had I ever
dreamed that out of more than 700 submissions nationwide, my article, “Finding
Forgiveness,” written for The Lima News would be selected as the $10,000 First
Prize winner.
In the Bible there is a promise that God will supply our
needs. Evelyn Ryan needed to win money and prizes to support her large family,
and she did. In the autumn of my writing career, I earnestly needed to know
that my perseverance as a writer had been the right life path. Winning the
$10,000 First Place National Amy Writing Award was my humbling answer from our
benevolent heavenly Father. An answer, I took all the way to the bank.
Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife:
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| Secrets of the Pastor's Wife |
Cassandra
Martin seems like the perfect pastor’s wife, but she’s harboring heartbreaking
secrets. She doesn’t have any close friends to confide in, fearing her past
could jeopardize her husband’s position. Will Cassie trust widow and coffee
shop owner, Katie Montague, with the truth or will she let her secrets destroy
her?
Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel features discussion questions for Inspirational book clubs, church
small groups, and women’s recovery ministries.
Goodreads Giveaway going on: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/289768-secrets-of-the-pastor-s-wife
Christina Ryan
Claypool is a $10,000 National Amy and Ohio APME award-winning freelance
journalist and inspirational speaker who has been featured on Joyce Meyer
Ministries Enjoying Everyday Life TV show and on CBN's 700 Club. Her inspiring
fictional debut, Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel, was released in fall
2018. She is a two-time Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor, who also writes
Christian recovery books. Christina has a B. A. from Bluffton University and an
M.A. from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Besides loving God and her family,
coffee and chocolate really are her favorite things.
Connect with Christina and learn more here:
Author Website: www.christinaryanclaypool.com
Christina’s Blog: www.christinaryanclaypool.com/blog1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinaryanclaypool/
@christinaryanclaypool
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRClaypool
@CRClaypool
