Photo by Flickr (Creative Commons)
Today’s guest post is from Melissa Titus. Melissa is a wife, blogger, marriage ministry leader, and dark chocolate consumer. She is releasing a group devotional study for women called ‘Losing It’ this fall. Connect with her on Twitter @meltitus or visit her blog here.
I copied and pasted. I hit send. Why didn’t I just hit save draft? My first guest post submission was on its way to one of my favorite bloggers and I was about to have a nervous breakdown. I felt foolish. What was I thinking? It was too late to take my submission back.
My mind raced as I began to consider all the “what if’s”.
What if my post isn’t funny enough?
What if my writing is not as good as I think it is?
What if my post gets lost in a sea of other submissions?
What if they say “No”?
My fear of writing rejection began in high school. My AP English teacher had space for two more students to enter the Ready Writing contest. My hand shot up immediately. Finally, my chance to showcase my writing prowess! She looked right over my shoulder and said, “How about Molly and Sarah?” My heart sank. Two of my best friends were chosen and I was not. For the rest of the year, I kept my hand down. I gave up.
Yet part of me held onto my love of writing.
Fast forward to a few months ago when I took the plunge and decided to write a blog. The great thing about writing your own blog is there is no rejection. All the good books say you have to start guest posting if you want readers.
No big deal, right? Pour your heart out on paper, edit and edit and edit some more, then hit send. Your post arrives in the inbox of a popular writer or blogger who has no idea who you are. It might get lost in their spam folder or their secretary might nix the idea before it even gets to them. Even if you do know them personally, they might not choose your piece. Then the waiting game. Your post is rejected or you never hear anything at all. Time to start all over again.
Is it all worth it?
Absolutely.
The only way we will ever be chosen is to keep staring rejection in the face and refuse to give up.
The fear in my mind is always worse than the actual fear itself. I know I will face rejection as a writer, but I also know I fail every single time if I don’t try.
What is a fear you have overcome?
