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Not necessarily because I think the stories are horrible, but more so because they're being rejected gave me an opportunity to become a better writer and to reach for what I knew could be better. These rejections made me really ask myself if I took those pieces as far as I could with the skills and vision I had at that point in time, and also as I was constantly learning and improving, I often wasn't the same writer who wrote the piece as when I went to revise it again
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:44
If you want to see more about the numbers as far as my failures and rejections over the last six years, just follow the link and you will see a breakdown of 2022 to 2017 as far as how many submissions I've sent out, how many rejections and acceptances. And I do all the math as far as the acceptance rate and go deeper into what I've learned by looking at the data of this very wild and seemingly really subjective process of trying to get your writing published in the world
J.L. Beasley
@Her_Sisu · 4:28
But what's next for me in terms of what can I tweak or what additional things can I learn so that I can move on to the next failure or possibly the next success? Either way, I'm moving versus being stagnant
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 3:18
And I think finding what it is that we really love to do, no matter the outcome, which feels like a life well lived to me. And I wanted to note that in relation to something you said, something that was really cool for me, that I go a little bit deeper into the written piece about looking at these 595 projections. Was I color coded?
Anisah Khan
@Anisah_Writes · 1:52
Hi. Bowie. This is Denisa. And honestly, I would like to applaud you for sharing your progress in the year of 2022, sharing that of these pieces that you've submitted, and only two of them were published and received recognition. That is really brave as a writer, because I feel like us writers where we don't really tend to have the openness to share our failures as opposed to our successes
Aayan B
@aayanisms · 3:53
But there is a common denominator, if you will, which says, well, if my writing there's a pattern which is not resonating with the current set of evaluators. Let's air quotes on that. Maybe that's a message. Maybe I probably change the way I write or adapt or adopt a new style. Or alternatively, if I'm unable to do that, maybe I should try something else. Maybe I'd be very good at directing, maybe very good at editing
When do we stop? When do we know that it's no longer? And I love how in your original post you said that when you went back, you realized that some of the writing was worth renewing, worth re editing, worth resubmitting, and some of it you realized was done, had served its purpose, wasn't worth pursuing, you'd no longer found your passion for it
Binati Sheth
@Binati_Sheth · 3:08
Because either the time for that particular story to be read and appreciated in the way that it should be isn't there it, or the way that the narrative could be fleshed out from our side as authors and writers, that hasn't happened yet. As someone who also gets rejected a lot in these kind of transactions and interactions, the thing I have come to appreciate about the rejections and about the failures is that occasionally with the rejections comes a critique, right?
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:17
Thank you so much for this response. I love what you had to say, and it was just a reminder for me of why I wanted to do this project about failure, because I think it's one thing to hear about the failures and rejections of writers who then went on to become famous, right? But that's romanticized
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:50
I know at this point in my writing and creative life that no matter how much recognition, money, opportunities that may be rewarded, to me, it'll most likely never feel like enough
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:59
And the reason that they keep doing it, the ones I know who are at least fairly happy and fulfilled with their work is because they love it. They love that process. They love the challenge of going, how the h*** am I going to write this next book? I know I've done it before, but I don't remember how I did it
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:54
It's not necessarily that they aren't, quote unquote, good enough yet, but it's that the world we live in maybe doesn't function in a way that's going to support it being out in the world. So curious to hear if you have any thoughts about that, but just thank you so much. I love hearing your thoughts on writing and books and all those things. So I appreciate you
Binati Sheth
@Binati_Sheth · 4:50
It's that every single rejection that came in, it had, like, these notes within it. A lot of those notes made the book the commercial success that it is because Rolling has been very open about the kind of deeper, darker themes. And this could probably be another swell in and on itself. But Harry Potter, to me, always seemed like it was written as a book about death, right? If we talk about intention and obstacle within the book, the overall intention is like death
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:55
I'm not sure what if maybe the only reason I felt called to write this story was because I needed to write it for me to heal or further engage with or deepen something within myself that maybe the wider world will never read. Or maybe the only people to read that are my inner circle of other writers and readers and friends who have read it for me and given me feedback. And what if that's okay? I don't necessarily think that makes it a failure
Hey, Bowie. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this conversation and the varied perspectives that are being shared. As a writer, I've had my fair share of low values with my pieces not making the card for getting published, and there have been moments where I wondered if I was even tend to do this. No one stopped the clock on me. But rejections do sometimes tend to have that kind of effect that makes one almost think maybe I should be doing something else
Berotte Jean berty
@Berty97 · 4:23
And I've been rejected countless time by many enterprise that I tried to go home. So the job that I applied for or job required a certain level of English, let's say proficient. So what happened to me is every time that I am in these positions or if I have an important interview to settle the job, if I have a last exam or test to perform before having the job, I chicken out. Like, literally
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:55
The first thing that came to mind to me is something that has helped me a lot over the years, especially in relation to work related things where you're having to figure out a way to make a living and take care of yourself while also chasing your dreams and maybe trying to move towards a job or a financial situation that is more sustainable or healthy. And there was a period of time in which I was working 70 to 80 hours a week
Berotte Jean berty
@Berty97 · 3:22
It gave me opportunity to talk with people just like you who went through te contean, who have learned from their past failure, and we keep improving themselves. And I've learned from what you said. I learned from what you said. And I promise to keep on going. And I also have faith on myself. I think my fear wasn't something totally related to anxiety. I think anxiety support is one of the things that was making me frozen in those kind of situation
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:48
Hey, Berotte, I just listened to your reply here, and I just want to say that I'm rooting for you and I love your conviction and your belief in yourself and your gentleness with yourself. Because I think that benevolence to you is an incredibly key ingredient in the journey of taking risks and being out there and knowing that failure is just another door for opportunity. But it has an emotional component that we all have to bear, and I think your relationship to that seems really healthy
Berotte Jean berty
@Berty97 · 0:27
Hello, Debbie. Thank you for having taken the time to give me a reply and also to share your thoughts on my journey. So I really appreciate and of course, I will definitely keep you posted about my progress. And I also look forward to listening to your content, Tim, as well. Have a good day. Bye
It's interesting because I wrote some pretty groundbreaking stuff. I don't know where those stories are today or what, but I thought at that point I was writing groundbreaking stuff you could chew on. And I'll never forget receiving a snail mail letter. Yes, those. I received a snail mail letter back from 17 Magazine. They did not accept, or rather, I did not get selected for the contest. And I was devastated. I felt defeated. Anyway, I was devastated
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:36
And something that this process of publication and all the rejection that comes from it constantly reminds me of is there are so many factors at work that don't equate to us not being good enough. I think I mentioned how as I've gotten deeper into the industry or published more and hearing why those positive rejections have been so impactful when an editor tells you, I loved this piece
It's not necessarily a bad thing, but the rejection can really propel us forward in the sense of maybe it's hokey to say, but when one door closes, a window opens, another door opens. An opportunity to start something and do it the way you see it opens. And so sometimes that rejection ends up catapulting our career or catapulting our life or the lives of those around us into another dimension. And I think that that's important to remember
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