Even those of us who are old and cranky and thick-skinned sometimes get stung by a particularly brutal rejection or review. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to convert the negativity into fuel for future success, essentially an “I’ll show you, you mother-effer” approach. But I’ve never seen better advice than this rant from Neil Gaiman, who happens to be a genius anyway. Bring on the wild-eyed madness!
“The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering ‘Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!’ and then writing something so unbelievably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there’s nothing left to write. Because the rejection slips will arrive. And, if the books are published, then you can pretty much guarantee that bad reviews will be as well. And you’ll need to learn how to shrug and keep going.” -Neil Gaiman