Separating Self-Worth From Words

“When something you make doesn’t work, it didn’t work, not you. You, you work. You keep trying.” 

~ Zach Klein

I'm always entertained when a newbie writer comes along all bouncy and starry-eyed, expecting their first draft of a story to outsell Harry Potter. I was that newbie writer. Every writer was at one point in time.

Then rejection comes along like a sharp pin bursting a balloon and everything falls apart. Your self-esteem falls to the ground in little pieces. You're sure everyone hates you. Life isn't worth living anymore. You should probably go eat worms.  

There's a certain amount of failure involved in the writing game, but just because you fail doesn't mean you're a failure. A writer who doesn't land a book deal is still a writer. It simply means the methods you're employing aren't working and perhaps you ought to change them.

Authors stick with it. They write no matter what, whether their writing sells or doesn't sell. Lack of publication, fame and fortune, great reviews or awards does not stop a writer from writing because ultimately that's not what writing is about. Oh, it stings a bit when rejection or lack of success slaps you across the face, but real writers don't link their self-worth with the words they crank out on paper.

Perseverance is the hallmark of a writer.