Through all the writing conferences and writing workshops I’ve attended over the years, I’ve never been to a single talk that teaches about handling rejection. Rejection’s a hard topic, especially when most of us would rather think about the potential success. Unfortunately, as authors, we’ve chosen to be involved in an industry that requires rejection…and for most of us, a boat-load of it!
Luckily, we have some great tools to deal with rejection.
Writing Tribes and Writing Workshops Kick Rejection To The Curb
From what I hear, and personally experienced, 2017 was a tough year. I can’t imagine going through a year like last year without my writing tribe. And yet, plenty of authors do.
Are you tribe-less?
If so, finding your writing tribe should be on your goals list for 2018.
A writing tribe is the single strongest tool writers have to combat rejection.
A writing tribe is more than a critique group or a writing chapter. A writing tribe is filled with other authors you can trust with your writing, your failures, and your successes. This group will support you when you fail, pick you up when you’re having a down day, and cheer you on when you’ve reached a milestone or seen success. Most of the time, this tribe is filled with like-minded authors, even if everyone is writing in different genres.
If I’ve learned one thing along this journey, it’s that I would not be where I am today without the encouragement of my writing tribe.
Discovering your writing tribe at writing workshops or writing retreats.
I’m always amazed to hear from an experienced, mutli-published author that they don’t have a trusted group of other writers to depend on for support, encouragement, and beta reads or critiques. In fact, many authors come on our writing retreats for the writing workshops…but leave with a writing tribe for the first time in their life.
Attending a writing retreat like Cruising Writers helps you more easily find like-minded authors to start building your writing tribe. With Cruising Writers, you already know a few things you have in common with the other attending authors. Other retreaters typically are:
- Writers who like to travel
- Authors who have an adventurous spirit
- Writers who are deeply interested in improving their writing craft
- Authors whose manuscripts are ready to pitch
- Writers who want to learn bestselling marketing techniques
- Authors who are interested in relationship-building with writing industry leaders
When I first started Cruising Writers I didn’t set out to create a writing community, but I think the above commonalities are why we’ve naturally grown into a solid writing tribe. Most of our retreaters keep in contact through the Cruising Writers Writing Retreats closed Facebook group–only open to current and past retreaters. A group of us meet online daily to do writing and editing sprints. Some of our retreaters have even traveled across the country to visit with each other, and many of them make plans to attend future Cruising Writers Writing Retreats together. Interacting with this group is one of my favorite parts of running Cruising Writers. I love seeing them succeed, hearing about what they’re writing, and cheering them on when they’ve hit a list or written a great line.
This year, I’d like to bring a little bit of the spirit of Cruising Writers to you.
2018 is officially the Year of Encouragement for Cruising Writers.
How are you feeling right now? Hopeful for the year? Or are you in need of some encouragement?
I’m a firm believer in the power of encouragement. So this year, I’m sending out random notes of encouragement to my writing tribe. And if you are reading this blog or getting my newsletters, YOU are now a part of my writing tribe.
If you’d like to receive a surprise note this year, sign up here. I’ll never sell your information and will not use it for promotional purposes. This is ONLY to send you a little encouragement, maybe on the day you need it the most.
Let’s make 2018 better than our 2017. Let’s go on an adventure and write (and succeed!), together.