Advice in All its Forms
I did what I said I’d never do… fall into the trap of believing that celebrities aren’t the same as the rest of us… I read an interview with actor/producer Reese Witherspoon where she says she no longer gets upset by rejection because she’s learned to let go of what other people think. I love her message, but a small, snarky part of me felt it was disingenuous. Of course she can ignore the sting of rejection—she’s uber-successful! Not like us unknown creative types still toiling away in obscurity.
But I was being unfair. I don’t know Reese Witherspoon as an individual. I don’t know the challenges she faced either at the beginning of her career or even now. I admire her work, and she’s obviously put in a ton of effort into her career, so why should I dismiss her hard-won wisdom simply because I didn’t (or don’t) see her struggles?
That’s the way we are as writers. We look at successful authors and think easy for them to say. But it’s not. Their own careers may have taken them on challenging trajectories. In fact, maybe your own writing life is going more smoothly than theirs at the same stage. We never know the challenges another artist faces; let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that yes, they do know what it’s like.
Which brings us back to Reese’s original point. Rejection sucks, but ultimately, what matters most about your writing is what you think of it.