Dear Sinead,

OK, so your first two novels have been turned down and you’re feeling down and very despondent. Yes you could wallpaper your entire house with the rejection letters. Yes you feel ill every time you see that self-addressed envelope coming back through your letterbox.  ’What’s the point?’ you ask yourself. ‘Why bother?’ you say. ‘I’m clearly not good enough’, you berate yourself… STOP!

Don’t let the rejections prevent you from doing something you love. Of course it’s difficult to keep picking yourself up and dusting yourself down after each rejection. But you know what, no one said it was going to be easy. If you really want this you’ll have to dig deeper, work harder and fine-tune your skill. There are no over-night successes in this industry. Ninety percent of published authors were rejected the first time. Even JK Rowling was turned down seven times.

Instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself some serious questions. ‘Why am I writing?’ ‘Is it just for the glory of being published?’ or ‘Am I writing because I love it, because I feel so calm and content when I am immersed in a book?’

Remember that the reason you started writing is because it’s your passion, so don’t stop. Never stop. Even if you never do get published, it’s what you love to do, so keep doing it. Think of all those authors you admire, all those writers you look up to, they were turned down too. It’s a very competitive market, it’s a tough world, but you can do it. So come on, chin up, keep going, believe in yourself and maybe…if you are very lucky….one day….it might just happen to you!

Sinead xx

Sinead’s latest book is Me And My Sisters which went straight to number one in the Irish Book Charts and was nominated for an Irish Book Award

Visit Sinead’s Website