When You're Just Not Ready for Rejection | Jane Friedman

Let me say that now: It's okay! If you stare at that submission form but can't send anything out for an entire year, that's okay! If you tell yourself over and over that they won't want it-so you don't send it-that's okay! If that form rejection letter just ripped your heart out, stomped on it, and made you feel like nothing you write can possibly be worth anything, that's okay!

It's okay, because one day you won't feel that way. Whether you are able to face that a few months down the road or in a decade, you'll get there. Don't feel like you've done something wrong by not being braver or more resilient or more stoic in the face of rejection. Rejection letters suck!

Not being able to handle rejection doesn't mean you don't care about your work or don't believe it's worth reading or that you want to be published any less than those who send their work out every week. All it means is you're not ready yet. And that's okay.