So let’s say you’ve been reading the posts last week during Banned Books Week and you’re thinking you’d like to write your own tome that will one day vex some censorious-minded individual by its very existence. Well, first off: great bucket list item. I’ve yet to meet an author who doesn’t find it as amusing to be in that circle of writers even as they’re annoyed at the small-mindedness of others that put them there. And hey, NaNoWriMo is coming up in a little over a month in case you want to get cracking.
But if you want to make sure a traditional publisher brings your book to the world, you must deal with rejection, as I’ve posted about before.
Well, imagine my surprise when I learned that the author of many a banned book, Toni Morrison, has been an editor at Random House back in the day… and being an editor means you must write many a rejection letter. Melina Moe collects some of the thoughts for the LA Review of Books and it is illuminating… and might well make you think about your next work whether you’re diving into NaNoWriMo or something else.