Does writing scare anyone. I sent off a chapter to a publisher and they said I had an appealing style, I took that as a kind rejection. I feel afraid to move on with the book but am going mad not doing it.

It's a great thing to be said about your writing, even in the context of a rejection - not least because it's one of those things that are very hard to do if you don't do it naturally. Rejections are all part of the game, so take it as a good thing, not a bad one, that they bothered to say anything, and that what they said was very positive.

But, yes, even leaving aside the 'Oh, darn it!' that any rejection makes you feel for a while, any external feedback about your work - whether it's good or bad - can make you feel horribly self-conscious when you do go back to work, and that self-consciousness can knock your proper writerly process awry. You may need to leave it for a day or two, but then the only thing to do is to put that comment behind you, and keep going with what you're doing.

Best of luck with it

Emma

Hello, I've had my share of rejections but I always value the ones that are encouraging and to say your style is appealing should be a great boost. It often happens that we "stall" with our writing following a rejection. It's happened to me a few times, but you must press on if not writing is causing you stress. Give yourself a few days to regroup and then press on. Take heart from the nice comment that was made. (One of my rejections simply said, "This really isn't my cup of tea."). I can see the funny side now but I was very hurt at the time. Good luck with future submissions.

Hi, higgins and welcome to WriteWords If yuo need any help navigating the site, feel free to ask.

As for your rejection, most writers recieve form letters so any personalised rejection letter should be taken as encouragement to continue. If your novel is finished, prepare a couple of dozen submissions (covering letter, synopsis and first 3 chapters) and send them out to Agents who specialise n the genre you're writing in. Certainly don't give up at this stage.



- NaomiM

Hi, Thanks for the encouragement, it's nice to know people are willing to spend time helping struggling would be authors.