Just receive another rejection notice? Discouraged?
I remembered an interview in Christianity Today* with the late Madeleine L’Engle from just over 30 years ago (see June 8, 1979 issue), during which she talked about a very difficult period in her writing life. I’ll share the highlights. I hope it is helpful. It’s just like I remembered it. (Plus, I get to justify to my wife why I save all these magazines!)
Q. Let’s talk about the dry years. You’d had five books published. You must have thought you had it made. Then, nothing. What did you do? How did you feel?
A: I felt terrible. My husband had left the theater. We wanted more children. He thought it was unfair to bring more children into the world with two parents in totally precarious professions. Even with five books I wasn’t making enough royalties to support us.
We had gone through a perfectly terrible year… He’d had a number of jobs, but they’d taken him out of town. We were together two weeks out of fifty-two…
It seemed ironic and unfair that just as I was turning closer to God, I couldn’t sell anything I wrote. Particularly, Meet the Austins. It was rejected for over two years because it dealt with death. At that time death was taboo in children’s literature… I wrote another novel and then I wrote A Wrinkle in Time. It was rejected and rejected. I would put the kids to bed, walk down the dirt road in front of the house, weep, and yell at God. I’d say, “God why are you letting me have all of these rejection slips? You know its a good book. I wrote it for you.”… When it was finally accepted, the publisher said it wouldn’t sell…
When it won the Newbury, everybody was shocked. If my prayers had been answered earlier, the book might have dropped into a dark pool of oblivion…
I hope this is a source of encouragement.
Write on!
Gary Allen VanRiper
www.adirondackkids.com
twitter: @adirondackkids
My daughter and I each keep a copy of L’Engle’s inspiring, Madeleine L’Engle Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life (Writers’ Palette , on our night stands. Reads like a devotional for writers. It’s awesome.
*Thanks to Christianity Today for permission to share this segment of the interview.
God’s timing is perfect. :o) What great encouragement!
Great, y’all are going to make me cry … this is just what I needed to hear today!!
Great story, thank you for sharing! Encouragement to act upon and take strength my FAITH is just what I needed today! Nikole, God’s timing IS perfect! Thank you for the reminder of that, as well…this has been an extra tough week!
Fantastic post, and so encouraging. I can’t believe that so many of my favorite books almost didn’t get published. Thanks Tricia! And thanks to your guest Blogger, Gary Allen VanRiper!