Ben Langhinrichs

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Ben Langhinrichs, Author


Welcome, friend, and enter.


Fri 12 Jul 2019, 09:51 AM
Mismatched shoes and socks
 
Authors get told "No!" even more often than small kittens. No, we don't want to publish your short story. No, I don't want to represent you and your novel. No, the acquisitions department doesn't think we can sell your book. Sometimes it is couched in nicer terms, "Doesn't fit my list" or "Not quite right for me, but this is a subjective business", though quite often it is couched in silence with no response means no policies. Even if we make it through the process and our book is published, we face sometimes hostile reviewers and readers.
 
Too often, we refer to all of these negative responses as Rejection. Too often, we feel as if we ourselves have been rejected.
 
Instead, I try to think of this as Mismatch rather than Rejection. When an agent or editor says no, it is about the match being wrong and not about me or my work. Seen that way, I need to simply keep looking for the right match, or keep polishing and improving my book's chances for a good match. Even a round peg may not go into a round hole unless it is smooth and the right size. Your book may be just about right, but need smoothing or trimming to find the right match.
 
Same with negative reviews. That is just a mismatch between reader and book. No book is right for everybody. But there are readers out there for your stories, poems, books. You need to find them, and when the right match occurs, it is a wonderful thing.
 

Copyright © 2019 Ben Langhinrichs

Tue 9 Jul 2019, 12:58 PM
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Because we are not sensible enough to get one kitten, we got a second a few days later. We met them both the same day, but were less certain about this one. This is Sophie. We sometimes call her Chewie for somewhat obvious reasons. She and Tasha are very different. Sophie sleeps a lot, and moves more much slowly and hesitantly, but the two are starting to learn to play together. Plus, they both slept on our bed last night.
 
Sophie is very hard to photograph because all that fluffy fur is dark and mottled, and her eyes tend to disappear unless she is very close and they are wide open. This is about the only photo I've managed yet.
 
The one thing both kittens have in common is a great reluctance to let me concentrate on writing or work or anything except kittens. Oh well.

Copyright © 2019 Ben Langhinrichs

Sat 6 Jul 2019, 04:27 PM
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Writing can be a lonely endeavor, and it doesn't hurt to have a writing buddy. May I introduce Natasha, whom we usually call Tasha, a six-week-old rescue kitten who joined our household a couple of days ago. She doesn't quite understand yet that being a writing buddy does not entail climbing on the keyboard or batting at my hand as I type, but I'm sure she'll learn.
 
Right?
 
C'mon, falks, I have a lot of writing to get done. Sigh. Yes, Tasha, I'll play with you.

Copyright © 2019 Ben Langhinrichs