Try Becoming an Author.

I confess.

I. AM. HUMBLED.

And I haven’t even gotten reviews yet.

The world is full of “no,” “not now,” and “maybe later,” but none of it compares to the steady little rejection emails that arrive during the self-publishing process.

“Oh, you spent three hours creating a cover using our template? Nice try. Scoot your text 0.1 mm to the left…it isn’t quite right.”

Luckily, I’ve always seen those little messages as opportunities to grow.

In the last 24 hours alone, my fourth children’s book about Razzy and Rocco’s first day at Fableway Prep has been rejected by Amazon KDP and IngramSpark no fewer than six times. The funny part? Every rejection has been for a completely different reason than the one before.

The story is about Rocco not wanting to go to school.

At this point, I’m starting to think Rocco really doesn’t want to go.

I’m laughing because it eases the pain with every click of the Resubmit button.

Here’s the thing.

This is all part of the journey.

Whether you’re writing a book, starting a business, changing careers, or chasing a dream, you will hear “no.”

Someone won’t like your work.

Someone will tell you it isn’t good enough.

Someone may even laugh because you dared to try.

Let them.

You don’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Your ideas are unique because they’re yours, and the world doesn’t need another copy of someone else.

I’ve always looked at the word no a little differently.

To me, no is often just a suggestion.

It usually means something needs to change.

Learn something.

Adjust something.

Try again.

It rarely means the journey is over.

My publishing journey is just beginning. There isn’t a huge payoff yet, but I believe there will be.

Every rejection has taught me something I didn’t know yesterday.

Every resubmission has made me a better publisher.

Every “no” has moved me one step closer to “yes.”

Don’t stop.

Keep learning.

Keep improving.

Keep hitting Submit.

Because in my experience, yes is often waiting on the other side of one more “no.”

Your Friend in the Hedges,

Morgan