Rejection is a four letter word.

Like love and hope and awesomeness and accomplishments and…ok some of those aren’t four letters, but I think you get my point.

I got my first “official” rejection letter since I declared myself a writer earlier this summer!

Why am I so happy?

Well…you have to start somewhere, right?

You won’t get an offer or acceptance if you don’t put yourself out there and get a few rejections.  It comes with the business of writing.  No matter what you are writing YOU WILL BE REJECTED. (many, many times)

Get used to it, embrace it, love it…it is the first step to becoming published, the first step to being a writer.

I recently read an article in Writer’s Digest that said to celebrate the rejections.  Make them like anniversaries for your writing.  (Just google Writer’s Digest and Rejection and you will find so many articles about being rejected.)

And remember EVERYONE has been rejected…JK Rowling, Dickens, Dr. Seuss…everyone.  If they all gave up at the first rejection we wouldn’t have some of the best loved books.

Here is a little snippet from my rejection email:

Hi there!
Thanks for your submission and interest in our site! Great post, but not a great fit for us right now. Sorry about that!  

So go out there and write…and get rejected…and keep writing!

I am a writer!

Hello, my name is Erin diStefano...and I am a writer.

(PHEW...glad we got that our of the way)

I'm just getting my "writer's wings" and this has been one of the hardest barriers for me to break. Admitting I have a problem am a writer.

It is sad that most writers, at some point, feel ashamed to admit this, like they are at an AA meeting.

It just doesn't seem like a legitimate thing to be. You expect people to say, "Grow up!", "What's your real job?", etc.  And it's disheartening, because writing is something you love...something you pour your heart and soul into.  Something that is an extention of you.

And when you hear this negativity, it cuts you, right to the core.

I am focusing my own writing on Children's Literature (mostly picture books and chapter books) with an emphasis on humor and satire.  I love the economical use of words that a picture book requires and I love the fun quality chapter books have in teaching new readers to learn a love for reading.

I also love writing book reviews and reading what other writers/agents/editors have to say about the world of children's books.  These are just a few of the topics I will cover in this blog (a real blog of a self proclaimed writer).

But I'm here to say: if you have five day jobs and only write once a month, or if you are a stay-at-home-mom and you write during your kid's nap times, or if you write 50,000 words every day, or if you have been published, or if you have racked up over one hundred rejection letters...YOU ARE A WRITER!

So shout if from the rooftops or from your front porch or bathtub (if you're so inclined)...

I AM A WRITER, AND PROUD OF IT!

So, comment below as your first step to admitting your deepest secret and tell the world..."I'm a writer!"