Monthly Bonus: How to feel good as an artist

and keep going in the face of rejection

I’m a member of the international group of picture book illustrators called Illoguild. Each month, we each answer a question here on Substack. For February, that question is: “How do you feel good as an artist?” I’ve added, “and keep going in the face of rejection.”

My answer: Be an archaeologist or detective, a cheerleader, a comedian and listen to Dolly Parton above all else.

It’s true that being an author or illustrator involves facing rejection. If you put the things you create out there, you’re not always going to get an instant yes. Especially when you’re still narrowing a huge gap between your taste and your skill level. First drafts or sketches probably won’t be as good as work you’ve spent time on and shown to your critique group for review. And that’s ok. Good things take time. Make the work and then make better work when you’ve learned from the first work. It’s hard to hear critique or “No” when you show your work. But, when you do get a “No” examine why that happened, learn from that and improve. Treat submissions like a science experiment.

Being an archaeologist and a detective involves looking at the situation objectively. What did that rejection letter really say? It didn’t say, “We hate you and your work. I hope you never pick up a pencil again.” because in the Children’s Book industry, most people are very nice and encouraging and have empathy for the guts it takes to send work out. And if you ever do get a rejection that says, “Never write or draw again.” Then I am here to tell you, “It’s not you. It’s them. Keep going and submit to someone else. They just saved you time because now you know who you never want to work with!” The rejection letter probably either indicates that your work simply isn’t a match for that agent/publisher, or if you get a personal note, has clues on what that person suggests you work on to get to the next level. Take that information and either find ways to improve (studying more books, writing more, drawing people or environments or animals), or find other people to submit to.

We now have cool tools like emails, recorded Zoom calls and Discord servers that can assist that archaeologist part of us. We can now analyze the data from an outside perspective and not rely on just our memory of a conversation.

But, looking at an email or recorded critique and being an archaeologist isn’t always easy (for me). Maybe you can relate, but my creative brain tends to go in a million different directions. It’s helpful for me to share critique and rejections word for word with my trusted group of creative friends and invite them to be fellow detectives, comedians and cheerleaders with me. Having a team of people who you can support as much as they support you makes everyone work harder and improve. And if you share your journey and goals with trusted friends, they can help you get to where you want to go. And, remember to pour time and energy into helping others too. Not only is it kind, and a basic part of being a good friend, but it also strengthens your own skills, makes you feel good and encourages you to keep going.

Being a comedian (to me) comes from looking objectively first, taking some time with it and embracing it with humor, lightness and laughter. Really allow yourself to feel the emotion of getting a rejection and take the time you need to process it. I find that when I’m fixated on a project I really want but I get a rejection or the project falls through, I feel it deeply. And guess what? Dream projects are going to fall through. But you know what else is true? If you can feel those feelings, process that pain, laugh and move on, there’s always another dream project you didn’t even know you wanted that reveals itself, and often it’s a better fit for you than the one you thought you wanted. When I can laugh at a situation, I know I’ve processed it and gotten to the, “That’s the way I wanted it to happen anyway! I’m so glad that fell through because now I’m over here being awesome.” phase.

Even writing this newsletter has helped me process some of those feelings. One last tip - try writing some rejection tips when you’re dealing with a harsh critique. Pretend you’re offering advice to a friend - it might even help you process some of those feelings. Maybe you’ll find that you already know how to keep going and putting it out into the world will help you, and maybe someone else, too!

And finally, a quote from Dolly Parton who just says it best:

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

Keep going friends, keep going.