It's funny how little things can change your perspective on happenings in your life. For example, a couple of days ago I posted a rant about a very blunt rejection to one of my query letters. As a side note, I'm still going to send them letters, just to piss them off because, hey, it's what I do. Sometimes I like to stir the pot and see what concoction comes out, and sometimes it ends up being pretty funny.
But, alas, there are times when it doesn't turn out so funny, such as a situation that arose yesterday on Facebook. First of all, here's the problem with Facebook (as well as emails and texts): as a reader, you almost never know if somebody is joking or not, and as the writer, you can never tell how somebody is going to take something that you write.
As I put in an earlier post, I'm not the biggest fan of people who post sappy things on Facebook, and when a friend of mine posts something of that nature, then I consider it to be open season on them. This is when I'm at my best, which I suppose is sad to say, but whatever. My friend Lauren posted something about meeting "him," and looking forward to getting to know "him" one day. Well, never missing an opportunity to be a smart-ass, I made a post about gagging and throwing up in my mouth a little bit. Not to be outdone, Lauren posted that she would hunt me down and punch me in the face (which is a visual that I found hilarious, and would probably let her do it if someone were to get it on film). I'm pretty sure she wasn't joking.
Here's the thing…I'm smart enough to know that if you stir the pot long enough over high heat, it's eventually going to boil over, which is exactly what happened in this instance. Lauren is not, in any way, being over sensitive about this, because, as she did not fail to mention, the only comments I've left for her have been of the smart-ass variety. So I'll take this time to publicly come out and say that I apologize. Lauren is a brilliant person who could put me under the table in a battle of wits, any day of the week. When it comes to writing, I'm sure she would make me look like a third grader, which is why I'm glad she's chosen a career in education rather than writing (further proof that she's clearly smarter than me). I'm sorry, Lauren! Please don't punch me in the face, unless we arrange it before hand, and there's a camera crew present.
This had led me to be a bit less angry about the 12th rejection of my novel. Here's why: just because I think something is witty and clever doesn't mean that others are going to, as well. All it means is that the literary world isn't ready for it, or at least those that would publish it aren't ready for it. I think there is some part of me that knew that something like this was possible, and that might be part of the reason for my taking on multiple writing projects (that and the undiagnosed adult ADD that I suffer from).
When it comes to my writing, I'm just going to keep my head down and continue plugging away at it. When the world is ready for my work, then it will be dropped upon the unsuspecting public…may God help them.
However, for those of you who continue to post sappy shit on Facebook, you're not safe. Consider this your warning.
Happy Friday!!
-GS
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