Do people understand children are off limits, and so when they say nasty things, they do mean to hurt? I can't imagine the kind of cluelessness it would take to think any negative comment is okay.

Big S, little s. What begins with S? Stinky, silly, senior editors soliciting uninspired manuscripts. (Okay, I lost the alliteration there at the end, but I hope it still conveys my support of your fabulous writing).

Methinks that in this day and age many many things are mistaken for babies. As my daughter might say, "silly people".

Did someone insult Frances? Do I have to come up to Canada with my knee-breaking stick?

I know what you mean about someone saying something about your baby. Nothin brings out my inner bitch like someone slinging insults at my child. I would kill anyone who insulted her with glee. Do we need to round up the blog posse in Frances' defense?

No no, KLee--the insulting-Frances part is nothing new. It's just that during Frances's first year, when we heard stuff all the time, I'd remember that old saying and think, gee--if this is what it's like to have your work rejected, maybe I shouldn't do this.

When actually, it's not even remotely the same thing. Next to having someone reject your baby, having someone reject your work is like having a cavity filled. Not even.

I've got to think there are a lot of other people out there who are hung up on the same thing--afraid to try because rejection is supposed to hurt *that much.* And it just doesn't.

This culture has a very strange concept of tragedy, and the things it views as "tragic". I agree with you completely that to put these things out of perspective is not only disrespectful but callous as well.

Peace,

~Chani

I've never heard that expression but I cannot even comprehend how those two things could be compared. One might feel like a kick in the head, the other, a heart ripped out and stomped on the sidewalk for no reason at all.

I mean, really? Who are those that say things like this?

So sorry to hear about your story. I am sending a little bit of novocaine your way.

I hope she (he?) at least gave you some useful criticism.

A vicious little girl in my son's 4th grade class told him he was "one of God's mistakes" last week. The fury and sickness I felt upon hearing that was indeed, nothing like having my work criticized or rejected. Having a professor froth at the mouth and scream "Stupid!" at us in a graduate seminar was minor in comparison.

Luckily, my son seemed to shrug it off. I'm still seething, as you can probably tell.

Holy shit, Sandy. I'm seething, too.

Me too.

I think the whole comparing creative works to children thing comes from people having to defend the fact that they're creating anything to begin with the whole time they're creating it. (for example: "What are you doing these days?" "Writing." "Oh, and do you expect to make a living from that?") They end up taking the whole process waaaay too seriously because of the amount of work they put in not just creating but defending it.

But you're right. Books are books and children are people and if the process of creativity and the results of creativity are not worth a little rejection then what are writers doing it for?

Yes, very apt analogy (yours, not theirs!). The sentiments are very different-one's writing is an act of creation, but of a very different sort I think.

A little off topic, and late to the party, but it reminds me of the world of adoption, when corporate sponsors "adopt a highway" or "adopt a school". You cannot "adopt" an inanimate object. You can sponsor it, support it, be its benefactor, but you can only adopt living creatures. Like my kids, for instance.