I wasn’t about to do a badge for three rejections and four rejections and so on, but I knew if I stopped at two rejections someone would point out they’ve been rejected a lot more than twice. So the “one hundred rejections” merit badge is my very special kind of compromise.
And it’s got a skull on it.
Is that because hitting one hundred rejections means you’re as good as dead as a writer?
No, not at all. (Though if all those rejections have been for the same thing, some tweaking or starting a new project might not be the worst idea.)
Is it because I’ve spent too much time reading The Rejectionist, so now I automatically picture a skull (see profile pic) when I hear the word “rejection”?
Probably a little.
Is it because skulls are for totally badass people, and only a totally badass person would wear a merit badge showing they’ve been rejected that many times?
Absolutely!
HA HA. BUT SERIOUSLY, GUYS, DON’T WEAR THIS ONE. LET’S NOT BREAK YOUR CAREER.
If you’ve earned this badge, just print it out and hide it in your desk drawer, okay? Being a desk drawer badass is almost as exciting, I promise.
This is part of the merit badges for writers series, and may be posted on your site or blog look awesome in your drawer. Have you earned this badge? Will you never earn it? Tell us why in the comments.
I wasn’t about to do a badge for three rejections and four rejections and so on, but I knew if I stopped at two rejections someone would point out they’ve been rejected a lot more than twice. So the “one hundred rejections” merit badge is my very special kind of compromise.
And it’s got a skull on it.
Is that because hitting one hundred rejections means you’re as good as dead as a writer? No, not at all. (Though if all those rejections have been for the same thing, some tweaking or starting a new project might not be the worst idea.)
Is it because I’ve spent a little too much time reading The Rejectionist, so now I automatically picture a skull (see profile pic) when I hear the word “rejection”? Probably a little.
Is it because skulls are for totally badass people, and only a totally badass person would wear a merit badge showing they’ve been rejected that many times? Absolutely!
HA HA. BUT SERIOUSLY, GUYS, DON’T WEAR THIS ONE. LET’S NOT BREAK YOUR CAREER.
If you’ve earned this badge, just print it out and hide it in your desk drawer, okay? Being a desk drawer badass is almost as exciting, I promise.
This is part of the merit badges for writers series, and may be posted on your site or blog. Have you earned this badge? Will you never earn it? Tell us why in the comments.
5 Comments
Ooh. I’m somewhat glad that I haven’t earned this one yet. Even if I have, I wouldn’t know — I stopped keeping track once the numbers got depressing
@anwa: That is very likely the healthier thing to do.
I passed up 100 sometime in the 90s. How about one for a thousand?
@Mark: We may have to save that one for Ultra Xtreme Badass Rejection Week.
But it’s *so awesome*! Too bad about the not posting it thing. I think I’ll save this one, so I can take it out and look at it to comfort myself about all the rejections when I get to that point. And not blog about it.
anwa, I like your attitude. Mark, yours too!
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[...] 100 Rejections: There’s the whole not killing your career thing to consider (via Em, though aren’t we all reading Janet Reid? We are? Good.). Still, you must at least go and look at this badge. Savor its awesomeness from afar. [...]
[...] been off for many of them, and blessedly I neither own a cat nor have earned the dubious honor of this badge. Nevertheless, it is wonderful to have the support of an entire online community and cute swag [...]