Phoebe Kate

Okay, I admit it.  I know it’s not very nice of me.  In fact, it sounds downright mean-spirited.  But confession, they say, is good for the soul and so I confess that when I heard that the New York Times had rejected an op-ed submission by Senator McCain, I cackled maniacally and danced around my kitchen.

Now, let me say upfront that this has very little, if anything, to do with the candidate’s views.  You all know by now in what lowly regard I hold the political circus.

No, people.  This is all about the writing life, of which rejections are a gloomy reality.  I know that every writer gets ‘em, not just me.  I’m sure my literary idols John Cheever and Truman Capote racked up their share during their careers.  I’m sure Alice Hoffman and John Irving and Anne Tyler and Dean Koontz and Stephen King are familiar with them, too.  The only thing is we never hear about it when their editors send back a manuscript and say, “Hmm, I think we’ll pass on this one…”

A writer’s life is an isolated one.  We aren’t as fortunate as artists, who have exhibits where they can interact with the public and trade experiences with other artists.  We aren’t actors with red carpets and the omnipresent media that reports how we got turned down for a big role or didn’t get our contract renewed by the studio.  Even the best known and most famous authors aren’t hounded by the paparazzi or receive any real publicity or even get recognized when they’re out and about.  We live in front of our computer screen and locked up in our heads with our characters; our world is insular and terribly, terribly private.  Our literary victories are only apparent when another story or book by us appears, usually appreciated by only a limited audience.  Our literary defeats are unknown and unshared.

So it’s comforting, from time to time, to hear that some Big Name with mega-tons of clout who should be able to muscle his way into publication has gotten a rejection slip…just like me, and you, and all the other invisible writers out there.

I’m sorry, Senator McCain, for gloating over the editorial thumbs-down you got.  I’m sure it’s made you feel just as crummy as I do when it happens to me.  Better luck next time.

–phoebe kate