Chocolate-Covered Rejection by Robin Burcell

Robin Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist, has worked as a police officer, detective and hostage negotiator. The Bone Chamber is her latest international thriller about an FBI forensic artist. Face of a Killer received a starred review from Library Journal. She is the author of four previous novels. Visit her website at: www.robinburcell.com/















A few months ago, Robin Burcell was a guest on Meanderings and Muses with a tongue- in-cheek blog post about trying to make her book video trailer (which can be seen here) go viral. THE BONE CHAMBER was released in paperback this January. With her book tour over, it’s time for her to submit a new proposal to her editor for the next thriller in her FBI forensic art series. But with that submission comes the very real possibility that her editor might reject it. And then what?

Writing is such a solitary profession, it helps to know that other writers experience similar feelings. This is Robin’s updated take on the subject of rejection, something she penned back when she first started writing, and something that she believes still holds true today.


Chocolate-Covered Rejection by Robin Burcell

We writers live with constant stress. Mailing off manuscripts is a trial in itself. So is the anticipation of checking the answering machine each day, hoping that The Call is waiting for you when you get home. You count the blinking lights indicating the number of messages. How many messages were you expecting? Is The Call among them? It’s enough to raise your blood pressure.

Worse yet is the dread of checking the mailbox. You pray fervently that you won’t find your manuscript contained within, because if you do, you have just entered the realm that all writers fear: The dreaded “R” word. Rejection.



How do we live with it? How do we plod on, forcing ourselves back to the keyboard after yet another priority package received from the postman sends us into a tailspin of depression?

I don’t have a clear cut answer. I only know from my own experience the intense wave of self-doubts about my writing ability after taking my mail key, opening the box and seeing that red, white and blue envelope that I so carefully labeled with my return address. (Or these days, checking my e-mail and finding the one from my agent that details her conversation with my editor about my latest proposal.) Of course, I pretend to myself it is no big deal, and after reading the dreaded news, I think rather flippantly, “Oh well.” But then I sit in a daze for several minutes, with no desire to write anything ever again.
I know I need help and so call a fellow writer, test the news out on her. She, of course, assures me that no, I am not a failure, and yes, I will come out of my rejection-induced slump. She suggests eating chocolate. Not only will I feel better, but within a day or two, I’ll be back at my keyboard.


A day or two? If I wait that long, the melancholy that threatens to engulf me will win. I don’t feel like writing. I want to cry. But being a professional, I contemplate her suggestion. I go to the refrigerator, find a forgotten chocolate bar of my daughter’s, take it back to my computer. I open the candy and promptly devour it, waiting for the miraculous cure. At first, nothing happens, and I blame it on the cheap quality of the chocolate. But then, while I sit patiently before my computer, staring at my unfinished chapter—all the while wondering if perhaps I ought not to run to the store and get some seriously expensive chocolate—a funny thing happens.

I discover a small typo.

I correct it and soon find another. It glares out, asks to be fixed. Before I know it, I find myself typing whole words into real sentences. Soon there is an entire paragraph and by the end of the evening, I finish the chapter. I survive! I want to shout to everyone that it isn’t the end of the world after all.

I can still write!

So what’s the moral of my story? One should handle a rejection letter (or e-mail) the same as any other obstacle. You have to get right back into that saddle. Get to that keyboard and write, write, write. (And if it is not writing that you are pursuing, get back into the saddle and try, try again no matter what the goal.) But just in case, keep a supply of chocolate on hand. I plan on storing mine in the freezer for that psychological edge, since I hope never to have to pull it out again. But when I need it, its only a thaw away.

So how do you handle rejection? Whether it is a story submission or a proposal for a deal at work. What is your comfort technique to get past the R word?

GOING VIRAL by Robin Burcell

Robin Burcell, an FBI-trained forensic artist, has worked in law enforcement for over two decades as a police officer, detective and hostage negotiator. Her thriller about an FBI forensic artist, Face of a Killer, debuted November 2008 with a starred review from Library Journal. The Bone Chamber is the sequel, due out in December. She is the two-time Anthony Award-winning author of four previous novels featuring SFPD Homicide Inspector Kate Gillespie: Every Move She Makes, Fatal Truth, Deadly Legacy and Cold Case. You can visit her website at:
www.robinburcell.com/





GOING VIRAL by Robin Burcell

And no, I’m not talking about the latest flu vaccine. I’m talking about my new book trailer video for THE BONE CHAMBER that appears on the face page of my website. I happen to think it’s a great book trailer and I am wondering if it is possible to make a video go viral on word of mouth alone.

I thought about trying the Microsoft-is-gonna-make-you-a-millionaire approach. You’ve probably seen it in an old e-mail, the one that tells you that every person you send this link to, and so on and so on, Microsoft will send you a buck. If people believe that and send an e-mail out a gazillion times, causing it to go viral, why not my video?

Hmmm… I’m thinking that the mystery-reading world is much more savvy than that.

Okay, what about Plan B? What if I use part of the plot from my book in hopes it will generate some interest in a takeoff of the old 419 Nigerian scam?

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to you from Italy to let you know that I have recently found the sum of US 35.4 million dollars buried in a bone chamber in Naples. The money is in trust for the heirs of Prince Raimondo di Sangro, who was deposed by the last band of pirates masquerading as Templar Knights who attempted to wrest the darkest secrets from the Vatican. Due to civil unrest and the deterioration of the bone chamber, the money must be deposited in a safe account. If you consent, my firm will be willing to pay you half the funds in payment for the use of your account to hold said funds until it can be returned to di Sangro’s heirs when they are located.

Please view THE BONE CHAMBER video so that you can determine that what I am saying about the pirates who attempted to wrest secrets from the Vatican is true. After you view the link, please pass it to two or more people then forward to me your bank account numbers so that I can deposit the money into your account for safekeeping.

Sincerely,
Mr. Carlo Adami
Crime boss… er, make that Solicitor to heirs of di Sangro

Unfortunately if my e-mail does go viral, I might actually get someone who forwards their bank account numbers, when what I really want is for them to go out and buy the darned book… Plan C is clearly needed…

Wait. I’ve got it… You know that spam you get, the sort that advertises careers via e-mails? Become a nurse! Become a cop! How about this one:

BECOME A SPY. You too can become a spy for a top secret covert government organization. Work for ATLAS from your home and earn top dollars. Simply view THE BONE CHAMBER video and learn how you can serve your government and save the world without ever leaving the safety of your own home!

So what do you think? Any chance of these going viral? Any better ideas? What is your favorite spam and how could you possibly link it to THE BONE CHAMBER video ??? Come up with something good (or even bad for that matter. This is all about fun) and your name (be sure you include your email address!!!!) will be entered into a drawing for a free ARC of THE BONE CHAMBER (which comes out this December). You could try sending the link to two of your friends, and telling them to send a link to two of their friends to see if Bill Gates really does send money, but I think your odds of winning a book in a drawing by simply making a comment here are much better.