The Blue Ink Checkmark

What you can learn from a blue ink checkmark?

My only rejection letter was sent to me years ago in response to the only proposal I’ve ever sent to a publishing house.

I was writing a children’s book and asked a friend to do illustrations so the publisher would have a good idea of my intentions. I also worked on back cover copy and endorsements from real children. I thought I had covered my bases, so I sent it off.

After a while, my proposal came back to me with one sheet added to it. I read it slowly and carefully, hoping to glean as much information as I could from it. I don’t remember what the exact words were, but among them stood two fearsome letters: NO.

I got the message.

The sheet was a poor-quality copy and displayed a single blue ink checkmark hovering over one of the lines in a column of options. No signature. No suggestions. Only a single checkmark.

I was disappointed in my story’s failure to grab an editor’s attention, but I was more disappointed that all my effort was answered with so little ink.

Today, I know much more than I did then about the world of publishing. That checkmark sent me back to my copy of a writers’ magazine to look at the conference listings. I didn’t go to a conference right away, but ordered several conference tapes and listened to them. I took notes and listened again. I learned not only about the creative end of my chosen career, but also about the business end.

I eventually went to Glorietta Writers Conference. There, I got feedback on two other stories. The woman giving the critique told me much more than a checkmark ever could. No checkmark ever gave me a list of how to books to get me started down the right path. No checkmark ever challenged me to make changes and rewrite. All the checkmark told me was, “No.”

Now, as I think about it, I’m glad God gave me the stubborn attitude that urges me onward with, “When I see a NO, I’ll just turn it on its head so it’ll say ON.

I have pushed forward to other stories and other writers' conferences (Mount Hermon and ACFW). My current stories have proven that I'm growing. I only needed one NO to push me ON to the right path. I haven’t given up. I’m still learning. Maybe one day soon, an editor’s response will read, “Yes.”

Thanks, God, that You’re still leading me.