My first story OBSESSION has never been published. I submitted it several times way back in like the late '90's (yes, I might be dating myself but who cares). I received over 80 rejection letters. Another story I wrote IT TASTES LIKE SNAKE received over 150 rejection letters. Now, I don't think these are bad stories, I just think there is a time and a place for a story or book. Not every book or story is written or released at the right time.
Rejection hurts. It stings and the pain isn't one that just goes away. It stays and makes you question if the next story you write you should even attempt to submit. Of course, the answer is, if you think it's good enough then yes, yes you should submit it. There is no way to avoid rejection. Really, there isn't.
Writing is a personal experience, which is why rejection hurts.
It feels easier to fail than succeed. Yet, we keep writing.
So, all of you authors out there, all of you wanna be authors, all of you scared authors, and all of you still hiding in the shadows afraid to write a single word, just do it. Rejections comes with the territory. It never gets easier. You can have eighteen books published and still have that nineteenth book rejected.
So rejection, sucks doesn't it?