How to Make Self–Promotion Wings

Ever since I entered the writers' world, I’ve reverted back to a teenage phase. No, not the finely-tuned, slim, and energized body that could eat any amount of food without weight gain. I’m talking about the acne. One rite of passage for writers involves the dreaded rejection letters. Each one feels like a new pimple on my face.

Like pimples, rejections always show up at the worst possible times. Some look smaller than others, but some are downright hideous. The biggest ones last the longest and affect my mood. Overall they me feel a little uglier on the outside as well as inside, on the face of my ego.

But this month’s WOW! issue shines a whole new light on my rejection acne.

Even though I’m not that far into my writing journey, I anticipate self-promotion flights in my future, and that means I need to grow or build wings. I’m not part of any avian-human DNA experiments, like one of my kids' favorite characters, Max Ride, so I’ll fashion wings from writers’ materials. I need only poster boards, scissors, glue, and my new attitude.

I’ll cut wing shapes from two poster boards, either formed for an angel, fairy, dragon, or bird, or whatever I feel like on that day. Each wing will be adult-sized for maximum mental impact. On each one, I’ll trim and glue my rejection letters, like feathers. The more feathers I “grow,” the higher my flight potential . . . someday. I’ll make sure to hang my wings on my desk wall, adjacent to my M.C. Escher poster, where all images blend into one another, and every object has its place.

I found a greater purpose for my rejection letters that means a lot more for me. It’s time I grow up in that sense anyway.