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ceramic monthly rejection

updated tue 13 apr 04

 

kathy_chamberlin on sat 10 apr 04


earl i read your post and thank you for asking. i am a little nervous about
dwelling on this. it happened 12 months ago and i guess i can stomach
enough courage to go public. i don't take rejection well, but it is a lot better
today than a year ago. cause i don't apply to anything anymore, solved
problem, no more rejection! the rejection was mutual from ceramic monthly
editors and the coleman's. that is what was told to me. not professional or
good enough at the time, keep trying and maybe some day you will make it.
nothing absolutely nothing came from paul geil or team geil kilns. now that i
have the microphone i would like to say that this kiln absolutely ROCKS! it is
the best piece of eqipment i have ever had the pleasure of owning and firing.
it is so efficient and my glazes come out so beautiful and radiant. i am over it.
really wish i could take back that post. can't so will endure it's repercussions.
thanks so much for your time and everyone's encouragement and reply's.
kathy chamberlin
http://www.aspenceramicstudio.com/

Bobbruch1@AOL.COM on sun 11 apr 04


kathy_chamberlin writes
....... i don't take rejection well, but it is a lot better today
than a year ago. cause i don't apply to anything anymore,=20
solved problem, no more rejection!=A0=20

1) i don't know too many people who handle rejection well

2) a baseball analogy: if you bat 300, you are a star=20
(and a millionaire) ..... that means, apply to 10 shows,=20
publications, etc., get three acceptances, and you probably=20
are doing well, unless you already are somewhat famous.

3) when you redo your resume and add the two or three or four
new acceptances each year, you do not include the 6/7/8
rejections. you get to emphasize just the positive. =20

4) one needs to be able to accept the 60/70/80 percent rejection=20
level, which is aided by the acceptances.

5) if you want to increase the number of acceptances .... you are
going to have to increase the number of galleries and events
to which you apply.

6) what one group of people find "unprofessional" or whatever,
another person or group might find just to their liking.

7) it seems to me almost impossible to determine in advance
which show or gallery is likely to find my work appealing. it
was completely impossible when I first started sending out
slides .... and I am not sure how much easier it is now.=20

8) I guess I am saying, KEEP TRYING - and make sure that=20
your slides are not what is holding you back.

Bob Bruch

Christy Pines on mon 12 apr 04


My day job requires me to be in close contact with the sales force of a lar=
ge global organization. What I know about sales is that for every 10 prospe=
cts in the "pipeline", you'll get 1 order. This is typical sales. The only =
way to improve the ratio is to be more selective of who gets into your pipe=
line. The sales person studies the prospect, does a lot of analysis to dete=
rmine their needs and the fit between their needs and our product. This way=
, perhaps out of every 5 in the pipeline, one or two will close.

Work your pipeline. Put lots of prospects in it, so that you have a higher =
closing number. Or be more selective and more exacting about who you approa=
ch and how you position your product to meet their needs.

christy in connecticut where it's finally looking a little like spring and =
where the results of a recent salt kiln have me aching to do more in that w=
ay


kathy_chamberlin writes
....... i don't take rejection well, but it is a lot better today
than a year ago. cause i don't apply to anything anymore,=20
solved problem, no more rejection!=A0=20
=20

8) I guess I am saying, KEEP TRYING - and make sure that=20
your slides are not what is holding you back.

Bob Bruch

John Britt on mon 12 apr 04


Regarding Bob's post:

2) a baseball analogy: if you bat 300, you are a star
(and a millionaire) ..... that means, apply to 10 shows,
publications, etc., get three acceptances, and you probably
are doing well, unless you already are somewhat famous.

My brother and I had different dating strategies. He calculated that he
was rejected 90% of the time so he made it his goal to ask out at least 10
women at the party. This meant that he left the party with at least one
phone number/date. I, on the other hand, would only ask out women that I
was 90% certain would say yes. This meant that I only asked out one woman
every three months, or so depending on the circumstances.

He taught me that volume is the key. So I used this in my juried show
applications. Previously, I would try to pick a juror I thought would like
my stuff and apply. I would only reluctantly apply to 2 or 3 shows a year.
And then the rejection was hard to take.

But using his theory of volume, I set aside $500 per year to apply for
shows. This meant that I had to apply to around 20 - 25 shows. (The fee
was $20 - 25 dollars a show then). This meant that the rejections became
less personal; it was part of the plan. And his plan did work! I started
getting 4 shows a year. (25%) and then I found the work that was the most
likely to be accepted and used that to apply again. Before I knew it I was
getting up to 16 shows a year.

I also used his method for dating and got three dates and ended up
married. So be careful, don't try this without adult supervision as it is
very effective.

John Britt