Jesmyn Ward, author of the terrific novels Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing, did not have an easy time of getting published. But she stuck with it. She also had a clutch of fellow writers in her corner who told her the right things:

Persist. Read, write, and improve: tell your stories. Accept rejection until you find acceptance, but don’t become disheartened, stop writing, and remove yourself from the conversation…

Sometimes the best advice is the simplest.