There’s nothing like rejection of your writing (or anything you do for that matter) to make you re-evaluate your work. Is it good, or does it suck? Does rejection answer these questions?
I’m going out on a limb here: if it’s good to you, it’s good period. You’re belief in what you’ve made is pretty weak if you need affirmation from someone else as to whether it has any merit.
On the other hand, things can always be improved. The craft of writing is no different from music – it’s definitely a learned skill. The problem with rejection of fiction is that there’s often no critique with it, and a simple “no” leaves you with no choice but to make your own conclusions.
Therefore, absent any meaningful guidance, I’m going with the the belief that what I’ve written is good, at least to me. I worked hard on it and expressed something with words to the best of my ability. I got it to the point where it worked for me. Whether anyone else agrees is beyond my control.
The thing I learned a long time ago is this: you’ve got to love and feel fulfilled by the things you do. Filtering the world through your mind and creating something out of that process makes life richer.
Don’t ever let someone take that from you. Of course most people aren’t going to get what you do – you knew that going in. But don’t give others opinions more weight than your own.
Artists tend to judge their work harshly, so if you like something you created, go with that and let your belief in what you’ve created be unshakable.
The process of doing is the fun part anyway. If the rejection came with criticism, examine that closely – you may be able to learn something and grow.
Otherwise, try not to take it personally, because it definitely wasn’t meant that way. Just keep grinding and enjoy the process. And remember what Kurt Vonnegut said…