Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Mary Strand)
This month at YA Outside the Lines, we’re supposed to talk about writing regrets and/or how we respond to editorial letters. (Wildly different topics, but it gives us options.) Edith Piaf (best known for singing “La Vie en Rose,” one of my favorite songs) also sang a song called “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien,” which translates to “No, I don’t regret anything.” I have no writing regrets. I’ve had many disappointments, sure, and you can count them by the number of rejections I’ve received over the years from agents and editors. But I view those as their mistakes, or as I prefer: “serious errors of judgment.” (lol.) If I try my best, and I always do, I don’t regret a single thing I do. Non, je ne regrette rien. So that leaves me with how I respond to editorial letters. WITH GRATITUDE. Yes, a letter from an editor (or occasionally an agent) that picks apart a novel I wrote or tells me ALL the things I got wrong: okay, it’s not like receiving a dozen roses. But the fact that som
