Along with the occasional joys and successes, into every writer’s life come the things that fall through. The options that are never picked up, the movie deals that stall, the projects that are cancelled, and endless variations through every year and day of your career. They’re not even things that you can maybe use later: it’s dead, Jim.
You learn to roll with it, because the only other option is to throw yourself onto your sofa, sobbing at the Unfairness of the World, and that gets boring the fifth or sixth time (trust me on this).
This morning, I finally, sadly, accepted the probability that a project I’d been really excited about isn’t going to happen.  The checks are cashed, so I can’t even say I’ve been hard done by…but after a few years of saying “well, maybe…” I’ve put the project on the shelf of “someday” and closed the cabinet door. If the project is revived at some point I’ll be thrilled, but I’m not looking for it any more.
My point is that this happens to everyone. Everyone. Newbies, famous folk, and the rest of us in-between. Not everything is Midas-touched. Sometimes, you get the Gorgon. And it’s not even a dread Learning Experience. It’s just something that happens.
Don’t linger over it, don’t hold a wake. Let go.