The RITA and Golden Heart nominations went out Friday and as with so many things in publishing for everyone who got super amazing news, someone's phone or email was silent. Every time I've participated in contest judging (and full disclosure, I did not this year for the Golden Heart) there have been entries that I adored that did not final. So, writing is subjective. Awards are subjective. Being nominated for an award is amazing and should be celebrated. Not being nominated does not mean you aren't a great writer.
I saw an interview once with a "Dancing with the Stars" person who said working with athlete celebrities was great because they seemed in general really good at shaking off whatever happened event night, accepting that feedback wasn't personal, and channeling it into doing better the next time. We could have the nature/nurture debate about writers vs. athletes, but ultimately, writers need to figure this out too. Awards are great! But there are a lot of books out there. Not all the great ones get awarded. That doesn't take away from the lucky people who did get awarded. It just means it's not a failure to not be awarded.