Listen Up Writers--Take A Chance!

A postscript about the Liebster Award I received earlier this week. One of the people I selected for the award was Annette Gendler, whose blog I read faithfully. She was curious enough about the word Liebster that she did some searching and found out more about it. Read what Annette learned here.

Today, I'd like to urge writers to take a chance. No, not on the lottery. I have a suggestion that gives you better odds of winning.

Sunday night I was searching through my document files for an old story. I found it, but I also noticed one sitting quietly in the files about Halloween. With October just around the corner, I opened it, read it and decided to send it to a senior newspaper editor. I did it purely on a whim. The essay was called "Halloween Confessions" and is all about my disliking Halloween all my life. I got it ready and sent it on its way through cyberspace. This has a snowball's chance in hell--that was the thought I had as soon as I'd sent it.

Imagine my surprise when the next day, the editor wrote that she already had two Halloween essays for the October issue but she'd love to run mine, too. It will depend on how many ads they sell for that issue. So, it's not a sure thing yet, but looking good. I think it appealed to her because it had a different slant on Halloween.

The point here is that sometimes writers need to take a chance. Send the story to an editor and see what happens. It's very possible it will come back with a big fat rejection, but it could also be a winner. You'll never know unless you give it a try. Go through your file of stories and see what you have that might be worth sending out. Read it, do a little editing and give it a go. Not everything you send out will get published, but it has a far better possibility than if it sits quietly in your documents file forever. You don't even have to purchase a ticket for a winner--just send your work to an editor. Soon!