I ran across the first guest blog I'd ever done and decided it held some advice still good several years later. My writer friend, Jennie, is no longer blogging but continues to write nonfiction books that get rave reviews. I'm posting that early blog post below to end this hot July week. Of course, in today's world, we're more apt to use our computers over snail mail to submit our work.
Thanks, Jennie, for asking me to be your first guest
blogger. I could write three words that cover the topic I’ve selected, but
readers might not be satisfied with such brevity, even though the words are
pretty self-explanatory. Send it out!
Your work may never be published, nor will you ever be paid,
if you don’t send your stories, essays, articles or poems to an editor. It
sounds so simple. Write a story, study a market guide, send the story to an
acquisitions editor and wait for the acceptance.
When I was a newbie writer, I joined a critique group that
met twice a month. Tom, the moderator of the group, and also the only published
writer, constantly encouraged the members to send their work to editors. “No
editor is going to climb in your bedroom window and search in your top dresser
drawer for your manuscript.” He said it so often that I began to believe him. Send it out became our mantra, and the
more I heard it, the more I believed it.
I was a late bloomer—didn’t start writing until well into my
fifties. The desire to write had been there for many years, but I let Life get
in the way. Because of that late start, I felt I needed to make up for lost
time.
I studied market guides and sent my work to editors with
high hopes, trying not to be discouraged when the rejection letters shot back
into my mailbox like bullets from a high-powered rifle. Every now and then, an
acceptance would arrive.
I began with no-pay websites and moved on to paying ezines
and anthologies. Did I get rejections? You bet I did. Lots of them. But, my
nonfiction stories are in nine Chicken Soup for the Soul books, two Guideposts
anthologies, and a few others. The successes I had encouraged me to keep
submitting my work. I tried some newspapers whose content aimed for senior
citizens. Since I’m one of them, it seemed a natural. And sure enough, they liked what I sent. I’ve
become a regular in one. I’ve written articles on the craft of writing for
several writers’ newsletters. I’ve even sold a few pieces of fiction.
None of that would have happened if I hadn’t sent my work to
all those editors. “Send it out!” I hear Tom’s words in my mind when I’ve
written something and am satisfied that it is a finished product. So I send it
out.
There are reasons that some writers don’t send their work to
an editor. Their files are filled with writing that no eyes but their own have
ever seen.
Why?
- Fear
of rejection: Nobody likes
rejection, but it’s part of the writing game. Remember that it isn’t you
personally that is being rejected. Maybe your story isn’t right for that
particular publication
- Not
knowing how to study a market guide:
The more you read marketing material, the better you become at
selecting the right editor.
- It’s
hard work: Yes, it is, so you must
decide how great a desire you have to see your work published.
- Fear
of success: This one may sound
laughable, but it can happen. If you succeed once, you’re compelled to do
it again. And what happens if you become famous? It’s a very real fear for
some people.
- Lack
of confidence: Doubt runs rampant
in a writer’s mind. Most writers question their own worth at times.
Look through your files and pick three finished pieces to
send out. If one or all are returned, send them out again. If you get three
rejections on one story, it’s time to look at it with objective eyes and
revise. Then send it out again. John Grisham sent his blockbuster novel The
Firm, to twenty-six publishers before it sold. We can all learn a lesson from
that. Send it out and take a healthy dose of patience and perseverance along
the way.
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