Are You A Stubborn Writer?

The person who refuses to change parts of their writing world is one who is going to be running into brick walls over and over again. Sometimes we are too stubborn for our own good.

Consider the writer who has an editor interested in a story. The editor likes it overall but has several little changes to suggest. The writer--let's call her Annie--says that she doesn't agree. "If you like my story, then you must take it as I wrote it." Annie sits back in her chair after shooting off the email with that message. She waits for an answer. And waits. And waits. Annie gets angry and sends another email. Editor finally answers, tells Annie that they prefer to work with writers who are open to suggestions to improve their submissions. Oh-oh!

Of course, Annie is angry. Who wouldn't be? But now, Annie has a choice to make. Will she continue to refuse the suggestions an editor makes or will she bow to their wishes in order to be published? What should she do? 

Annie's attitude is that her work is just fine. There is nothing to be changed. She is going to be tough and stick to her decision. In some ways, we must admire Annie because she believes in herself as a writer. She believes that she has left no room for error. On the other hand, we might want to tell Annie to stop being so difficult. Maybe the editor had some ideas that would make a good story even better.

Nope, Annie is going to continue to send her story to other markets. Most likely, she will get much the same response as she received with the first one. Annie bombs out on the next four submissions with the same story. 

She begins to ponder the possibility of changing her attitude. Is it possible the editor knew something she didn't? She goes back to the original message from editor #1 to see what suggestions she had made, what changes she wanted. When Annie read that message the first time, all she saw was that changes were suggested. Temper flaring, she never took time to read the rest. 

Annie goes back to her deleted messages and scrolls down to find the message of misery--that's what she had been calling it. She reads it and reads it two more times. Tiny flutters stir within her as she sees the possibilities, comes to the conclusion that these minor changes truly would make a good story much better. Excitement washes over her and she wants to make the minor revisions suggested. She spends the better part of an afternoon working on her story. Then, she submits it to the original editor again with an apology for her earlier refusal.

Days pass and then weeks. She waited and waited but never received a return message. She had tried to change but maybe it had been too late. Maybe she had been too stubborn. Maybe that editor had red-flagged her for any future submissions. 

Annie submits the revised story to another editor who returns a message that is favorable. He would like to publish Annie's story but has one small change to suggest. This time, Annie is open to the change. She agrees and he sends a contract. Annie's writing life has changed for the better because she has been willing to listen to an expert and is willing to make changes. 

If Annie had steadfastly refused to do as the editor suggested, she would not have her story published. She would still be sitting at her computer writing angry messages to editors. When we are willing to change things, we should be able to reap the benefits. Whether it's changes in a story or a whole chapter in a novel, we need to be willing to move from our steadfast position and at least listen to what the other person suggests. 

To be fair, there are moments when we should stay with our beliefs and defend them. What we do need to do is listen to the suggestions given and then decide what will benefit you most. Annie did that.