A Few Questions For Writers

Spring is my favorite season. I love the rebirth, or renewal, of so many lovely trees, bushes and flowers. I live in central Kansas and our flowering trees and bushes are in full bloom, daffodils, and pansies drinking up the sun. Tulips are up and soon to show their glorious colors. 

To celebrate this new season, I selected the poster quote above. Today's topic, however, is not about spring or flowers. It's about being dejected, frustrated, or disgusted. What prompted me to choose a 'downer' like this? I read a comment on a writing group facebook page from someone who had submitted a story to magazines twice and neither one wanted it. Now, she thought maybe she'd be better off trying to sell her story as a picture book instead since magazines didn't want it. 

I could tell from the tone of her words and what she had written on the post that she was all three--dejected, frustrated and disgusted. What I also perceived was that she had not been writing for long. I felt sorry for her, mostly because I've been there and so have almost all writers. 

We're told many times that it took this famous author multiple times before his book was accepted for publication, or that another successful author wrote four novels before selling number five. We read that and then go right on expecting to sell our work immediately and skip down the writing path singing "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah." Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. Oh sure, a few people are fortunate enough to sell their first efforts right away, but most of us have to keep trying for much longer than we'd like. That old 'Don't quit your day job.' admonition to writers is right on. 

Even if you're lucky enough to sell the first story you've ever written, it might be a very long time before there's a second publication. If you don't expect total success to come your way with your first efforts, you're less likely to be showered with dejection and frustration or feeling disgusted. Sometimes, we set ourselves up for being whammied. 

What should we do? How should we approach this situation? For one thing, don't quit after two rejections. That's a pittance in the overall scheme of things in the writing world. Keep submitting until you either find a fit or learn the reason you were rejected. Occasionally, an editor will give you the reason why he/she did not accept your work. That isn't the norm, however. It's going to be up to you to figure it out. 

You might need to give thought to a few questions about yourself and the piece that got rejected. Things like:

• Did I follow the Guidelines exactly?
• Was my story right for the publication I sent to?
• Did I proofread carefully before sending?
• Did I edit the story more than once before submitting?
• Did I have a good opening; a good way to hook a reader?
• Did I overdo or not do enough?
• Did I report a situation or truly write a 'story?' 
• Did I overdo flowery language?
• Did I let the story sit and simmer before sending it?
• How long am I willing to keep submitting the story?

If I were sitting across a table having coffee with that young woman who had received two rejections, I'd urge her to reassess the story, consider the questions in the list above, and to look for more publications. Then submit it again. And again. And again. The last question I'd ask is a big one. 

Do you believe in yourself as a writer? If the answer is yes, then persevere and keep learning your craft. Don't give up!