Some Thoughts for Writers

The last two days, I've talked about a submissions call for Chkicken Soup for the Soul and an explanation of their Story Guidelines. One of the points made was that this popular anthology receives thousands of stories for each new book title. Deflating! Or it could be.

When you know the competition is fierce, what do you do? Do you wilt? Or do you try even harder? As writers, we need to face the fact that we are only one in a sea of people who write stories, essays, articles, poetry and more. Part of your brain asks you why you think you can make it to publication. Then another part butts in with You can do this. Which one are you going to believe?

If you want to see your work published, you'll need to take a big dose of one of my keywords--perseverance. You can't submit once ot twice and call it quits because your work was rejected. You can't call it quits if your work was rejected multiple times. Not if you're serious about writing. Not if you're willing to work at growing in your writing. Not if you're passionate about the craft.

I've seen too many people give up too soon. Success does not come easily. It doesn't fall into your lap, all tied up with a pretty ribbon. You must work toward finding success and work hard. 

The next question is Are you willing to work long and hard to achieve your goal of publication? If you aren't, then you might as well give up and move on to another hobby or job. We have two kinds of writers, those who are trying to make a living, or at least supplement their income, and those who are hobbyist writers. Which one are you? Can you afford the time it takes to hone your skill? Is your passion for writing strong enough? 

It appears that it is a lot easier to allow yourself to become discouraged than to soldier on. Even so, I urge you to continue writing and continue learning more about this craft you love. I've often asked you to look back at some of your very earliest efforts at writing and compare the quality to what you are writing today. Hopefully, you'll see some real progress. The more we write, the better we write. The more we read, the more we grow as writers. If your work has not changed one bit, then maybe this writing world is not for you. Unless you don't let yourself be discouraged and persevere in learning to be a better writer.

Some harsh words here today, but if we want to be a published writer, we need to face reality. We need to assess our work and our desire to continue. 

One more thought for today:  The more you submit, the greater your chances of being published will be. Keep the Ferris Wheel of submissions moving.