Application for Writers and A Submission Experience

Today's quote, If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor. can be summed up in one word that writers should heed--application. 

Writers need to apply what they've learned every time they write a story, essay, article, or poem. Learning is pretty useless if we don't carry what we've learned into what it is we do. 

Every time you write something new, even that first draft, you must gather all the tools in your writing toolbox and use them. You acquire these tools over the years as you learn about your craft--things like sensory detail, telling vs showing, passive vs active verbs and more.

Learning through reading books about writing, talking with other writers, attending conferences, reading books by other authors, and gathering life's experiences all help you when you begin to write that next story. 

Some writers are prolific. They turn out story upon story, essay upon essay, myriad poems. Are all of them good, or even outstanding? Probably not. Are some of them? I would think so. Let's be honest. We don't approach every new writing project with the same degree of inspiration. When you're truly inspired, you put your heart and soul into your writing, and it will show when you have finished. 

The quote exaggerates a bit, but there is good advice to be absorbed. If you have dozens of stories, that one bad one can sink to the bottom of the pile, and it had better stay there. Like cream rising to the top of the old milk bottles, your better stories will be the richest and the best. 

I'm finishing today with a little experience I had yesterday. I found a magazine that sounded like a good fit for a children's story I have in my files. I dutifully read the writer's guidelines and was dismayed that they did not take email submissions or via Submittable. Instead, just as it was done many years ago, I had to print the story, after I had changed to double-spacing, numbered pages, and put personal info at the top. Next was the requested cover letter. Then I had to address the envelope to the editor along with a second envelope with my name and address and a postage stamp. That was to be included with the story and cover letter, so the outer envelope required two postage stamps. I felt like I'd been transported to the Dark Ages of Submissions. This is the way all submissions were done at one time. Bless he who first started allowing email submissions. 

I've noticed that more and more publications are using the Submittable form which is so simple, even more so than sending an email. As I was preparing the envelope to send yesterday, I wondered why I was doing it. But, it's a good magazine for children which also pays well, so I decided it was worth a try. It would be nice if the publisher would catch up to the 21st century.