Stop Dreaming and ...

I read a story in the Kansas City newspaper this morning about a woman whose dream involved starting a food van cupcake business. She didn't stop at just dreaming, she set about making it happen. The cupcake vending in the truck was so successful that she started dreaming of a brick and mortar kind of business for her oversized and delicious cupcakes. She got busy and made that happen, too. It's the kind of success story we all like to read about. Read the full story here.

It also made me think about a lot of writers who end up dreaming about being published but that's where it ends. Some writers spend all their time writing, reading about writing, or talking about writing. But they do little or nothing to attempt to have their work published. Why? Let me add that spending time writing is a good thing, and I'm not putting that down at all.

There are many reasons why some writers don't submit their writing to an editor. Sometimes it's just plain fear of rejection. No one likes to be rejected, but if you adjust your attitude a little, it's less painful. When an editor says no, it's not a personal rejection. The story may not fit their publication, or it may be excellent but they have just published a similar story. There are many reasons but hating you as a person is not one of them.

Strange as it sounds, fear of success can also be a factor. If you suddenly start selling your work, more will be expected and maybe you don't want to work that hard. It's then that you need to examine your desire to write and be published. How strong is it?

Another reason it's easier to only dream about seeing your work in print, is that it's darned hard work to market the stories, essays and articles you have written. Time to study the marketplace is greater than most beginning writers are aware of. Checking and following guidelines is of great importance and also time consuming. Putting what you've written in proper submission form also takes time and effort. I've often commented that the writing is the easy part.

If you truly want to see your work published, stop dreaming and do it. Select your best work and start searching for a market. If it comes back, send it somewhere else. As many times as it takes. If you don't try, you'll never achieve the dream. The cupcake lady did it, and you can, too.

A Little Bit of Disappointment

I've written many times about rejection and all in entails. I've always tried to have an upbeat attitude when a rejction comes sailing my way. Every piece you write is not for every editor, or it doesn't work within that particular editorial calendar. There are lots of reasons an editor rejects some submissions and selects others.
My motto has always been to take a good hard look at the piece of writing, then either revise and send it off to another editor or send as is if satisfied with it.

This morning I received a list of finalists for a new anthology put out by the Cup of Comfort series. This one is Cup of Comfort For A Better World. I'd been happy with the story I'd written and submitted to Colleen Sell, the editor. I thought it had a good chance of being accepted.

The list of 66 finalist stories popped up in my In-box, and I scanned it looking for my name, but no such luck. I must admit that I felt very disappointed. I've set a personal goal of having a story in a Cup of Comfort book and this time I thought I'd do it.

Then I went back and read the editor's message above the list. She wrote that it had been difficult to narrow the choice to 66 stories from the over 2000 that were sent in. 2000? I wondered what the odds were that one story made it out of more than 2000. That means a lot more than 1900 people faced disappointment today just like I did.

Somehow, I didn't feel qute so bad any longer. I still have a finished story that can be marketed to other editors where it may someday find a home. And there's a Cup of Comfort book for golf stories that still has an open submission. I've had a golf story spinning in my head for a few weeks now. This would be the perfect time to write it. Disappointment on its way out....

Rejection--It's Real and It's Rotten

I sent a query to a magazine editor last week, hoping he'd want to see an essay I'd written. Success on that part, as he answered immediately that he'd like to see it.  I sent it to him and had only days to wait before he sent me a rejection letter. Rejection is the one part of writing that is real and also rotten. But every writer learns to deal with it. I must admit that it bothered me a whole lot more in my beginning years. I've learned that it's not a personal rejection, that maybe my essay or story didn't fit that magazine's immediate editorial needs, or that they'd publishes something similar only a couple months earlier. There are many reasons for rejection, and only one of them is poor writing.

We've all had to deal with rejection of one kind or another nearly all our lives. It started on the playground when a group of girls shuts one girl out. Hurts like crazy, but it happens. A teen-age romance breaks up, and it's big-time rejection. Same when a marriage of either short duration or a good many years breaks up. One member of the couple experiences major rejection. And what about interviewing for a coveted new job? Three guys are finalists, and the two who don't get the job are the ones who deal with rejection. Real? Yes.
Rotten? Yes  And some of these are far more serious than a piece of writing not being accepted.

So, what's the solution? We can either let it drag us down into the depths of despair or pick ourselves up and move on. In my case, with the essay that was rejected, I'll take a good look at it, maybe revise it somewhat and send it off to another editor. I read somewhere years ago that the average for writers is one acceptance for every twelve submissions. That means eleven rejections! I have a plus--I'm not trying to make a living as a writer. I do it because I love it, not to support myself. The writer whose income is completely derived from what he/she writes has a much more difficult time.