After trying Write1Sub1 in 2011 for a few weeks and receiving rejections I quit too early. If I'd kept it up over the last year and a half and written fifty-plus stories i might have at least one accepted.
In the last eighteen months I've read lots, studied, analyzed and written almost twenty short stories plus a novel.
One book that helped me understand that being rejected is normal was Stephen King's memoir: On Writing. It's funny because as a professional artist that has been contacting galleries and applying for grants for twenty-five years, I thought I had a thick skin but I guess it never really does thicken. We feel that our emotions and personal experiences are being criticized. Now I know that is not true, (I think.) It's a business. Just like a gallery knows it's clientele, a magazine or editor knows theirs. It's business.
Yesterday I submitted my first story for 2013, yippee.
In the last eighteen months I've read lots, studied, analyzed and written almost twenty short stories plus a novel.
One book that helped me understand that being rejected is normal was Stephen King's memoir: On Writing. It's funny because as a professional artist that has been contacting galleries and applying for grants for twenty-five years, I thought I had a thick skin but I guess it never really does thicken. We feel that our emotions and personal experiences are being criticized. Now I know that is not true, (I think.) It's a business. Just like a gallery knows it's clientele, a magazine or editor knows theirs. It's business.
Yesterday I submitted my first story for 2013, yippee.
So glad to have you back aboard the W1S1 train! Believe it or not, I've had stories accepted after more than 20 rejections. Remember: every rejection letter is just a permission slip to send your story where it really belongs! Eventually, it'll find a good home. Believe in your work, and cool stuff will happen.
ReplyDeleteHi Milo, thanks for your encouragement! I am honored that you left a comment on my blog. I like the philosophy you suggest. I am going to adopt it.
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