Pray and Try
My short story, "The Mute Girl," is on its way to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I am to expect a reply no sooner than eight weeks. One week has passed since I mailed the story, but I’m not sure what date it would have arrived to the editor’s desk. I am praying for them to accept the piece for publication, but it feels like a long shot. I have my dad and others praying as well. If you know my dad (you probably do), you know he is the type of prayer warrior that moves mountains.
While I enjoy writing novels and short stories the most, I have penned a few poems as well. In college, my creative writing minor required I take a poetry class. It’s not my strong point, but I took my three best poems and submitted them to Rosebud Magazine a few weeks ago with no expectations. I may or may not bother again since I don’t plan to proliferate poetry. We’ll see.
I received a pleasant email response from the poetry editor. It was encouraging to hear that he enjoyed reading my poems, but….
Exactly. But.
That dreaded word. It just means that whatever the nice editor said prior to the “but” doesn’t matter, because I was about to be told that my work isn’t suitable for publication in their magazine in whatever way they word the phrase.
Anyone who tries to publish receives rejection at some point, whether they are an as-yet unpublished writer like myself or J.K. Rowling or John Grisham—I understand he suffered through loads of rejections. But…
Exactly. But I will keep trying.
While I enjoy writing novels and short stories the most, I have penned a few poems as well. In college, my creative writing minor required I take a poetry class. It’s not my strong point, but I took my three best poems and submitted them to Rosebud Magazine a few weeks ago with no expectations. I may or may not bother again since I don’t plan to proliferate poetry. We’ll see.
I received a pleasant email response from the poetry editor. It was encouraging to hear that he enjoyed reading my poems, but….
Exactly. But.
That dreaded word. It just means that whatever the nice editor said prior to the “but” doesn’t matter, because I was about to be told that my work isn’t suitable for publication in their magazine in whatever way they word the phrase.
Anyone who tries to publish receives rejection at some point, whether they are an as-yet unpublished writer like myself or J.K. Rowling or John Grisham—I understand he suffered through loads of rejections. But…
Exactly. But I will keep trying.
Jude once told me that he looks at it as a challenge: how many times can one thing be rejected? Because the flip side of that is how many markets have you sent it to and learned about and researched? And knowing can only lead to a better chance of publication!
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I read once about a famous writer who liked to paper his walls w/ his rejections before he got his first acceptance. I can't remember who it was though...it would have been a much better example if I could :)
ReplyDeleteFact is, m'dear, you TRY. I've never tried doing what you're doing in my life, and I really look up to you for what you're doing. You've just gotta keep pushing...and knowing you, you will (like that crazy marathon you ran, when you wanted to stop at the end, and you didn't...). Well, you'll either keep pushing, or you'll figure out a way to rig up a pully and lever system ;) You've got one of the best brains I know, not to mention heart, spirit...
k, enough. xo.
I to am waiting on a publisher for a Communion book to be published. You're fortunate to have a dad that can move "mountians" with prayer...takes faith.
ReplyDeleteWe can do all things through Christ. I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come over to my blog and check it out. God bless, Lloyd
ReplyDeleteLinked here from "Solid Rock." You are right to hang in there and persevere with the "no's. I read an excellent blog article today about "writer's demons" by a newly contracted author. The author is Rosslyn Elliot and she is a follower on my blog. Her blog is "Inkhorn Blue." It is worth reading for any aspiring writer.
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