Yes and No
"Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any oath, but let your "Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." James 5:12 NRSV In the submitting process, I think of yes as acceptance and no as rejection. Perhaps this verse doesn't exactly apply to that. I was thinking about the idea that each time I submit a piece, all I need is a yes. Yet that's not true. I need rejections as much as I need my one fabulous acceptance. The yes I received is the perfect example. In the last post, I detailed how the initial rejection turned into the acceptance. If the editor had said "Yes" the first time around, the piece would not have been as tight and strong as it became after I made edits from his suggestions. His "No" not only gave me incentive to try again, but it made me realize that the story needed more editing. I find it a blessing that he told me specifics, because he was right. ...