Writing for the Love

"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. ...

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, NAS) YES. That blessed word. After three rejections, I finally got to hear it. Reading the FWA email (“Your piece has been selected”) caused the yes to resound in my mind with the accompaniment of bells ringing and trumpets bleating. I had to leap from my seat to let out the yes, raise my hands in victory with the family members present, and we celebrated my first short story publication. As for the three rejections, I mentioned the poetry one in the last entry. Then my fantasy short story came back with a note: “This piece didn’t grab my attention.” Thanks to some friendly advice (Hea!), I’m reworking that piece and will try submitting again. Lastly, a flash fiction piece I entered in a contest did not win. The yes email came from the Florida Writers Association (FWA). I am an active member, and only members could submit to their latest publication. Last year, they put out a collection of sixty short sto...