Rejection - the lows and the highs

One of the first things you find out about as a writer is rejection. It comes at you soon after you begin submitting. Of course you might get lucky and have the first thing you submit published. And then you think you've made it. Hmm, if only. Even bestselling authors suffer rejection, and what is the first thing you think of when rejections come? That you are a bad writer and not worthy of publication. But hang on, let's think about this.

Pieces are rejected for various reasons. I've been to enough writing conferences and workshops to realise that there are so many reasons the story you have laboured over or the poem you have edited for months has not been accepted. 

1. All publications receive far more submissions than they can ever publish.

2. Agents are always looking to reduce their submissions pile, so always make that difficult for them by following their submission rules, however pedantic they are. Don't set yourself up to fail before you even get read.

3. Editors have their own agenda. You may submit something that doesn't fit their theme. They might not have set a theme, but if the majority of what lands on their desk seems to suggest a theme, they will go with it. If your piece doesn't fit that, then sadly yours won't be chosen.

4. Your piece may have landed when the agent/editor is having a bad day, or is about to leave the office. Yes, it can be as simple as that.

Rejection is numbing. You might feel like giving up. It makes you cry, eats away at your self-confidence and plays on your theory that your writing is just not up to it. I have attended workshops given by agents where I have come away feeling totally dejected. It's as if agents are putting so many barriers in the way that you will never make it.

What annoys about the subnmission process:

1. Those that say 'send us your best work'. Are you likely to send your worst? And when the rejection comes, the first thing you think is, well, my best is still not good enough.

2. Obscure submission criteria. I do my homework and read what they publish, but am still none the wiser. Their guidelines are so offputting.

3. Waiting months for an outcome. I avoid those who publish once or twice a year and those that take six months to tell you sorry, but no thanks. I rarely send the same work to multiple magazines (even if they allow it), so it means my work is stuck in the system and cannot be submitted elsewhere until I hear.

4. No contact when shortlists etc. have been published. It is sometimes left to me to flit around websites to check where things have got to, though if I've not heard that means 'no'. Even so, if a piece of work is freed up, I'd like to know.

What is positive about rejection:

1. Those editors whose rejection letters are encouraging about your work and suggest you submit again in the future.

2. Those who offer a small critique. I know this is difficult due to time. But just one line is all it takes. Some competitions offer a critque (at a price) or a paragraph as a condition of entry (free). These have made all the difference to me. If you don't know why your piece isn't hitting the top spots, how are you ever going to learn?

3. Speedy replies - four months is about what I'd consider the max for me. However, one publication I know has taken nine months for an answer. I still use them from time to time because it suits me, but nor normally.

There you have it, my personal likes and dislikes about submissions. My experience is mainly with small press magazines, and I am sure you have your own experiences. Please enlighten me! And despite this experience gleaned over many years of submitting, my first thought on rejection is still 'I'm not good enough.' I'm not sure that will ever go away. At times like that, I cling on to the fact that I have been published, so I can't be that bad!

Reading fees

I wonder what others feel about reading fees. I don't think I've come across them in the UK but the USA certainly seems to be doing this more and more.

Have I paid them? Mmm...yes, now and then, and today I have splashed out the equivalent of £3.25 to send three poems over the pond for consideration. I did it because I liked what they were publishing and felt my poetry would fit. They have no sponsors or advertising and you can read everything online (no print copies). I also liked their turnaround because these days you can wait up to six months for a reply from some magazines. I realise they have lots of submissions and it takes a long time, but I find I now avoid those with really long waits (especially for poetry).

I also got to thinking about UK competitions. Some are now charging £10, and novel entries (First Chapter) are around £25. So actually a low reading fee is looking marginally better, and perhaps more likely for publication. Having struggled to get anything published in the UK for some time now (is that down to the quality of my writing or too much competition?) I am considering my options.

I've also noticed (from writing magazines that I subscribe to) that there are far more USA magazines (online and print) asking for submissions than the UK. I prefer submitting in the UK but I have submitted to the USA, Canada and Australia.

Anyway, I thought I'd put this out there and see if anyone else has an opinion. Please do comment.

Meanwhile, my novel is ready to submit for critiquing by my tutor later this month (nerve wracking to say the least....I'm imaging the worst, of course!), and I have challenged myself to write a poem a day for a year! I asked some Facebook friends to give me five random words to help motivate me. I hope to eventually self-publish, but a year is a long way away and not all poems will make it by the time I get to serious editing. I shall submit some to magazines when I am happy with them.

What have I been doing in the last month?

I haven't posted here in a few weeks and I've been trying to remember what I've been doing all this time in the writing world!

Well, I've been drawn back to poetry. I can't even remember what sparked it off now. All I know is that I've written a few poems. Ah, I know. After purchasing the most excellent book How (Not) to get you Poetry Published by Helena Nelson from the most excellent HappenStance Press I decided to sign up as a subscriber. I chose my free poetry booklet and received a bundle of free goodies which arrived on a day when I was feeling a bit off colour. That perked me up!

While working through the book (why have I never read this before?) I did some of the poetry exercises and there you go! Before I knew it I was looking at my better poems and sending them off to small press magazines and entering some competitions. I haven't yet finished reading the book but I am learning a whole lot about the poetry business.

I received a second rejection for my novel and my current novel writing has ground to a bit of halt. It's not that I don't know where it's going. I have scenes ready to write and I still like it. It's just that the momentum has ceased for the present. It will get written, that I know.

Also in the post recently came the new issues of Brittle Star and Popshot Magazine. I've already devoured Popshot. I adore it - the stories, the poems and the wonderful artwork. If you like a mixture of stories and poetry both these magazines are worth checking out.

At the end of last month I also went along to a small writer's group which meets in the library of the town next to mine. There are about four members. It's been going about two years and was started by someone at the library, I think. They meet for one hour once a month. All ladies. All doing various courses (Literature or writing courses). They were very welcoming. I took along a poem and part of the first chapter from the novel I am currently writing. We shared what we had brought and gave feedback. It was certainly nice to have others to talk to about writing and I shall go again, though I might not make the next one as I may be away.

A lady who I play sport with on a Friday goes to a writing class run by Adult Education. She complained that the group was now so big that sharing pieces was difficult. I jokingly said perhaps I should start my own group and she was quite enthusiastic. It got me thinking and I'm still thinking.

I have been buying some poetry too but I will come back to those books another day as I am either still reading them or, in the case of two, waiting for them to arrive in the post!

Finally, I have been writing short stories and a 500 word flash fiction piece. All are or will be submitted in the next few days.

So there we are. While I thought I had been doing nothing much in the last month I have in fact been quite busy. So, what are you reading? What are you writing?