A recent article
by Kim Liao on LitHub is well worth reading for any writer who wants to share
their work with the world. She says to go for the rejections, as many as
possible, because the more rejections there are the more submissions you’re
doing, and so there are more likely to be at least a few acceptances. She
quotes a number of writers who agree with this approach.
No one likes rejection, particularly for something as deeply
personal as a piece of creative writing. One way to protect against it is to
simply not send anything out. There’s no law that says you have to seek
publication, after all. But there is a point in every serious writer’s life
when the stimulus of being read takes the work to another level. This reading
could just be among friends, but there can be the concern that friends are "just being nice." At some point curiosity about how a piece of writing would do
in the harsh world of publishing prompts actually submitting the work. This is
not ego rearing its ugly head. It’s more likely to be seeking of connection and
a need to get feedback in order to perfect one’s craft. So out it goes. Then
there’s waiting. Then there’s (usually, percentage-wise) rejection. Ouch! Who
can blame the writer for wondering why even bother?
I have writer clients who were so terrified of sending
things out, they never sought publication until they hired me to send it out
for them. But more often than not, my clients come to me more than a little
battle-worn and frustrated. It’s all very inspiring to suggest setting a goal
of 100 rejections a year. It’s quite another experience to receive those
rejections. And even another to turn around and send the piece out again and
again. It would take an almost automatonic ability to rise up from rejection
without first healing the perceived wound. Great if you can do it, but rare, I
would think. Read the article and see what you think!
But first, on a related note, enjoy listening to George Plimpton’s very
entertaining ‘Dinner at Elaine’s’.
