Rejections

Being rejected is part of the writing life. Yeah, yeah, we know that. But it can sometimes really drag me down and I have been known to indulge in a big ol' sulk. Other times I have a nano sulk and let the rejection bounce right off. Acceptances are joy - they validate and elate. Whoo hoo for acceptances. However nobody, no matter how shit hot a writer, is going to be accepted every single time. Not unless they are a "name" - one of those elite who carry so much weight with their history that whatever they write, no matter how shonky, is published. (And the reader who questions the merit may feel that it is their own lack that stops them comprehending the genius.)

When I am rejected I often hate the rejected story. I re-read and what once seemed good, solid prose can appear tatty, flimsy, pedestrian, unbaked. (I have a couple of stories this is not true of. I remain deluded convinced that they will be huge successes one day.) I may ignore the rejected words for a while, or edit, or fling 'em straight back out hoping they will find a loving home. There's no strict routine, it depends on how my mood is.

Roxane Gay wrote a post about rejection etiquette on the PANK blog the other day.  I always find Roxane's posts there, and on her personal blog, fascinating. In this particular blog post I was struck by the comfort to be found here:

"If you are only looking for a “Yes,” you’re perhaps not cut out for the publishing game. More often than not, the answer is going to be no because any magazine can only publish so many writers. We’re basically full through October online and about 90% full for our next print issue. The majority of the writing we receive is great but we, like most magazines, are in a position where we can only publish the writing that really grabs us, that really makes us fall in love, that really moves us."

This post was written on 31st May and already PANK are full for the next five months. I know this is the way things are with them as I had an acceptance from them a couple of months back that won't go live until July. They receive untold amounts of submissions, they are chock full, when they say no, it's not always going to be that the words sucked arse or that you're not good enough. And it's not just PANK is it? It's all of the quality magazines and journals. This makes me feel so much better. I know how many talented writers are out *there* in internetworldwidewebland. I want my stories to shine and stand out, and sometimes they do. That's bloody brilliant.

Linktastic stuff!

I keep forgetting to mention that I am in The Best of Every Day Fiction 2  - an anthology from those EDF peeps. It's available in hardback or softback. Thanks to EDF for including my wee story "The Collector of Shiny."

I was pleased to be in the debut issue of kill author and I am pleased that they have been voted best new online magazine or journal in the storySouth Million Writers Award. Woot woot! Speaking of the Award, kudos aplenty to all the writers who have been listed in the notable stories list. There's some really good, good writing there (special mention must surely go to Roxane Gay who has, what, six stories nominated?)

And tooting my own (plastic, red and yellow, imaginary toy) trumpet, it's been brilliant to get my writing mojo back after a long time being ill and brain fuddled. I have been writing words that please me, and feeling pretty good about it. I started subbing again (after a long time of not) and yesterday I got acceptances for 5 pieces of work. Five! In one day! (Though if I break it down, four pieces were accepted by the same place, does that count? But - I sent four hoping that they might find something to like amongst them and am THRILLED that they said, yup, we like, and took them all.) The other piece found a home somewhere I have really wanted to be published, after a requested rewrite. I spent some days nervously checking my emails, and hoping that my rewrite was solid. So yay!

And - the best words to hear on going into work?
"I saw a rep. last week, he had some new short story collections so I took them for you."
Yup. Life can be good.

Subbing frenzy (aka~ well, I sent a few flashes out.)

I am so shit at subbing. Once in a while I'll sit down and really devote time to the process, but mostly I just whine about being rejected, and totally ignore the "get it back out there" advice of writing pals. It's like I'll give it one shot, and if someone doesn't fall on it and say yes, I don't quite love it enough any more. I do have one story that I have sent out 8 times. That's a major amount of attempts for me. But I have a rather rare to me self confidence about it. I think it is good, dammit. It's come close a couple of times. I have had an editor ask me to change it a bit, and I refused, because I am CONVINCED that it is good as is. I had another Ed say that they nearly published it but at the very last minute they didn't. No reason. Weird. Anyway, I sent it back out today, this time to a female editor, because it suddenly struck me that maybe that would help.

All the place I sent to today are zines that I read and consider chock full of good quality writing. And, I didn't even sim sub. Ah, the heady feeling of hope mixes with the blah inevitability of rejection. I'll get used to it eventually. Perhaps.

Acceptances, hurrah, and speed, or not.

I had two acceptances yesterday. First time I have had two in one day, quite a lovely feeling.

The first was astonishingly quick. I subbed something, and 35 minutes later received an acceptance.

The second took rather longer. I subbed the piece in April, received a query about it in June, and an acceptance yesterday.

I am delighted about both, and as it came just after a couple of form rejections it is all the more pleasant.

I won't tell you where just yet. I like to wait until something is actually published before whoo hoo-ing.