We writers all go through the same merry-go-round when submitting our work for publication. We write, submit, get rejected and repeat. I understand that rejection is part of the process. Rejection makes you try harder and you learn from every rejection. The thing that gets under my skin is the Vast amount of differences for submissions! There are almost as many WAYS to submit as there are publications that accept them. *Some accept previously published pieces, others do not. Some consider a blog post as being Published, others do not. *Some charge reading fees, others do not. *Some places do not accept simultaneous submissions, while others do. *Some want your submission in a Word document, others want a PDF. Still others want the submission to be a copy and pasted into the body of the email. *Some have very specific requirements as far as font size and type, others do not. *Some want your submission to be blind. No name on it anywhere. Others want your name on each piece. *If submitting short pieces, poetry, etc., some places want just One document with ALL of your pieces. Others want each piece attached as a separate document. *A LOT of submissions go through Submittable. With others you must email the publication directly. Still others have their own online form you must fill out to submit. *Some places want a bio from you. These can vary wildly. Anything from a short piece, limited to 50 words or less to something longer. Some places want the bio written in the 3rd person, others 1st person. Then some places do not want a bio at all. And remember the requirements for font size and type!! *Most publications seem to take a lifetime to get back to you with an answer, 6 months or more is not uncommon. If this is the case, you’ve got this unpublished masterpiece (in OUR eyes, right?) sitting there and you can do NOTHING with it. Because if they do not accept simultaneous submissions or previously published work, you cannot let it be seen anywhere else until the Publication Gods that you have submitted to have given it a pass or fail. *Then there is the whole legal mess of your rights as the author. Do you retain your rights? Do they? You need an attorney to read the leagalspeak on some of the websites. It’s all maddening!! Why do we do it?? I get so frustrated at times that I just throw my hands up in the air in defeat. I close down the website I’m on and crawl back to my little cave of self-pity to lick my wounds. Then that spark will come. That “ping” that tells me “This time! THIS will be the ONE that will get me seen and the publishers will take notice!!” So I go at it again and submit more of my work. I do offer some advice in this mad, mad world of write, submit, reject and repeat. *PRINT OUT the submission Guidelines and keep them next to you as you prepare your piece for submission. This way, you can be sure not to overlook anything. *FOLLOW the submission guidelines to the letter. No matter how brilliant your piece is, if you did not follow the rules, you’re out on your ear often before the piece is ever read. *PROOF your piece. For heaven’s sake, you don’t want to be rejected because of a spelling error, do you? Proof, proof, proof!! *Lastly, take time to vent. Cry, yell and curse the Publishing Gods. Shake your fist and stomp your feet. Scream into your pillow. Cry yourself a river, if that makes you feel better. But when it’s all said and done, take a deep breath and climb back on that horse and give it another shot. Why? Because we are writers, that’s why. Copyright © 2022 Penny Wilson All Rights Reserved
Tag: author
Just Write the Damned Story!
I understand now why Authors doubt themselves. I’m making some real progress to my WIP. But the further I get into it, the more the doubt creeps in.
“Should I have more back-story? Is this too far-fetched? Should I eliminate this character? How about this detail, that detail… etc., etc.”
The continual dialog in my head will not Shut Up! I constantly have to remind myself to “Just Write the Damned Story! Just Write the Damned Story!”
Do you have these kind of battles when you are writing?
Copyright (C) 2017 Penny Wilson
Another Name Change?
When I first started my blog, I called it “Penny Lane’s Thoughts“, using the name Penny Lane as a playful nod to the Beatles.
Since then, I’m taking my writing more seriously. So I changed the name of my blog to “Penny Lane Writes“.
As an author, I will be using my real name, Penny Wilson. I worry that if people look for me, they will not find me with the Penny Lane name.
As much as I adore the name Penny Lane, It’s not who I am. I’m Penny Wilson. I am thinking about making another name change to my blog and calling it “The Musings of Penny Wilson” or some such thing. I haven’t decided on a name for sure yet.
I’ve even secured the pennywilsonwrites .com just in case.
Do you think another change will just confuse people? Thoughts?