My first WIP Wednesday of the year and I have a rejection to report.
I sent this same story out five times in 2011 but it didn’t find a home, so I put on the back burner until the new year when I could find a market that I felt it would suit.
During another bout of insomnia the other night, I trolled Duotrope to find it a new home.
I polished up the formatting, dashed off a quick cover letter, and sent it off. Unfortunately, later that afternoon I received a nice rejection with some feedback on the piece (there is such a thing as a nice rejection letter!).
No matter how many stories I send out, I still get that twinge of anxiety before hitting the send button. The same with rejections — each one still smarts a little but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop sending them out.
If anything, you need to look at each rejection as a failed relationship, and take away something that can improve your writing or at least give you some insight into what went wrong.
So, I’m still on the fence as to whether I’ll rework it again before sending it out (it had been edited a few times during those five rejections), or whether I’ll try another market first.
Now, on to the WIPs.
I’m the first to admit that I haven’t done as much writing in the new year as it would’ve like to. Considering my epic list of stories that I want to tackle in 2012, I had hoped that I would’ve made more progress already but I’m allowing my old insecurities get in the way of this one story I’m working on.
So decided to go back to it on my old habits, which is switching off all distractions while trying to write the first draft. This means using Leechblock, and maybe even going back to handwriting the first draft because stories seem to come more organically to me when I do it that way and the last thing I want to do is sit at the computer all day, produce nothing, get dejected and give up without getting any words down.
So there you have it. Down but not out. A minor blip on the radar. Moving onward and upward from here.
Fellow WIP Wednesday posse:
- Aaron Polson: WIP Wednesday: Escape from the Planet of the Rewrites
- Barry Napier: Sore Fingers, Tired Writer
- Katey Hawthorne – WIP Wednesday
If you’re a writer participating in WIP Wednesday, post a link to your blog in the comments! More info on the WIP Wednesday initiative can be found at Kate Karyus Quinn’s blog.
Mary’s eerie tales inspire in readers the urge to double-check the deepest, darkest closets, to peer anxiously under the creakiest of beds, and to always sleep with the lights on.
Never give up on your stories. I’ve had a few accepted after more than 15 rejections (one recently after 20). It’s just a matter of finding the right editor, and there are PLENTY of markets out there.
I like to write some of my drafts by hand as well — definitely less distractions that way. Or I’ll shut off the ol’ wifi to keep the words flowing.
Keep on keepin’ on!
I remember reading that in one of your recent blogs. That’s what inspired me to take up the Write1Sub1 challenge this year. If I can improve my skills and get a few acceptances this year, I will be a happy camper.
That was a speedy rejection, Mary. I always find those more jarring than the ones that take weeks or months.
I write all of my first drafts by hand. I find it much less distracting. It also means the second draft, where I transcribe the story onto my computer, is a totally distinct process.
Milo, those are some inspiring statistics.
I must be a rare bird because I was actually happy to hear back (though not too happy for the rejection). I’ve had some pieces that were out for over a year so speedy replies one way or the other aren’t so bad. Now I just have to start the process of finding the right market all over again
I say send it straight back out. Sometimes a story takes a while to find its perfect home.
I suppose the more it is rejected, the better the eventual sale will be!
Hi Mary,
This is my first year of W1S1 and looking forward to meeting new writers on top of honing my craft. I’m with the rest above on your story, send it back out. This week, I had a rewrite on a story that I wrote back in March 2011 finally go well, and will probably be accepted. Many rejections, but I never like giving up on stories that I like. Some of the others, well, they’re a little easier to bury : )
Good luck.
Thanks, Erin! That’s the thing about burying stories when you are a horror writer. Some of them just won’t die…