posted
Yesterday, I sent a short story off to a major market. I was getting sick of the thing, and it was a huge relief to have it done and out of here, but now I'm feeling very negative. (Thoughts along the lines of "What makes me think I could ever have something published in that magazine? What makes me think I could ever have something published at all?" and so on...)
I have another short story currently in progress, and a novel, and quite a few ideas being stirred around the back of my brain. I'm not lacking for things to work on, but I placed BIC this afternoon and couldn't seem to get anywhere on anything.
Is this something anyone else has dealt with? Does it get better when you get used to sending stuff out? What can I do to feel better and especially to get working again? And am I likely to feel better tomorrow, or soon? (I hope, I hope!)
posted
Here's my take on your thoughts/questions...
You placed a lot of time, energy and talents in the submission you just sent. Pushing yourself to sit right back down and get to work on something else is a good haibt, *but* it might not be the thing you need to do right now. Remember, you're a human being, not a machine. Allow all the thoughts/energies/talents you just let fly with this latest submission to "settle" for a day or two. Your mind might need a rest. Your muse, too.
Instead of getting right back into your chair, do something else for 48 hours. Take a walk. Let your mind free itself from what it just focused on with great intensity.
Sometimes we creative folks need to re-fill the well of creativity. Exercise and/or distancing ourselves from the keyboard can do wonders for freeing up the muse and allowing it the time to acclimate itself to yet another new idea. Give it time to settle, then simmer...and soon it will percolate again.
So, take this time to be proud of what you've done. Treat yourself to a new stimulus - maybe read a chapter of a book you've wanted to read, or jog/walk a block or three, or talk to strangers. Something other than force yourself to be in front of the keyboard and creating.
A day away has always been a perfect tonic for getting me back into the groove. Maybe it will be for you, too.
And am sending all kinds of positive energy that your submission will be a "go" for wherever you sent it! Congrats on getting it out the door! Now be good to yourself and think up a great, relaxing reward!!!
posted
I think sending stuff off is a bit like rejections. First time, it's huge. It's horrible. For me at least, I kept obsessing about it, thinking about where it was, measuring it against Myrtle's journey through the terrible world of submissions. But eventually the fascination faded. (It helped that the first recent submission was to the wonderfully fast rejectors at Fantasy and Science Fiction, and I didn't wonder for too long....)
What made submissions (and rejections, because a lot of people say that submission should be a nearly automatic response to rejection) better? Having more than one story out on the market. Now when one comes home unsuccessfully, I can say "Well, at least I still have that good submission at Peachy Keen Adventure Tales, and they've had it for a while, so I'm sure they're being nice to it. I'll send this piece of drivel I just got back out again for the heck of it."
When I got my first rejection slip oh-so-long-ago, I freaked out, stopped submitting entirely, worked for a while, waited until I felt like I was getting nearer to standard, and started sending things out again. I may not have improved with the time, but my rejection reactions have. Now when I get a rejection I do more or less what I did when a story of mine got rejected today: think "Ooh, they said there was plenty to like in the story. Where haven't I sent this to yet?"
So I'd say for me at least it got better, and the only cures are time and more stories out to markets, which also means time. And I agree with Lindsay: I'm a big fan of respecting the natural recharge rate of authors. My natural production limit is a very specific number of pages per day, and if I push that, what I write is probably going to be weaker, and I'll produce less for the next day or two. The same thing happens with stories and ideas and the ability to work. When I finish a long project, I can't jump directly into sustained work on something longer. I usually use that time to play around with short story ideas and work on the outline for the next big one, not to do any kind of disciplined work.
posted
You might get used to the doubts and fear overtime. I haven't. I just sent a submission to a magazine that has accepted an article from me and I have the same doubts. I take a break for a day or so. Get out. Get some fresh air. Read a book. Veg out on the couch in front of the tv. The next day, I'm back at it. I find that once I've rested my mind, it's easier to get back into being creative. Yes, I still worry about the submission, but working at the next project helps to take my mind off it.
IF it gets rejected, send it right back out.
When it gets accepted, treat yourself, and then get back to your next project.
posted
Thanks, everyone! I am feeling better today, and expect to get some writing done this afternoon. This is my first fiction submission in years, so it's stressful. (I sent something to WotF over 10 years ago, but that's the only other fiction I've submitted.)
Sending this out hit me harder than rejection, actually. I had a nonfiction piece rejected earlier this year. I got a little handwritten note saying thanks, but the magazine already had too many articles. I guess small magazines don't use printed slips? I may find a printed slip hurts more, when I get one.
As far as focusing on something else, most of the time, that's a given for me. My primary function in life is raising two small children! Yesterday, we went to the library and grocery store (by car) and the post office and playground (on foot, carrying 30 pounds of child-plus-backpack and pushing the larger one in a stroller).
Time seems to be helping, though. I can sit still again today, rather than having so much energy I have to be up and moving constantly. (In the future, I'll have to remember to time my submissions for the day before track meets and other outdoor activities!)
And I'm sure this has been posted before, but I printed out this priceless bit from Neil Gaiman's blog and pasted it on my computer:
"The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering, 'Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!' and writing something so unbelieveably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there's nothing left to write."
You have a gift, a talent, and it's one of the most wonderful things in the world. Don't forget that. Let life inspire you.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
