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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Insecure Writer's Support Group- June

Hosted by the astounding Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted by the equally amazing Sheena-kay Graham, Suzanne Furness, and Laura Eno.

I am still blogging everyday and I do still believe that is wonderful in its own right.  The more writers I get connected to the more I realize that the secret ingredient I’ve been missing all these years is exactly that- other writers.  Hearing all of your voices from your blog posts and the comments you are kind enough to leave here combat that internal critic of mine better than I could possibly do alone.  Thank you, by the way.  You all inspire me.

But, I am smart enough to realize that blogging everyday doesn’t automatically equate to progress in writing.  Yes, certainly, I am still writing and most of my words I go right ahead and post here.  But as everyone who’s been published knows, you can’t post what you publish.

That’s right: I want to get published.  I want my poems, short stories and prose to find homes in the literally thousands of magazines, journals, literary anthologies and poetry collections out there.  That means both that I can’t automatically post them on here like I have been and that I, like the rest of you, will start to experience the thrill of rejection.

Reading all of your words has helped significantly in my quest to prepare myself for this.  You all remind me that it has to be expected, that it doesn’t mean I am truly a terrible writer and that the only way to get what I want is to keep submitting anyway.  So I anticipate getting a bunch of rejections before I get a single acceptance.  I’m steadying my nerves, as it were.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not scared.  I’ll be going from exposing my writing to all of you wonderful people who shower me with support, advice, positive feedback, insight and acknowledgement to a bunch of e-mails with single heart-shattering lines of rejection.  My inner critic, I know, will latch onto those words like a leech and feed off of them and I’m going to have to fight that much harder to combat it.

Which means that blogging- even if it isn’t directly improving my writing ability- will still need to happen everyday.  Because if I don’t continue to expose myself to all you wonderful writers, and if I don’t continue to arm myself with your positivity, then I’ll never make it out alive. 

What do you think?  Any other words of advice for a writer about to begin the process of trying to get published?  Anything else I need to know before I throw my writing to the lions?

Please leave a comment and let me know- your words are the soldiers in my defending army.

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15 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 5, 2013 at 10:32 AM

    This reminds me a little of my theory on newlyweds: At first they're happy with just themselves. But then, something is missing, and they announce the happy arrival of a dog or cat-- and they are happy. And then, pretty soon, we get the announcement they are pregnant.

    Meaning, I think there are stages with the writing-- when we first taste it, start blogging, getting our toes wet and then yes, are exposed to other writers and have our own "ah ha!" moment. That's when we begin to test the waters of publication, take ourselves seriously and begin to wonder if we too can make it work.

    I love my writing buddies for all their encouragement and shining the light on the next step I need to take.

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    1. BevimusJune 5, 2013 at 3:31 PM

      What a great anaology- I'm gonna remember that as I go on.

      Delete
  2. krystal janeJune 5, 2013 at 11:28 AM

    Good luck on the next step of your journey! ^_^

    I take rejection personally. I wish I could tell you not to do this, but it's going to happen. What I can tell you is that rejection really isn't a judgement on your writing ability. Great, amazing, and fantastic writers and their novels get rejected every single day. I'm going to tell you what a soon to be published writer told me a few months ago: luck and timing is a part of this process and don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise.

    It's not that hard to find someone who got picked up right away, but they still had to write, polish, and submit something in the first place. Perseverance is the only way to succeed.

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  3. Suzanne FurnessJune 5, 2013 at 3:22 PM

    Well done for realising rejection is a part of the submission process. Sure it hurts, sometimes more than others, but if you don't submit you will never know. Go for it and keep us posted!

    Suzanne
    IWSG co-host

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    Replies
    1. BevimusJune 5, 2013 at 3:30 PM

      I will most definitely keep you posted, no worries there. Thanks for co-hosting this month!

      Delete
  4. Yolanda RenéeJune 5, 2013 at 6:05 PM

    I too take rejection personally, but any critique can be used to move your writing forward. Have a moments worth of a pity party, exposing you through your words - yeah it's gonna hurt when the reader just doesn't get it - but you know better, and you pick your self up, sit down and do it again, and again, and again, and one day someone will recognize the art, the beauty, the story! That's all worth each and every little pity party you throw. The IWSG will make even more of an impact during those times. You are never alone!
    Wishing you all the best, always!

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  5. Laura EnoJune 5, 2013 at 6:35 PM

    Eventually...very eventually...you will develop a hardened shell to protect you from rejection and bad reviews. Take them all with a grain of salt, mine what objective statements you can and ignore the rest. Remember it's not personal. Not everybody will like what you write and that's a good thing. We're not clones (well, maybe a few Alexes are). We like and dislike different things. Take your achievements with a grain of salt too. Don't bask in them - as hard as it might be not to - because some people gush to hear THEMSELVES talk.

    Laura
    IWSG co-host
    Laura Eno – A Shift in Dimensions

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  6. Susan Gourley/KelleyJune 5, 2013 at 7:42 PM

    Wow, you're asking for pages and pages from this crowd. Writers love giving each other advice. Keep working for those goals. All of us started at the same spot and the pace we travel this road varies. I try to never stop learning. I can always learn more.

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  7. Empty Nest InsiderJune 5, 2013 at 8:19 PM

    Keep up the good work, and hopefully everything will start falling into place. Blogging has helped give me confidence, and I also look forward to taking that next step.

    Julie

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  8. AnonymousJune 5, 2013 at 11:59 PM

    Frequent blogging isn't always easy, but it sure does help our writing and the community is wonderful!

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  9. TonjaJune 6, 2013 at 9:53 AM

    This community of writers is amazing.

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  10. Gwen GardnerJune 6, 2013 at 10:12 AM

    Yay! I'm your 100th Follower! *jumps up and down*

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  11. Gwen GardnerJune 6, 2013 at 10:17 AM

    We're all in the same boat. I don't think it matters how many times you're published, you'll still worry over people's reactions. As writers we're really open to criticism because not everyone will like what we write - it's all subjective, anyway. You'll do great, though. We have an awesome supportive community to talk us down, LOL!

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  12. Michelle WallaceJune 6, 2013 at 1:46 PM

    Bev, you have such an upbeat and bubbly personality that I don't think you can be down for too long (just my perception)
    However, you are human, and rejection is part of the process. Take it one step at a time. That's all you can do. And remain positive.
    Good luck!
    Writer In Transit

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Thank you for your comment! I will love it and hug it and pet it and call it George. Or, you know, just read and reply to it. But still- you rock!

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