Going Full-On
I’ve written before about moments in my writing “career” where I’ve felt dejected and full of self-doubt. This is not one of those posts.
I have a strong tendency once I get past my initial doubts where I go full-on confident.
[image error]You see, there are times when I don’t give a damn what someone else thinks. I know I will succeed. I have no doubt. I believe in myself when no one else will.
I’ve never been given anything. If I wanted it, I had to work hard for it. My family didn’t have money. I started working when i was 13 or 14 as a newspaper carrier for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, OH. I got up every morning before the sun and delivered the daily paper all along my street.
Not having money taught me to work hard, learn from my mistakes, and suck it up. I didn’t always enjoy the jobs I had, but I dealt with it and gained strength from it. Everything I gained is because of determination.
I can’t tell you how many times my stories have been rejected (Well, actually I can. My stories have accumulated 74 rejections since 2014 with only 4 acceptances). Many for good reasons. It’s ok. I know they’re good. I know they belong somewhere. So I continue sending them out.
The thing is, I can’t let those get to me. What’s the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” I feel that way about my stories. They weren’t right for some places but a perfect fit for others. I gotta find that fit.
So for those who reject my stories just know, you’re gonna be part of my success. You will push me to prove you wrong. It might not be the most healthy attitude, but it keeps me focused.
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More like stubbornness on my part. I don't like people telling me I can't do something, so I set out to prove them wrong.
I find I have a lot of the same problems. What I've done is after it's written, I try to match some element of my story to various publications as best as possible. It's not always easy, but I only have to get lucky once with the story. I might have 5-6 rejections (or more) for a particular story until I find the right home for it. Two of my last 3 sales were written for specific anthologies, but were rejected. I polished them up again and sent them back out to the wild. I believe in them and trust they'll find the right publication in time.
Mike wrote: "I know I can write good stories, but my own personal genre doesn't really fit ANY submissions I've ever seen. So I usually ignore them."And yes, you can write amazing stories!
