Positive Thinking for Writers

I always say of writing that “you can do it if you really want to but it’s a big ‘if’.” It can seem a little ludicrous sometimes. You spend hours and days on something that may never be read by someone else. You may never really feel that you earn enough from the writing to justify spending more time on it. Even those who do become rich and famous often have a long hard slog before that happens. So IF we’re to battle on we need to stay positive. Yes, it’s a very big IF.

Postscript Coping with Rejections

Walking For Water Here it is now:

Coping with Rejections

Rejection is just part of life when you are a writer. It doesn’t stop hurting, though. It is definitely the down on the roller-coaster. Or is it?

At least when you’ve had the rejection you can move onto the next submission. I have my really beloved baby, The Prophecy, out there now. One publisher has the first three chapters and a synopsis. They’ve had them a couple of weeks. They haven’t acknowledged them and I have a creepy sort of feeling that maybe they didn’t get them: they were emailed as an attachment. But I don’t want to ask yet, as it might sound like nagging.

I did send another query letter yesterday, again by email, and the answer came back: no they don’t publish YA. It didn’t say that in their guidelines and they looked just the zany sort of publisher who would. Oh well!

I’m not hurrying this one. I’ll go for likely looking people as I see them and only proactively seek new opportunities as the rejections come in. I’m really waiting on my first publisher as being published with them would be so appropriate. Meanwhile, I’ll get on with other writing.

I know another writer who just calls rejections “rewrites”. I guess that is an optimistic way of looking at them. I can see that that works for those rejections where you get some feedback. I’m not sure that it works for the ones which are just standard slips. I guess, though, that you make a mental note of the fact that that imprint doesn’t quite fit the style and content of your writing. Can you make it a better fit? If not with this piece, then with another?

Hopefully, the more you write the better you get.

In any case, I can’t not write. It seems to be in my blood now.

Ups and downs

This week has brought two rejections and two acceptances. Funnily enough, the rejections seem to carry more weight. A small American publisher and a small Welsh publisher have rejected me. A large American publisher has accepted a poem - though I'm not really all that sure if I want it published. A short story of mine and an article have been published in an anthology for students learning English by the Free University of Moldova, with funding form the British Embassy, so that gives it some status even if it doesn't pay me anything.
I went on a training course at Lightning Source last week, and it begs the question of whether one should self-publish or not. I'm even thinking of forming my own imprint. The big problem will of course be the marketing.
I do have two more novels to market then now. The temptations is to just let them go straight to Willow Bank. Perhaps I'll talk to them later in the week.