Dive into the world of writing submissions as I outline two fundamental pillars that can make or break your success: attitude and logistics.
As writers, we pour our souls into our work, often mistaking the desire for affirmation as the desire for feedback. But here’s the reality check you might need—developing a thick skin is crucial for survival in this industry.
On the logistics end, meticulous record-keeping can help illuminate your path, offering a way to determine who is receptive to your work and who isn’t.
From Hemingway’s poetic take on writing to practical spreadsheet tips, this video is your toolkit for mastering the art of submitting your creative pieces.
Hello, Jane Cleland here.
How do I submit my work? I’m scared. I have two suggestions for you: one, attitude; the other, logistics.
Attitude: Put your thick skin on. We writers are deeply invested in our work. We’ve spent a lot of time on it. Ernest Hemingway once said—I’m paraphrasing—”Writing is easy. Just sit at the typewriter and bleed.” We take it seriously. We do our very best, and we therefore say we want feedback, but often what we really mean is we want affirmation. That’s something to think about.
Professionals have to get good at taking feedback, and some of the feedback is: “This is not a good fit for our lineup,” or “It’s not to my taste,” or “It’s not for me.” Well, that can hurt if you take it personally. So I encourage you: get that thick skin on and don’t take it personally. Tie a knot and move on. It takes an attitude adjustment.
Logistics: You want to keep track of where you’re submitting your work. I use a spreadsheet for that. When I was submitting articles and trying to find an agent, I would write down all of the pertinent information: the name, the date I submitted it, what I submitted (because I often had multiple articles or pitches in play), and then the outcome when I heard from them.
That helped me because once, I got a nice rejection that said, “Almost but not quite.” Are you kidding me? I lived on that for a year! But that meant I was very comfortable pitching that particular editor again—that was one of the airline magazines, actually.
So: attitude—get your head in the right spot; logistics—make sure you’re keeping track of things. Give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve reached the point where you’re ready to submit.
Congratulations! It’s not easy, and I know you can do this next step.
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