For those who write and submit to journals, etc. may I despair for a minute

[ok_cpu]

with like-minded folks?

I admit that this is me being colicky and hoping someone will tell me it'll all be ok...

After (mostly talking about) writing for many, many years I have finally dipped a toe in publishing and put a short essay and flash fiction piece into the market.

I'm sure it gets easier, and that I must develop thicker skin if I'm going to do this, but...as a newbie sending my first babies into the world to be judged, 3-6 months of silence is cruel torture. And to be fair, no one is outside of their stated response time.

/ fuss.

[SheltieLover]

1. Good for you!

Do not be discouraged!

Your babies deserve your perseverence!

[ok_cpu]

4. Thank you, I appreciate it!

I just needed a little nudge. A virtual burping.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Keep writing. Can you submit more of your work into the market?

Writing is art, and often times people need more exposure to your product.

[ok_cpu]

6. I do have a couple of WIP that I'm fixing up.

And I figure you have to be out there to find an audience. And that publishing is probably a numbers game as you probably have to have a good piece, a good piece that is a fit for the submitted market, and a good piece that is a fit for the submitted market at the submitted time.

Thank you for the quick reply and encouragement!

[Irish_Dem]

9. Exactly. Do not sit around for 6 months waiting for feedback.

Just polish what you have and put it in the pipeline.

Look at it like planting seeds, you are going to plant seeds and see what pops up.

And even if you get negative feedback, it is not personal, just the reality of the
market place at this point in time. Or maybe some mistakes or flaws you did not see at first.
That is why even brilliant writers will often have a trusted colleague of friend review their work.

[Wheezy]

3. You may absolutely despair!

For five minutes.

That was my rule for myself back in 2002 when I started writing flash fiction. Now, twenty-six published novels later, my ideas still get rejected and my writing gets critiqued and people take a ridiculous amount of time to get back to me, and I'm allowed to feel things about that. But that little five minute rule helped me keep going.

It's so hard. You put a piece of yourself out there. Congratulations for being very brave!

Now go write something else while you wait.

[ok_cpu]

7. First, congratulations!

And thank you for sharing your advice. I like the five minute rule. My rule has been to check email every five minutes.

[Wicked Blue]

5. The wait and the silence are agony, aren't they?

I hope you get some response, feedback, something, soon!

Years ago, when I was unemployed, I wrote a children's fairytale and sent it out to numerous literary agents. This was in the days before self-publishing on the Web became a thing.

Months of utter silence. Only one reply came, a generic postcard saying my work was not suited to what they published. The experience broke my heart, and I've never been able to bring myself to submit anything again. Totally lost my nerve and pretty much stopped writing.

And it's not as though I'm a rookie at writing. I was a newspaper journalist for a long time, and then wrote articles about energy efficiency for small specialized magazines. I was spoiled in a way, because every day I saw my name in a byline, and nearly everything I wrote was published.

So I assumed my story would easily be accepted and published. I was fully aware that some writers submitted their work dozens of times before a publisher accepted it. Silly me.

Please don't let my pessimism discourage you. Writers gotta write. You're a writer, so keep plugging away at it.

[ok_cpu]

8. Thank you for sharing.

I figure the first couple feel more personal than the rest if you keep at it.

I've tried to prep for rejection and not get discouraged by it. The waiting is proving tough. But, good advice upthread...move on and work on the next thing.

[AnnieG]

10. What venue or venues did you use? (What's the word? Platform? Website? ???) nt