On rejection and being burnt out.

I submitted a short story I wrote to three publications.

The first responded:

Thank you for your submission to the Urban Resistance. Unfortunately, it's not what we are looking for at this time.
We wish you good luck in placing this piece and hope you continue to submit your work to us in the future. 

I was not put off by this.  I wrote and revised the story for class.  I know of the issues and only submitted the story as part of a class assignment.  Still, every writer is hopeful for acceptance and acknowledgement.  Every writer, I imagine, secretly hopes that some stranger will read the submission and say, "This is amazing. I must publish it."  So, while I was not put off, some part of me was still disappointed.  It is tempting to take such rejection as a rejection of self.  Stories are a part of the writer, and saying, "This is not good enough," is almost like saying, "YOU are not good enough."  It's tempting to think that, but I have been taught well and have friends who have been through this, so I avoided depression.  This time.

The second rejection was more positive:

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to 10,000 Tons of Black Ink. Unfortunately, our editorial staff has decided to pass on your piece, "On the First" at this time.
We found this to be a thoroughly gripping story. It is well written and does not strike a false note. The description of three children watching TV was very accurate and natural—all acting their ages, arguing, giving in to one another as they wait for their dissolute mother to come home.  The language is a nice blend of adult remembrance and childhood naivety: “When [the microwave] is turned on for too long it protests it use by making a whining sound which burrows into the headache inducing centers of one’s brain and activates the pain centers.”  You might, however, take a look at the scenes and descriptions that do not move the story forward or give the reader an insight into the characters. You begin the piece by having the narrator tell us this is the night things changed. How is that statement addressed in the end? In what way have things changed? To a degree this is left to the reader, but a somewhat stronger allusion to your intent might be more effective. Overall we found this to be a very strong piece, but perhaps one final polishing draft from being ready.  Though we are unable to publish your work this time around, we wish you luck in your endeavors and look forward to reading more of your writing in the future.

Yes, more personal.  This one sounds like they read my story.  Actual comments.  This one actually made me smile.  Not only because they look forward to reading more of my writing in the future, but also because some of the comments from this publication are similar to those from my writers group. I never thought I would be published for this story, but hearing stuff like this makes me want to go back and revise the story and try again.  Maybe then it would be ready.

The third said:

Thank you for submitting "On the First" for inclusion in Nine. We haveread and discussed the story, and have decided to pass on it. It's not amatter of the writing so much as the content. We choose stories that havea strong plot and characters, and this is a bit too far toward theliterary and away from the genre. We like to ride that line, but not quitethis far. Good luck placing this elsewhere, and thanks again for thinkingof us.

Not quite as personal, but still, it feels good to hear the reason for rejection is that it is not genre enough.  That's good, as the story wasn't genre at all.  As far as rejections go, that's about the least offensive reason one could give. I'll chalk that one up to not reading the types of submissions this particular publication wants. 


Although this class did force me to submit my stories to publications, something I had long wanted to do and could never work up the nerve for, it beat me down in other ways.  Most of the students were not serious writers, others were not writing at the level I felt capstone course warranted.  I had to read and comment on about 25 stories in the span of 4 months in conjunction with the writing I needed to do for the class.  This wouldn't have been a problem if the writing had been quality, but it is very frustrating to me, as a person who takes the craft very seriously, to waste time in class explaining that this story is not a story because this "story" has no plot.  At this level, every story should be a story, I believe, and time spent discussing the stories in class should be focusing on character inconsistencies, dialogue, padding, what is aiding the story and what isn't.  If the writer isn't aware that the story does not have a plot, it is my belief that these other, more minor, and just as important things will be unheeded.  


So, because of this class, I haven't written creatively in about a month.  This blog post is the most substantial thing I've written since then.  It feels good, Brian.  It feels right.  


Maybe I should go tighten up a story and peddle my wares elsewhere.  


Edit no Jutsu:


Also, I got a cat.  

She's pretty much the best cat ever.  A gift from the best girlfriend ever. <3

The only problem is, said cat likes to attack said girlfriend's hair and face when we sleep.

Kittens. :) :(