Remember this always: when you get a rejection from an editor - it isn’t personal. It isn’t about you. Manuscripts get rejected, not people, and there are dozens of reasons why that happens. Here are a few of the most common:

1. A rejected manuscript is most likely wrong for that editor or agent. They have preferences. They are looking for that one gem of a manuscript that will jump out of the slush pile right into their hearts, and say, “Take me, I’m yours!” Every other manuscript gets rejected no matter how skillfully done, fascinating, or amazing. Sorry!

2. Some manuscripts get rejected because they are formatted wrong, or because something an editor or agent expects isn’t included in the submission. For example an editor may have writers guidelines saying she wants three novel chapters, a query letter, and a synopsis. If she gets the wrong number of chapters or no synopsis do you think she would reject a manuscript regardless of its other merits? Of course, she probably will. She wants to work with an author who can follow directions. Sorry! Try again!

3. Suppose a manuscript really is pure nonsense submitted by a person who hasn’t developed his writing talents yet. The only cure for this is to keep practicing. I will serve as your example here. I’ve been writing novels for seven years, but haven’t submitted one yet because I wanted to improve my writing and editing skills. All this time I’ve been learning about what makes novels great, and what publishers need. I don’t want to submit junk novels - I want mine to be excellent in every respect, so I’ve been revising one for the last six years as I struggled to learn all about the editing process. I’m getting ready to submit my first novel manuscript which was originally written way back in 2001. So now I’m writing this blog post to remind myself (and you) that if the manuscript gets rejected, it’s not personal! If you believe your lack of writing skill is a reason for rejection, take time to keep practicing - there’s no dishonor in that. Sorry! Write some more!

At one time back in the 1980’s I planned to publish a poetry journal. Before long I was swamped with submissions. I was flooded with them. I was unprepared for the onslaught. I couldn’t manage the workload, and none of those poets got published by me because I gave up on the project before it got started. It wasn’t their fault they didn’t get published - it was mine. It wasn’t personal! I didn’t even know poetry writing was all that popular at the time. That was back in the dark ages before the internet came into being.

More recently I worked as editor of Happy Camp News. I established the news site in 2001 and sold it recently after seven years as editor, news writer and owner. I would have loved to get more submissions, but those few I did get sometimes didn’t get printed. The problem was the editor’s lack of organization, time, or money. It wasn’t personal! In a perfect world, I would have published them all.

So please, when you submit your work, follow instructions carefully and try hard to target the right editors and agents. But if the answer is ‘no’, don’t take it as a judgment against you.

It isn’t personal!

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” - from the Kristofferson/Foster song, Bobby McGee

When what you have to lose is writer’s block, inhibition, or fear, believe me - you can do without it! Kick that feeling of hesitancy out the door and write anything you feel like writing! Who is looking over your shoulder anyhow? Don’t you know that everything you write is subject to revision later on? Why hold back on the first draft? This is our opportunity to let it all hang out!

Use colorful language. Swear in writing if you want to. Use wild, outrageous adjectives like splendiferous, or hugeamungus, or abstractious. Why not make things up? Why not brighten the world with new words? We wouldn’t even know the word supercalifragilisticexpialadocious if some creative writer didn’t have the guts to make it up and write it down.

You know who your biggest censor is? It’s your own internal editor. That’s the first line of defense against increased creative expression. Your inner editor will get to you every time before any professional editors ever have a chance to go over your work.

If you want to grow as a writer, one of the first things you need to do is to kick the internal editor to the back of your brain. Tell that critic to hush… until it is time for a revision. Your first draft does not need any criticism. It only needs your full range of free expression. It needs word freedom, and thought abundancy.

Allow yourself to write down whatever comes to mind. If you find yourself hesitating, move past it. Refuse to back up and change things, and if you write longhand, don’t cross things out. That should wait for the revision.

First drafts are for literary play.

If you’ve forgotten how to play, take an hour to visit a children’s playground and sit on the swing for a while. Meditate on that. And remember that you’re allowed to have fun, to leave your cares and worries behind, and to play as long and hard as any child on the block.

You are a free being! You are free! Let your words reflect the freedom of your heart.

I’ve decided to add a flash fiction section to this website. I write a lot of flash fiction during my daily practice writing sessions, and can’t see that I’ll ever have any opportunity to sell it unless I add it to a chapbook someday. In the meantime, I’ll post some of my little stories (500 words or less) here at Perspectives on Writing. Here’s one I wrote a few days ago. The prompt was to “write about something white”.

From the White Light
by Linda Martin
February 26, 2008

Out of the white light, a cloudy, shimmery effulgence, an angelic figure stepped forth. He was clothed in a silky, flowing gown trimmed in shining gold, but there were no wings, so Cassandra wondered if he was a real angel, or only a saint. The man smiled gently, and she shivered, not knowing what would or could happen next.

“You called me forth,” the man said. His voice sounded like peeling, chiming, harmonizing bells going off in her head. “I am here for you, Cassandra.”

“I don’t know what to do.” She felt no fear.

“You don’t need to know. Let me lead you. I know the way.” He took her hand and gently guided her forward, then into the air. They flew together through blue sky looking down at a peaceful green earth. Everything seemed brighter than she’d ever seen it before. Bright, like great joy lit everything from within.

“I just wanted to see,” Cassandra said.

“And now you are seeing.”

“When can I see more?”

“When you know what you want to see.” The man paused in mid flight, still holding her hand, guiding her to a stop in the air beside him. “Your vision is complete, and now you go back to whence you came.”

Cassandra wanted to cry out, “NO! Let me stay!” Decorum prevented it. Instead she felt herself drifting back into consciousness, back to her bedroom where she sat cross-legged before a candle’s golden, flickering flame.

Everyone needs a creative outlet - even those who don’t think they do. It is part of being human. For many of us, writing is that opportunity to share a bit of our hearts with the world.

The writing life begins when a person makes a commitment to write. Most of us who are serious about writing try to write every day. As this becomes a ritual habit, we enjoy the exciting fulfillment of our creative urges when we see the results: a viable story, article or poem. This feels so good, we want to do it again and again.

The daily writing habit can be as simple as writing to a prompt. For me, sometimes the key to working with prompts is to let my imagination run free, feeling loose enough to write down whatever comes to mind. At other times I plan a bit ahead of time and then see where the story takes me. Most of my prompt writing takes the form of flash fiction - stories less than 500 words. 

Prompts give immediate writing practice, and do not need to produce masterpieces. Writing done for practice can be turned into something worth sharing and submitting, but it doesn’t need to be perfect every time. It just needs to be a daily ritual, to help us develop our writing talents. Every creative artist needs to practice, and this is how many writers do it.

When you write to a prompt, it doesn’t matter if you write poetry, a script, fiction, or non-fiction. All genres are good for writing practice. It only matters that you set down your words, crafting them to the best of your current ability. Save your practice writing for later inspiration, for development into larger pieces, or for posterity. But whatever else you do, don’t stress over it and don’t waste time comparing your writing skills to others. Every writer has a different voice. You need only express yours.

The more you write, the better you will get at it. Don’t be afraid to play with your words, using outlandish descriptions and wild dialogue. Remember, if you don’t like the result, nobody will ever have to see it but you. The goal is to be free with language, getting away from any stilted prose, getting closer to the true expression of your inner creative light.