Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Once again, it is time for our Insecure Writer’s Support Group post! Everybody has moments of insecurity, myself included. The question is what to do about those feelings?

I’ve been submitting short stories to various anthologies lately (including our own “Dark Matter,” for which my story was not selected). Rejections are painful and they make you question your skill and technique. Especially painful is the “if you don’t’ hear from us, just assume you didn’t make it” type of rejection, where the editors don’t even bother to write up a form rejection and send it out. That one smarts. At least with a form rejection, you know someone actually looked at your piece, even if they only glanced at it.

The thing to do with rejections is to burn them and dance around the flames realize that not everyone will like your work. The submission/acceptance process is a highly subjective one and you never know which type of editor you may get. Maybe they hate second person POV and your story is written in second person. Maybe they can’t stand robot stories and you’ve sent them one. Maybe they had a horrible experience with a computer and since then, have been unable to read anything with a computer in it. Maybe they’re just having a bad day. Editors reject stories for all sorts of reasons—and some of them are quite illogical.

Realistically speaking, if you’ve done your best and run it past a few beta readers, you’ve done all you can do. If they don’t like it, they don’t like it. Someday, you’ll hit that editor who does like your work and will accept your story. Until then, keep plugging away and improving your craft. You never stop working on your writing—I’ve been doing this for over 25 years and I still learn new things by studying, researching, and reading what other writers are doing. Keep at it and keep working to improve. You’ll get there.

March 3 Question: Everyone has a favorite genre or genres to write. But what about your reading preferences? Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories for? What motivates your reading choice?

I read widely—everything from science fiction to fluff (cozy romances or mysteries). I read a lot of mystery stories (mostly non-cozy) because I enjoy trying to figure out the puzzle before the story’s detective does. I also read sci-fi/fantasy stories, not only because I like to see what’s trending but also because I enjoy a good out-of-this-world tale. One genre-hopping combination I enjoy is the JD Robb series of sci-fi/mysteries. Yes, I know she’s really Nora Roberts and I occasionally pick up one of her paranormal romance stories. I’ve also been known to read Westerns and the occasional historical fiction tale, as well as a lot of nonfiction (especially dealing with the craft of creative writing). 

My reading choices are motivated by enjoyment first and curiosity second. Sometimes I’ll read a book “everybody” is reading if it sounds interesting enough. Often, however, my tastes and “everyone’s” are wildly different. For the past decade or so, dystopian stories have been all the rage, and I just don’t like most of them. They seem so depressing to me. I like a happier ending and a story where you don’t have to watch every single character to keep them from betraying you. I like quirky characters who don’t turn out to be involved in massive political conspiracies. What can I say? I’m an old-fashioned reader.