It has been such a long time time since I posted here.
(Sorry, Karen. I keep meaning to post but I get constantly distracted. I will do better, I promise…..)
Truth be told, I have been having a crisis of confidence regarding my writing. I have been taking the advice of many people I know and putting my work out there for submission. I have had one story accepted and will actually get paid for it (Yay) but most rejected.
The rejection has been really hard because as we all know it is hard not to take it personally. There was one story in particular that made me flinch when I got that rejection slip. Usually at the back of my mind I know when I am going to get a story rejected because I just haven’t put enough work into it but this story, well I have to say it was a little gem. One of the best things I have written.
And it was rejected straight away. Within a week. So now I’m thinking because the rejection process was so swift that it really must have been crap. And as a result I’m beginning to question my judgement regarding the worth of my writing.
So this week I am going to start a series of posts about The Invisible Writer. I often refer to myself as the invisible writer because apart from my incredibly loyal and amazing fellow bloggers and writers and readers – YOU GUYS, ROCK, BY THE WAY – no one at all (in the far flung publishing/writing world, that is) knows I am there.
Writing my little heart out.
I think a lot of us fall into the Invisible Writer category.
We write. We submit. We get rejected.
We rewrite. We resubmit. We get rejected.
Copy. Paste. Repeat.
It’s like Chinese water torture.
So what do we do if at our very core we believe we can write but remain invisible?
How long can we put up with the torture?
I’m going to be talking about that later this week.
Stay tuned….
A Novel Place 
Hi Selma, found you (your other blog actually) through Jennifer (Realia- Canada). What you write resonates. Sadly I haven’t even got to the submission stage yet – just building a larger and larger collection of pieces which only blog visitors and close friends get to read. In my case i decided to blog them as my personal form of publishing to avoid rejection. As a self taught writer there is a residual element of being a fake rather than a real writer. Mind you my whole working life has been based on this premise. Untrained but enthusiastic and intuitive, and in many respects highly succesful. I’ve had a ball.
My blog title probably reveals a little about my state of mind. “My Missing Life”. Missing=Invisible.
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Oh Selma, I hear you. I’m so invisible I don’t even bother submitting.
I’ve got something up my sleeve, though… I think you’ll like it 😉
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Hi Selma
I found you through “My missing life”… read there about preferred stories. I think blogging is a legitimate media for being seen. I am in the UK and have enjoyed reading both these blogs this morning. Keep on keeping on!
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Hi LITTLE HAT:
It is so nice of you to visit. I understand what you mean about the stigma of the self-taught writer but I wanted to say to you that most of us really are self-taught and that is what gives us our voice. I would rather read the work of a self-taught writer that was full of emotion and sensitivity and insight any day than a writer with multiple degrees who was technically perfect yet possibly lacking in joie de vivre.
Blogging is a fantastic way to get your work out there. The more you write, the greater your resolve will be for dealing with rejection. Always remember with a rejection that it is just one person’s opinion and that sometimes a brief rewrite and a resubmission will then get you accepted.
I tweaked the story that got rejected this afternoon and sent it out again. I am determined to get it published because I think it is a good story.
I am really intrigued by your blog. Seems we share a common state of mind. I’ll be over to visit shortly. So good to have met you!
Hi DAOINE:
Oooo. Now I am intrigued. Can’t wait to hear more.
I didn’t bother submitting for a while due to the invisibility factor but now I want people to see me. Maybe I should get a placard and some pom poms so they don’t miss me 😆
Hi GRACE:
So nice of you to stop by. Great to have a visitor from the UK. I am originally from Scotland. I agree that blogging is a legitimate media for being seen. Right on. Great to meet you!
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invisible – that sounds like a superhero power, could be useful sometimes like when you are being pester by people who you can’t stand
we, that is, you will become visible when the right publisher finds you or you find them. now that I know anything about publishers but I think with time and patience, something will come up. good luck!
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Hi LISSA:
That is a very good point to remember when dealing with publishers. Time, persistence, patience are key. And not giving up.
Invisibility would be a great superpower to have. It would satisfy my love of snooping. I would have so much fun with it. But a cape, I’d need a cape…..
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One yes, focus on that Sel. Keep that positive thought in mind while sending out more submissions. If Stephen King to name but one of many gazillion- selling writers, had thousands of reject letters piled up as he worked in a sweaty laundry for years before his big break. It puts the perserverence value where it should be, up at the top of what it means to be a writer and hopefully a published author. Hang in there. Not for the faint-hearted, this writing gig, but the fun of getting there eh!!!
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Hi GERALDINE:
It sure isn’t for the faint-hearted, is it? But I will keep going because I must. And because I secretly like rejection. Hahaha.
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wow. nice of wordpress to alert me that you’d posted something. Sheesh!
Anyway, I understand that invisibility issue. I’ve had things rejected quickly, but learned that either the publisher no longer needed that kind of story, or they were going out of business. Perhaps your gem (and I KNOW it is still a gem) just landed in the wrong spot and will do much better elsewhere.
You are a fabulous writer. Your words pull your readers right into the story and hold us there until the final word has finished resonating. I’m glad you’re going to keep writing and submitting, because I do believe that you won’t be invisible for long. No one with your amazing talent can, or should be invisible.
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Hi KAREN:
I cannot ever begin to thank you for all the support you have given me over the years. You are fabulous. I don’t know what I’d do without you ♥♡☺
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Hi, Selma. I’m here by way of Selma in the City, recommended by a mutual blogger friend, Jonas of At Twilight. He referred to you as a writer who is much like me. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment to you, but I’ve looked around here and on Selma in the City, and it surely is a compliment to me.
Like you, I have more than one blog. One (the one linked here) is fiction and poetry, my own “invisible writing.” The other is creative non-fiction. There’s a link to that on the main blog.
I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing.
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Hi PATTI:
How lovely to meet you. Anyone who is a friend of Jonas is definitely welcome here. He is one of the greatest people I have met on the net. He is always so kind to me (most of the time I don’t think I deserve it.)
I will certainly come and check out your blogs and look forward also to reading your writing.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Try not to take rejection too personally Selma – often the story or whatever is just not their style, taste or what they are after for that particular magazine, journal etc., I got a poem rejected in two hours one day – knocked me for a six at first (just the speed of the rejection) but then I realised it probably offended them in some personal way (it’s that sort of poem) – it was that poem having a dig at wine connoiseurs (and who knows – the person assessing the poem may have been a wine buff – haha) but others really love the poem. Your writing is righ up there Selma (better than a lot of stuff I have seen published). I know submitting stuff is a lot of work and a bit like torture, but don’t give up.
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GABRIELLE,
I think I need to practise what I preach a bit more. I actually can handle the the rejection and I understand the reasons for rejection are often due to what is lined up in the journal or mag for that month rather than anything to do with the merit of the piece; so instead of going ‘Oh, stuff it’ I need to submit that piece somewhere else.
Thanks for your constant support. The editor who knocked back your poem probably was a wine buff. That has amused me, actually. It’s a quirky little story in itself. Thanks again, hon ♥
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