Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Another Step . . . Backward?

My story was not accepted for publication. Obviously, this means that:

My story is terrible, I am a bad writer, and I should never submit this or any other piece of writing ever again.

Or, the person who read my submission was ill-equipped to recognize my genius.

Or, I need to workshop the story and revise it to be more appealing in the current publishing atmosphere.

Or, I should continue to work on it unaided as to keep my vision pure and unbesmirched by commercial considerations.

Or, I should take this failed attempt as a sign that my efforts would be better directed toward another realm of endeavor. Dogwalking, for example.

Or. then again, weren't most of the best writers throughout history rejected at first? Wouldn't it be ridiculous to give up after the first try?

Or, this judgment of my story means that no one would ever want to publish it in any form.

Or, I picked the wrong journal for my story; I just need to find one that fits my style better.

Or, I should ask people I know in the writing/publishing world for help, because obviously I have no idea what I'm doing.

But, I'm not ready for anyone I know to read the whole story. I'm only comfortable with total strangers doing that.

But, I did let a friend read the first section.

But, that was a friend I knew would be encouraging and not critical.

But, isn't the point of publishing anything to make it public, which means that anyone, whether I know them personally or not, would potentially be able to read the story?

But, if I publish it in an obscure enough magazine or journal, no one I actually know would read it because they would never come across it, but I would be able to say, yes, my story was published!

So, the way forward is plain: Find a little-known, unheard-of, insignificant journal (edited by a heretofore-unrecognized genius!) that will be only too happy to get any submission that they will have absolutely no choice but to publish my story, which will then be anthologized everywhere and make me famous, thereby putting the little journal on the literary map as my first publisher! We will make history, and everyone will envy me so much it won't matter if they actually like my story or not! It's obvious!

It's so obvious.

Or, maybe I should work on my story some more, research some other journals, and submit the story to several decent-sounding ones, and while I wait to hear back, keep writing.

Yes, it's obvious.

Or, I should consider self-publishing.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

2011 (1) 2012 (1) 2666 (1) A Gate at the Stairs (1) A Visit from the Goon Squad (1) Adam Gopnik (1) alcoholism (1) Ander Monson (1) Anne Frank (1) archives (1) Barnes and Noble (1) best (1) blog (2) blogosphere (1) book (1) book club books (1) book list (4) book lists (2) bookbook (1) books (2) Bryant Park (1) caregiving (1) coffee (1) Colm Toibin (2) Colum McCann (1) crime (2) David Shields (1) Denis Johnson (1) digital publishing (1) disclaimer (1) dragon tattoo (1) dream (1) e-book (1) e-reader (2) E.M. Forster (1) electronic writing (1) Elfreide Jelinek (1) event (1) fiction (3) Flannery O'Connor (1) Freedom (1) Freud (1) Fuckhead (1) genre fiction (1) gods (1) Hilary Mantel (1) Holocaust (1) Jayne Ann Phillips (1) Jonathan Littell (1) Judy Garland (1) Kindle (2) Krishna Das (1) Laurie Anderson (1) Let the Great World Spin (1) Lisbeth (2) literary journal (2) literary magazine (1) Lorrie Moore (1) Matthew Cheney (1) Mia Farrow (1) Michael Chabon (1) Mikael (2) mysterious (1) Mysterious Bookshop (1) mystery (1) narrative (1) Nathan Zuckerman (3) Neil Gaiman (2) Nicholson Baker (1) novel (2) novelist (1) Obama (1) Orange Prize (1) Otto Penzler (1) palate cleanser (1) Pasha Malla (1) Philip Roth (6) Philippe Petit (2) plot (1) poetry (1) poets house (1) posman books (1) preservation (1) publication (1) publishing (4) reading (1) reading room (1) Reality Hunger (2) Robert Bolano (1) self-publishing (1) Stieg Larsson (3) story (3) submission (1) summer reading (1) Susie Boyt (1) Sylvia Plath (1) Ted Hughes (1) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (3) The Kindly Ones (1) third mind (1) Tom Robbins (1) type (1) Vanishing Point (1) vook (1) war (1) website (1) William Faulkner (2) word lovers (1) writers (1) writing (3) Zoe Heller (1)

About Me

My photo
New York, NY, United States
Overeducated mom, addled by constant interruptions due to demands of family and dog, trying to read books and write coherent sentences about them. Luckily, yoga keeps me centered. Sharing my love of yoga through teaching helps make sense of it all. I have a yoga blog at susiemarplesyoga.com. <- That's not really a picture of me. http://profile.to/susiemarples http://pinterest.com/susiem66

Followers

Search This Blog

Susie's  book recommendations, reviews, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists
Read the Printed Word! Shop Indie Bookstores