The Place For My Writers Notes

Writer's Digest, January 1994, had an article on pages 42 and 43 by Loriann Hoff Oberlin with the title Learn from My Mistakes. Loriann lays out six mistakes that she feels she has made, along with suggestions about why they are mistakes and what you can do about them. Let's take a look at the mistakes, and what she says about them. You might want to think about your own responses to each of them.

1. Not following up. Actually, she starts with a short anecdote about submitting a manuscript to a new magazine, and not hearing anything. Until she happened to be reading an issue of the magazine and realized her article had been published! The trick here is don't just assume that the parts you can't see are running smoothly, be proactive. Make a phone call, send a follow-up email, check what's going on.

2. Personalizing rejection. "Whether it's an abrupt response to a phone call, a form rejection slip jammed into an SASE, or a kiss off letter from a new editor, rejection is never easy." Ouch! When you get rejections, Loriann recommends admitting your anger to yourself and a friend, but don't argue with the editors. You're going to get rejections, and you may never understand why. One suggestion is to look for publications that pay on acceptance. Your article may not be published, but at least you got paid.

3. Shooting for the stars. You can certainly submit to big-name magazines and publications, but that also means the competition is harder. "Set realistic goals and view your writing as a career."

4. Lacking confidence. "You want me to do what?" You may be surprised at opportunities that come up, but go ahead and take a shot at them. You can boost your confidence level with workshops, classes, and conferences. Join some organizations, experiment with different genres, try out some different projects.

5. Drifting with the clouds. "Success can be an evanescent joy.… The moral is to be confident, but be realistic and never complacent." Just because you're starting to succeed, don't let up. Keep working on it.

6. Failing to read and write every day. Deadlines everywhere, work that needs to be done, I'll just put off reading and writing? "If you fail to read and write every day, you're cheating your creativity. Be kind to yourself. Take time to recharge your batteries, gather new ideas, and try different approaches." Books, the library, all kinds of places can provide ideas and information. You need to feed your creativity. You also need to play with your writing, experiment and grow.

Some of this seems to be tied to the old freelance magazine market, but I think it's worth thinking about anyway. Even with do-it-yourself publication on Amazon or other social media sites, part of the process is handled by other people. You need to make sure they are doing their job. Rejections – what about one star reviews on Amazon! Ouch. Trying to do too much too soon, or not feeling ready to take the next step? We all get caught between those two extremes. And having success blind us to the need to keep working… Oh yeah. Or what about feeding your creativity on an ongoing basis?

What are your mistakes? Have you stopped to think about what went wrong, and how can I avoid it in the future? What can I do to make sure that the next time I don't trip over that same stumbling block?