My first submission

Kadeira · Apr 21, 2011

I call myself a writer, and while I do freelance writing for a living, I never tried to submit any of my other writing.
I took the plunge today, submitting a short story for the Chicago Neverwhere writing competition.
My palms are sweaty and my nerves are shot, I don't think it can possibly be good enough and I want to reach through the internet and take the email back, but for better or for worse, I did it.
Hopefully, this will enable me to be brave enough to continue submitting. I just wanted to share with some like minded individuals. I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets a little bit scared when it comes to submissions, even if I couldn't imagine not writing.

Izz · Apr 21, 2011

Yay, Kadeira! Well done! :hooray:

And you'll definitely be better for it. Even if you don't place in the comp, you put yourself out there and that'll hopefully make it easier to do so again.

Do something to celebrate

Chris P · Apr 21, 2011

Great job! Taking that plunge for the first time is the hardest one. It gets easier to submit after this.

Ari Meermans · Apr 21, 2011

Nah, you're not alone. I felt the same way the first time I submitted to a competition . . . exactly the same. I won't tell you to relax 'cause that's next to impossible to do with your first sub. So, I'll just say, 'Good Luck. I hope you win.'

ETA: Sorry if that reads a bit stilted; it's very hard to think and type when someone is holding frozen spaghetti sauce in your face and asking, "Is this spaghetti sauce?"

Lillie · Apr 21, 2011

Well done!

I sent my first submission two weeks ago and I know just what you mean.
But you get over the 'god, I shouldn't have done that' feeling really quick, and then it feels sort of exciting.

Good luck!

Jamesaritchie · Apr 21, 2011

Very good. Now, here's the trick. Before you learn the fate of this submission, get two more stories out there. Before you learn the fate of those, get three more stories out there.

Rejection can be hard to take, if you have no other stories out to give you hope.

Xaenyth · Apr 21, 2011

Great job!

zanzjan · Apr 21, 2011

Congratulations! Best of luck to your story, and all the many stories that will follow (-:

-Suzanne

AllieKat · Apr 21, 2011

Go, you!!

Smish · Apr 21, 2011

Good for you! And good luck!

alexshvartsman · Apr 21, 2011

Congratulations, and welcome to the club

Keep writing and keep submitting.

Kadeira · Apr 21, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
Very good. Now, here's the trick. Before you learn the fate of this submission, get two more stories out there. Before you learn the fate of those, get three more stories out there.

Rejection can be hard to take, if you have no other stories out to give you hope.

Thanks for that advice. I have already begun working on some revisions on another story.

It is sort of exciting, and definitely a weight off my shoulders because it is FINISHED so its one less story weighing on my mind. (Well...kind of...I am trying to still the voice in my head that is still thinking of revisions for that one!)

Thank you to everyone for the support. I haven't let anyone but my husband know I submitted it and I have never been very good at keeping a secret, so it is great to have this community of support to talk to

feeblepizza · Apr 21, 2011

Great for you! I still have yet to submit a piece, mainly because I'm too lazy to find a market

. But anyway, good luck!

Alchemenos Prausti · Apr 21, 2011

What James said. Start submitting more now. Hopefully you'll be more successful than me, but I could build a house out of rejection slips. When a submission means as much to you as this one seems to, a rejection might discourage you from submitting again, and you'll be unlikely to get enough stories out there to have a good shot at selling one.

astonwest · Apr 22, 2011

Congratulations on the submission, and good luck! I'd ditto James' advice (as have others), and keep submissions heading out the door.

Sai · Apr 22, 2011

I remember my first submissions...or should I saw submissions, since I sent it out to two places simultaneously. Eek. Both turned it down, and I've learned a lot since then. Congrats on taking the first step!

zanzjan · Apr 22, 2011

...and if you turn out to be a slow writer like me and just can't keep that many stories up in the air all at once, cultivate a righteous sense of "Oh yeah? Well I'll show you!" to face down rejections with. Stubborn persistence is 90% of success. (-:

-Suzanne

MountainMoon22 · Apr 22, 2011

People have said it elsewhere, but a good place to go is Duotrope's Digest if you're looking for a short market. I have been a press/nonfiction writer for years and have just started with my fiction in the last year or two, this is a great resource. Good luck!

poppyseed · Apr 22, 2011

MountainMoon22 said:
People have said it elsewhere, but a good place to go is Duotrope's Digest if you're looking for a short market. I have been a press/nonfiction writer for years and have just started with my fiction in the last year or two, this is a great resource. Good luck!

Agreed. I have a love/hate relationship with Duotrope. I'm over there all the time. It's starting to suck away some of my writing time. It's a great resource though, but just remember, it doesn't have the full picture. Not all writers submit their information to Duotrope, so the acceptances/rejections are going to be skewed. In any case, I've found almost all of my markets on there, so it's a great way to go.

I've submitted several pieces and I'm learning with each one. I'm growing a lot as a writer. I think doing the submission process has made me straighten up, realize I'm no golden child and no different from everyone else, and roll up my sleeves and get serious about my work. I really have rejections to thank for that. If I'd gotten acceptances right out of the gate I think I'd be resting on my laurels right now thinking about how great I am.

So, you will grow from this experience. And a rejection is not the end of the world, if you happen to get one. In any case, best of luck to you, and have fun.

astonwest · Apr 23, 2011

zanzjan said:
...and if you turn out to be a slow writer like me and just can't keep that many stories up in the air all at once, cultivate a righteous sense of "Oh yeah? Well I'll show you!" to face down rejections with. Stubborn persistence is 90% of success. (-:

-Suzanne

Another good way to combat the rejections is to put together a list ahead of time of all the possible outlets you want to submit the piece to. When a rejection comes in, mark it down and send to the next spot on the list. Buys you a little time to get more stories done.

Kadeira · Apr 23, 2011

I don't want to say I'm assuming I'll get a rejection, because if I didn't have an inkling of hope, I wouldn't have sent it out, but really, I kinda am. The act of finally submitting something was enough to push me to write more and more.
I will definitely have to spend some time on Duotrope.
Thanks for all the advice!

Nathaniel Katz · Apr 23, 2011

astonwest said:
Another good way to combat the rejections is to put together a list ahead of time of all the possible outlets you want to submit the piece to. When a rejection comes in, mark it down and send to the next spot on the list. Buys you a little time to get more stories done.

This is similar to what I do, though I do also try and get several more pieces done. For me, I always just make myself consider the next place the obvious sell. Of course this won't work at Fantasy & Science Fiction, that'd be silly to even think! Now, at Asimov's, though, it's a shoe in. Then, after Asimov's, another feat of duplicitous mental gymnastics, and I manage to browbeat myself into awaiting the rejection so I can send it off to Lightspeed or where ever.

poppyseed · Apr 23, 2011

astonwest said:
Another good way to combat the rejections is to put together a list ahead of time of all the possible outlets you want to submit the piece to. When a rejection comes in, mark it down and send to the next spot on the list. Buys you a little time to get more stories done.

I second this! When I got my first rejection from Clarkesworld (one of the most difficult markets out there, another rookie mistake of mine. I had no idea what I was up against. Not only that, but the story didn't fit their style. Research research! The more you know about the market and whether it's a good fit for you, the better shot you have. Don't shoot in the dark) I had already jotted down a list of magazines I'd researched that were a good match for my story. A few hours after getting the rejection I'd pulled myself together, went through the story and cleaned it up (amazing how different a story looks after 2 weeks!) and sent if off to market number two.

And OP, don't worry about it. You will grow, acceptance or rejection. And hey, you're a writer! We don't run on food, we run on high hopes and misguided enthusiasm! Just keep pounding the keys and keep dreaming. This life is pretty great from where I'm standing, and I have yet to make a penny off my writing.

Mel-o-rama · Apr 24, 2011

Awesome. Just remember that submissions beget two things: rejections and publications. Keep up the good work!

zanzjan · Apr 24, 2011

poppyseed said:
And hey, you're a writer! We don't run on food, we run on high hopes and misguided enthusiasm!

And caffeine? (-:

Well put, and yes, for all the ups and downs, it's a great life.

-Suzanne

My first submission

Kadeira

Doing the Space Operatic

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter

practical experience, FTW

Crooked

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just a writer, unbranded

Reads more than she writes.

Kadeira

kinda human mostly cat

2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

Book lover/Spy

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2 WIP? A glutton for punishment

Kadeira

The Evil Hat

Sci-fi and Humor

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