Well, now, about seven months later I have hit the big 100. The first 50 rejections took 2 years, the second took 7 months.

What’s changed? Well I have a full enough pipeline to have 8 to 10 stories out to market at once. This has done a lot to speed up those rejections. This is the result of writing more words, writing more consistently, and getting stories back out quicker.

Has anything thing changed psychologically? A little yes. As the number goes up it does get a bit easier, but not as quickly as it did in the beginning. I still find myself hoping with certain stories and certain markets. Hoping that this will be the one–and then it isn’t. That is still tough.  One of the recent rejections was one of those, but even then the sting doesn’t last as long as it used to.

It’s all still form rejections from the bigger markets, although I do get nice notes pretty regularly from the smaller markets. This has had a bit of a side-effect. I find myself wanting to submit to them more. They take the time to communicate, and that is valuable and appreciated.

I have three stories in print in various charity anthologies, and a forth one accepted. And that is wonderful. But I am still wanting that first sale. To have someone like a story enough they will pay me to publish it is a significant milestone.

Something else has changed. I am moving into publishing my own works. I released my first novel, Shuffled Off: A Ghost’s Memoir this month. I had enough feedback from my beta readers to know I had something good. I am also getting ready to release some of my novelettes. These are too long for all but a few professional markets, and I have gotten good feedback (like two honorable mentions from the Writers of the Future Contest).

So yeah, 100 rejections and counting. Keep them coming. I love writing. I love the experience of reading something after I have some distance from it, or hearing a reader’s reaction. I love the process so I am sticking with it. 100 rejections, 1000 rejections. It’s all good. I’ll be here writing. Because you know, I’m a writer, and that’s what writers do.

This series is titled “Indie Adventures,” and I am going the indie route with the publishing of my novel, but that does not mean that I am doing it all myself. Indie is about control, it is not about who does the work.

So, indie does not mean you have to do all the editing and proofing, create the cover art, typeset the book, format it for ebooks, create your support websites, etc. What it does mean is that you are the captain of your own ship; that you decide what happened with your book at each step of the way.

So, for me, I decided to bring in the pros in two area: Proofing and Cover Art. Why? Because I knew I needed help.

Proofing

While I could have kept using volunteer resources (and I am going to do that a bit more) I decide it was worth looking into getting a professional proofreader. I had two (very good) reasons for doing this: 1) Writers are notoriously poor at finding their own mistakes–they’re just too close; and 2) I am a poor speller and a messy writer. While I am getting better there is still a lot of cleanup that needs to happen with my text.

Oh, and there was one more reason: In each of my beta rounds, and with each of my readers, new issues were found. To make my book the best I can, it seemed prudent to get someone who does this for a living to take a look.

Finding the Pro: I used Diana Cox, whom I read a guest blog post on Joe Konrath’s site. I emailed her and we were off and running.

Results: Diana was great to work. She took a Word document with change tracking on, made two passes through it, and returned it to me. I spent a couple hours going through her changes (most of which I accepted) and that was that.

She found many (hundreds) of small, mostly grammatical, things. Now, I don’t think my manuscript is perfect and error free, but it is pretty damn close at this point.

Cost: Diana charges $3.50 per 1,000 words. My novel is 62,000 word, bringing the cost to $217. Diana was kind enough to give me a new client discount (I don’t know if she is still doing that), so I paid less, but frankly her rates are very reasonable, and it is very much worth $3.50 per thousand words.

Contacting the Pro: Fair warning, Diana is busy, so if you want to user her contact her as early in the process as you can to get on her calendar. You can email her at support@novelproofreading.com, or visit her web page at www.novelproofreading.com.

Cover Art

OK, this is fun because I can tell this tale with pictures. When I did my first beta round I mocked up a cover for the book. My main reason for doing it is I wanted to make the book “feel” more real. I’m not sure why it was important, but it was.

So I put together a very simple cover using some stock art. I couldn’t quite pull off what I wanted (I was going for the text to look engraved), it was beyond my ability. But it did server the purpose I intended it to. So, here is my cover:

(click on image to see a bigger version)

I knew someone with more skill could do a better job, so on July 4th during a thank-you lunch for my short story Beta Readers (who also read the novel) Peter suggested using Steve Staal who had done quite a bit of work for his wife. Later in the evening they showed my some of Steve’s work and I was impressed. So Steve started with the gravestone concept and proved what talent and skill can do. Check it out:

(click on image to see a bigger version)

A little bit better than my attempt, huh? He’s a pro, you can tell with just a glance. When I first saw the version with the ghost on it I was completely blown away. I sat there saying “wow… wow… wow…” for a good five minutes. It was one of those experiences you don’t get very often in life–having a vision of something and seeing it go much further than you could have ever taken it.

The process was a lot off fun too. Steve and I communicated via email. He would send me a draft, and I would make comments, and he would send me a better version. Great fun.

And covers are important, they are the first thing a reader sees and they need to grab a readers attention as well as conveying important things about the novel. That ghost there is the novel’s protagonist. His name is JJ. Want to hear something odd? Several of my beta readers, when rating the cover, commented that the JJ on the cover looks like the JJ they imagined. Amazing!

Here is a look at the full back and front covers and the spine:

(click on image to see a bigger version)

Finding the Pro: Recommended by a trusted friend who had done a lot of work with him..

Results: As you can see for yourself: Amazing!.

Cost: This cover is done as a work-for-hire (I am buying the copyright) for $500. Worth every penny. I am sure this cover will help sell the book.

Contacting the Pro: You can email Steve at stevestaal@sswebworks.com or visit his website at www.sswebworks.com. But, uhh, don’t keep him too busy, I am going to need him for upcoming projects.

Conclusions

Going indie does not mean going it alone. When you need help, get it. Your book will be better off for it.  And find a true professional (which I was lucky enough to do in both cases).

Yes, it does cost money, but your book is a product and you need to invest time as well as money to make it the best it can be.

Next up: Producing the Book

Don’t miss: Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line,  Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or “How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?”, Indie Adventures – Part 3 – Evaluating the Beta Read, and Indie Adventures – Part 4 – Beta Round 2 (or One More Time for Good Measure).

Before we get into Beta Round 2, first a word from our sponsor.

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But seriously folks, I wrapped up Beta round 1 over 3 months ago, and only now am I getting Beta round 2 wrapped up.  Ouch. Very Ouch.

It’s not that I haven’t been writing; I have. My short story goals are going very well; it is just that I was not focused on the novel.

Today that changed. Why, you ask? Because I actually sat down, created an Excel spreadsheet, and now have a timeline with all the many things that need to happen to get this novel out to the world. Seeing that it is likely going to be September before I can get everything done has lit a fire under my arse.

So without further ado:

Beta Round 2 (or One More Time for Good Measure):

If you’ll recall from my ramblings that occurred from the evaluation of Beta round 1; my trusty beta readers found lots and lots of little corrections (and many of those correction didn’t overlap; in other words, everyone found unique issues), this sold me and doing it one more time.

My imperative is to release a novel that is well written and professional. Going the indie route makes this double important, the stigma of “self-publishing” not being completely gone.

So round 2 is more of the same. I used the same procedure (printed out manuscript, red pen, critique… see the other posts for more details) as Beta round 1.

This round was smaller, 2 instead of 5 (with one of the 2 being me, more on that in a bit).

I have a few observations from this round

• One of my beta readers did not read (it was going to be 3). It is a good idea to plan for this kind of attrition; it’s going to happen.
• Everyone, yet again, found unique issues.
• Far fewer issues were found. I am very please with this, it is a sure sign that the manuscript is shaping up.
• I have ended up feeling better (and more confident) about the book.

Like I said, I was one of the readers on this round, and it did me a world of good. First of all, it has been a least a year since I sat down and read it from start to finish (and yes, this book is taking me a very long time to write;  it’s my first, so I’m OK with that, there is a lot to learn, and a lot to get over). Not only do I have 6 readers telling me the loved the book, I did too. It may seem a bit strange, but enough time had passed for me to be more objective when I read it. As happens with books that I really like, I got to the point where I couldn’t put the book down (and yes, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and yet it was still hard to put down), and I was a bit sad when it was over. This novel is my kind of book. It may not work for everyone, but I am finally convinced that it works a novel and has an audience.

I am not saying it is a great book or that I am a fantastic writer. What I am saying is that, based on my Beta readers feedback and my own experience, it is a real-live readable novel with interesting characters, an interesting plot, and provides a satisfying emotional experience.

Maybe what I am saying more succinctly is that I have finally got past enough of my own crap to see and believe in the novel that I have written. And that is huge. And if that took an extra 6 months or a year to pull of it is easily worth it.

Next up: Bringing in the Pros

Don’t miss: Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line,  Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or “How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?”, and Indie Adventures – Part 3 – Evaluating the Beta Read

I have been sitting on this for a while, since it wasn’t public, but I recently got my second honorable mention  (2 honorable mentions in 3 tries).  This one is for fun sci-fi adventure novelette called “Ghost Hacker, Zombie Maker”.

Here is what is classy about this contest:

1. No entry fees, WOTF is the real deal.
2. The contest is only open to new writers (they have a very specific definition).
3. Winners get published in a well regarded, widely distributed anthology.
4. Winners get paid professional rates (above in many cases) for their work.
5. There is a big, glitzy awards ceremony every year.
6. Winning comes with a week long workshop taught by professional working writers.
7. Honorable mention gets you a public mention and a beautiful certificate.

I’ve talked about this before before: it’s tough to break in. It is a long road filled with loads anonymous rejection. This organization treats new writer with respect, but more than that is actively cultivating the next generation of spec-fi writers.

I’ve had a few email exchanges with Jodi Labaqui the, Contest Director. The first time, I just wanted to cry. I had sent just a simple thank-you for letting me know my story had been received. I was shocked to hear back for Joni in the first place, but she replied with such enthusiasm and encouragement that I was moved . The normal vibe regarding submissions is: leave us alone we are just so damn busy. And I get it and I understand it, but with WOTF they have the resources to be more generous with their time. And, when you are just starting out, dealing with the isolation and rejection, that can have a big impact.

Last year Brad Torgersen blogged extensively about his experience and the value of being a WOTF winner (he even went so far as to quantity in dollars–he came up with a $10,106 value, just for the tangibles).  Do you see what I’m talking about? This is an amazing organization and an amazing opportunity.

This may sound strange, but they give so much, I have had concerns about selling to other venues before winning WOTF (and thus no longer being qualified). What they do sounds so amazing , I really, really want to win. Don’t get me wrong, I will take a sale gratefully from any direction, this is just an indication of how awesome it is to win WOTF.

So back to the honorable mention. It is there, clearly, to encourage writers like me. But it is not just an email. It is that, plus a public mention, plus a certificate. See, this is a class organization. Those extra little things really make a difference. Well, it has for me. I have submitted every quarter since I found out about it.

So kudos and thanks to L. Ron Hubbard (who started the contest in 1983, and whose legacy this is), Joni Labaqui  and all the rest of the folks at Author Services (the company behind it all), and the judges who are doing such amazing things for the spec-fi community.

You work all day, and having nothing left for yourself or your family when you get home. Your weekends are filled with doing what you couldn’t get done during the week. You would like to do something worth doing in the evenings, but your days take all you got and all you can do is flop down on the couch and watch TV.

Sound familiar, right? “I’ve got too much to do.” It is a thought that spends too much time bouncing around my head. I just can’t seem to get to the things I “really” want to get too. There are so many things that I “have” to do that the things that would bring the most joy are swept to the side.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and I think that, in general, this thought is not a useful one. We do have too much to do, but what if we didn’t?

What kind of life would you have if there weren’t so many things worth doing? If you got up every morning having nothing to do beyond feeding and caring for yourself?

Now sure, if your burned out, that sounds good. And it would be nice if happened once in a while. But what if that is the way it was day after day, week after week, month after month? What then?

What kind of life would that be?

I don’t think it would be a very good one. We all need purpose in our lives. We need dreams and desires and things to overcome. And that kind of life leads to….

Too Much To Do

Yup. There it is. You have too much to do because you are actually living a life.

Some of the benefits of having too much to do:

1. It makes you choose; decide what is important in your life.
2. Gives you purpose and meaning.
3. Challenges you to grow.

Not working for you? Still hating how much you have to do? Here are some more thoughts on this (in no particular order):

• Perhaps you need to look at the definition of “Have To”. There are probably many things in your life that you rush to do that don’t need the be done quickly. Most of the time, little or nothing will happen if it doesn’t get done. Some things in life are both urgent and important; but most are not. Most things actually can wait. So that email, or text message, or phone call: urgent, but (in most every case) not important.
• Ever been sick, flat on your back, unable to do a thing? Of course you have. What happened to all that things you had to do that day? Did the world end? Doesn’t seem to have, and those things were waiting for you when you got well. Somehow the world gets by without our constant attention and business.
• Allow small bad things to happen. So you go to bed at a decent hour and as a result a few bills are late. Big deal. So you miss a deadline you really wanted to keep, but trade that for some quality family time. Way to go. Author Tim Ferriss talks about this on his blog and in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek
• Give something up to do more of the things you want. Some low hanging fruit for this: TV, facebook, twitter, games, Angry Birds, texting, obsessive email checking, etc. You get the idea. Downtime is important, I am not talking about giving that up, but there is stuff we all do that could be eliminated to make room for things that are more important.
• Some folks are addicted to the urgent (whether that urgent item is important or not), so that is how they live their lives. Not you or me of course. Oh no, not us.
• There are lots of tools and techniques out there to help manage your time so you do what is really important. Find something that works for you and use it.

So, here are my two main points (in case it’s not obvious):

1. Having “Too Much To Do” is a sign of a life worth living, so stop fighting it, celebrate it.
2. You can always make more room for what is most important. Your gonna have to give something up, but them’s the breaks.

OK, there you go. Off to do more stuff; my “to do” list will not be done my the end of the day–as usual–which is fine, there is always tomorrow.

On March 11, 20011 a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. We all saw the news, saw the devastation, witnessed the drama at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

When disaster strikes, what do you do (besides watch it play out on the news). Well, writers write. Which makes sense, it is what writers do, right? They write. So another disaster, another anthology raising funds to help those effected by the disaster.

This one is called “New Sun Rising: Stories for Japan” with all proceeds going to the Red Cross to aid in the relief efforts in Japan.

New Sun Rising is a little different: the content will include stories, poetry, and artwork; all content must celebrate Japan and the Japanese culture;  there is not a set number of stories; the maximum story length is much longer (7500 words versus 1000 or 500).

So, when the call went out, I wrote. And this was a tough one for me. My knowledge of Japan pretty casual, and I have never been there.

My first attempt died within the first few pages; it was a clever concept, but was going to require huge amounts of research and take far to long to write (and would probably be too long).

My second attempt fared better; and I ended up with “Shogun Dreams”. It is the story of an ordinary man that is transformed by a medical diagnosis and fulfills his life long dream of going to Japan. It is longer than my other charity stories (3,600 words), which is nice, allowing the story to have a broader scope. It is sweet story and has a mild sci-fi element to it.

It took a lot of research and was tough to get right. My beta readers took me to task for my initial ending, but after extending the story, we ended up with a solid story.

And I am very excited to say that “Shogun Dreams” has been accepted for the anthology! I really love this story and am quite proud of it. I am glad be able to contribute in this small way to help Japan.

I’ll keep you posted as things progress.

What to know more about New Sun Rising?
Website: http://booksthathelp.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NewSunRising
Blog: http://storiesforjapan.blogspot.com/

There is a good FAQ up on the official site. Here are some excerpts:

What is 100 Stories for Queensland?

100 Stories for Queensland is a charity anthology of flash fiction, that is, short stories of under 1000 words, in aid of the survivors of the worst flooding in history in the Australian state of Queensland.

100 Stories DOES NOT contain real life accounts of the floods. Everything between our covers is fiction – or so our authors tell us!

Where does the money go?

Money from the sale of the book goes to The Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Fund.

100% of the sale price of the eBook is donated.

100% of the wholesale price (less printing costs) of the paperback is donated.

Ready to buy? Here are the options:

• eBook: Directly from the publisher
• Print book: From Amazon.com

So you did your homework and setup up your beta readers (see part 2). This includes, in brief:

1. Picked good, enthusiastic readers that would read the kind of book you wrote.
2. Set them up with your manuscript (printed with red pen, or electronic with “track changes” on)
3. Gave them a critique to fill out.
4. Gave them simple instructions and lots of gratitude.

Now you wait, on pins and needles, desperate to find out whether you really have a book. And if this is your first time out, believe me, it is a valid question (one that you can’t answer, thus the beta readers).

This process took a while for me (about 5 weeks total), and I let it. Some of the readers got back to me very quickly, some took a while. When I was about 5 weeks out I did send out an email and ended up shifting one reader to Beta Round 2 (oh yes, I am doing two rounds of beta reads).

Interview With a Beta Reader

The day has finally come, your first reader has let you know they are done, what now?

1. Thank them, and keep thanking them.
2. Meet with them in person (if possible) or by phone. You want the highest bandwidth communication you can get. Email or IM isn’t going to work that well.
3. Meet with them as soon as you can after they are done, so the story is still fresh. If practical, buy them lunch or coffee, or beer, or whatever.
4. Look over their critique, and their red-lining and make sure you can read it and it makes sense.
5. Chat with them about what they liked and what they didn’t like. Ask questions of you need to about their critique comments. Use the face-to-face time to get a better sense of how they viewed your story.

If all goes well, your reader liked your novel, and found it to be a “Novel”. Some of my readers expressed surprise at how fully formed my novel was. I took it as a compliment. Really they didn’t know what to expect (and frankly, neither did I).

My main concerns with the interview was:

1. Is it really a “novel”? In other words, did it “feel” like they were reading something they could have gotten at the bookstore or library
2. Did they enjoy it?
3. What was the experience like?

Do these interviews as your readers finish up.

Dealing with Feedback, Some General Rules

OK, so not everyone will love every word you write. Got it? Each of your readers will have an opinion about your book, some you like and some you don’t like.  This is not rocket science. Of course it logically makes sense, but emotionally it can be complicated.

Keep in mind: This is not writing by committee. This is your baby, and you make the call. Your obligation is to listen with an open mind and consider what your readers are saying.

None of this is about anyone being right or wrong. This is a very subjective experience for everyone.

While all my readers really liked the book, some didn’t buy certain things, some didn’t like certain parts, some characters where not quite there for them. And that is fine. What can be hard is sorting out what is true for them, and what might be true for the audience at large.

You will also find some of your readers going to town with the smallest of things in the book. I was surprised by what some choose as their favorite part. It was really interesting, and will inform what I do if more books are written with these characters.

Evaluating the Quantitative Critique

In Part 2, I presented a two part critique, the first part has 8 elements that are evaluated 1-5. After they are all in, start with them.

Joe Konrath, in his original presentation of this, says you need at least 35 on the crit sheet to be ready.  And yeah, this is a pretty high bar.

So, take a spreadsheet put in the numbers for all your readers, and calculate the averages (or if you don’t like those new-fangled spreadsheet thingies, do it by hand).

The scores for my book ranged from 35 to 38.5, with an average of 36.5. Wow, was that a relief. Woop! Woop! There be a book here.

I see one factor here (and only one) that is easy to change: Grammar / Spelling. My average there, is not bad, 4.13. This is one area you can, and will, nudge your score up while working on your book.  For this book, I expect this to come up about half a point during this process. That takes the average to 37.

The most important mark in this critique, for me, is “Overall Enjoyment”. If the books is not enjoyable, the rest just doesn’t matter. And this is interesting, there I got my highest marks. It came in at 4.88 (I got three 5s and one 4.5). Now it really is time to celebrate!

I don’t have enough data to say why “Overall Enjoyment” was higher. Many of the critique elements are very subjective, but perhaps that one is more so.

Beta Edits

So, now you know. Either you have a book people are enjoying, or you don’t. If you don’t, it maybe time to go back to the drawing board. If you do, then time to incorporate the edits.

They come in two varieties:

1. Red-lined corrections.
2. General feedback (from the non-quantitative portion of the critique, or the interview).

The first one is easy: go forth and put in the changes that make sense. If this is spelling or typos, this is really easy, just do it. For other, more subjective changes, do it if it makes sense.

When I am unsure about a suggested change I read it aloud, before and after. I take whichever one sounds better.

An interesting aside: I was worried about all my beta readers finding the same typos. This did not prove to be true. My two best typo finders only had about 30% overlap in what they found.  I had worried that maybe I should be doing one at a time (with corrections in-between, which would take a long time), but if this experience is indicative, that is not necessary.

The other feedback (this character was a little thin; this part was confusing; this part was boring) is harder to deal with. My best advise, use your gut. A more complete version of that would be: take it in with an open mind, give your subconscious some time to chew on it, and listen to your gut.

Confessions and Bit of a Rant

I should make a confession here. Well maybe several:

1. I am not a professionally trained writer (and glad of it).
2. I hate to rewrite.
3. I am young to this game.
4. What I am saying works for me, your mileage may vary.

What I got from my beta readers did not leave me thinking I needed to rewrite (thankfully). What changes I made were small and delicate. This book was being enjoyed, and the last thing I want to do is screw that up.

I think that what makes a book a “good” book is, actually, a bit of a mystery. There are, certainly, some well understood basics (character, plot, quality of the prose, etc.), but beyond that why does one book stand the test of time and another one doesn’t? Sure, some writers can hit the best seller lists over and over, but most can’t. There is luck, and timing, and a lot that I don’t think we understand fully. I only say this to suggest that if your novel is well received, maybe you don’t know exactly why. And if you don’t, tread carefully.

Everyone writes differently so do what works for you. I can tell you some very professional writers out there don’t do much, if any, rewriting on their own books (for example check out this blog post by Dean Wesley Smith). Dean’s basic premise is this: you use a different part of your brain to write vs. rewriting. They are different skill sets, and not many are good at rewriting.

For me the process is about getting out of the way and letting it come to me. That is why I give things time, and go slowly and carefully when doing anything beyond basic grammar and typo fixing.

There is this “where the hell did that come from?” that happens a lot in my writing. It is, in fact, one of my favorite parts of the process. I sometimes put the most casual reference early in a story, when I don’t know where it is going, and somehow in the end it is very, very important.

I am not saying I never rewrite, just almost never.

Each story is different, each writer is different (i.e. there is no “right” way to write a book).  Honor that.

What is Next?

So you did a beta round, used that to evaluate, and hopefully, improve your book. What is next? For me, it is on to Beta Round 2.

Next up: Beta Round 2 (or One More Time for Good Measure)

Don’t Miss: Indie Adventures – Part 1 – The Starting Line and Indie Adventures – Part 2 – Beta Readers or “How the Hell Do I Know If This Book is Any Good!?”

Writer L.M May just did a fantastic blog post titled: Fiction Writers and Learned Helplessness.

In it she  talks about some of the psychology behind what is happening in the writing world today with the indie vs. traditional publishing camps.

The whole post is great, and well worth reading, but I want to focus in on one aspect.

But first, go read it now. I’ll wait…

I want to focus on the “Submission Box Experiment” she presented. In describing what happens to a writer when they submit something for traditional publishing she comes up with a metaphorical red box that you stick your hand into every time you submit a work. If you get a “no” back from the editor, the box delivers a shock; no response from the editor, and the box doesn’t do anything (and you are left wondering and anticipating); a “yes” delivers a pleasure inducing opiate.

There is one response she missed. It is the “I enjoyed reading your story but ______” response. The “but” being along the lines of: “your ending completely sucked”; “it has been done a million times”; or the nebulous “it didn’t quite work”.  (And yes, I have gotten versions of all those.) That response delivers both the shock and the opiate, leaving you in a very strange manic-like state.

I am calling this metaphorical contraption the “Shock Box.” Because, for me and most new writers, that is what it does most all of the time.

I would like to briefly note that all of this applies to any artistic/creative endeavor that has a “gatekeeper” system.

So how do you deal with that? I mean imagine it. You are a beginning writer and as you submit (more than likely) you are subjected to shock after shock, no after no.  Over and over.

And that is often all the feedback you get, the painful “no”. No advice on how to improve, just the sting of knowing it wasn’t good enough.

The first time I got the nerve up to put my hand in the box, I got the shock (predictably), and stopped writing and submitting for more years than I would care to admit. And, admittedly, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing; I just knew that I had: 1) actually finished a story and 2) that story moved me and was hugely cathartic to write; and 3) was the very best I could do.  Was my response realistic or reasonable? No, but we are talking about human psychology here.

But, if you’re going to make it, you keep going. You put up with the shocks, try to become immune to them (although you never will, not completely), and as L.M. May described, you develop coping mechanism.

Some of the coping mechanisms she mentions are:

…. I contend that the mental games that fiction writers have developed like “The Race” (where points are awarded for the number of submissions out and the goal is to get as big a number as possible), competitions to see who can get the most rejection forms, and “a short story a week” are coping mechanisms for fiction writers to be able to keep putting their hand back into that red box.

Stephen King famously impaled his rejection letters on a spike in his office–clearly a coping mechanism appropriate for Mr. King.

Here’s a few more not-so-constructive ones that are pretty easy to fall into:

• Believe that no one understands you, and no one “gets” your art. Let your ego run away with you and fully embody the “misunderstood artist” archetype.
• Demonize traditional publishing and go indie-only. (Where you will have to confront the specter of no one buying your self-published story. Yeah, that could hurt too, because at first you will be learning a new skill-set and not know what the hell you are doing).
• Keep writing, but stop submitting.
• Edit your stories to death, trying to make the perfect–whatever the hell that is–so that your production basically dries up.
• Give up.
• Drink.
• Give up and drink.

So my advice? Just keep writing and submitting. Make up any constructive game you need to get through the shocks. Have faith, your skin will grow thicker (if mine has, than I believe that yours can).

And find an audience that likes your stories, even if it’s just you, or your wife, or your mother, or your dog.  Actually your primary audience has to be you. It has to be. Yup, I am telling you to write for yourself. Because if you don’t love the stories you write and the characters you create; if you aren’t moved by the words–how the hell are your going to stick you hand in that box time and time again and get shocked over and over? To keep writing, it has to server you at a very primal level.

So, write something, submit something, and stick your hand into that box. You’ll survive.

Don’t miss: 50 Rejections and Counting and The Psychology of Writing, Part 1.

This charity anthology has my story “Soggy Shoes” in it, and this one is for flood relief in Australia. All proceeds go to Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief appeal.

I’ve seen the galleys and it looks fantastic. So all you charitable minded readers (or just readers who like good short stories) get ready. I’ll keep you posted as details come in.

Read more about it in my previous blog post.