So what does rejection signify to us as writers? Logically, a rejection means nothing has changed. I’m not published in Magazine X, I send a query and get a rejection (or letter of declination as I sometimes call them) and I’m still not published in Magazine X. No change. Logically, the only thing a rejection […]
Oh Joy, Another Rejection!
Last week, I prepared a cover letter to accompany my novella to another magazine. The magazine’s guidelines said they rarely accept fiction over 9,000 words, but I’d met someone who had worked with the publication as a part-time copy editor and who said they do occasionally publish novellas, so I thought I’d give it a shot. […]
Have You Caught the Writer’s Alleluia Lately?
By Rosanne Bane A fellow writer, who wants to remain anonymous, introduced me to the idea of catching the Alleluia. She in turn caught the idea from a choral director who, as she recalls, “told his students there is always an ‘Alleluia’ going on in the Universe and when you make your music right, you […]
The Company You Keep
By Rosanne Bane It matters what company you keep. You’ve probably heard about the research that shows that if your friends are overweight, you’re over 50% more likely to be overweight yourself. I’m convinced that being part of an effective writer’s group is a great benefit and that being part of a dysfunctional or ineffective writer’s […]
Resistant or Under-Assisted?
By Rosanne Bane When we aren’t performing at our best as writers, we tend to blame it on ourselves (I’m blocked, I don’t know what to write, I lack will power, discipline, talent, ambition, etc.) or on the circumstances of our lives (I’m too busy, I’ll get it to later, I have other responsibilities, etc.) […]