Letting Go
September 6, 2002
7:46 a.m.
There is never enough time. I finished re-reading Stealing the Sun this morning. I'll make two or three minor edits tomorrow, and it will be done. I'll probably also finish the last touches on the Glamour of the God-Touched rewrite tomorrow (they're really small changes that I've been putting off until the bitter end), and then that will be done, too. Lisa will probably do her magic, and off they will go. Good riddance, says I. I'm getting tired of their familiar faces. [grin] A common theme of many of the conversations I was in during Worldcon was the general reluctance of writers to let anything go. (Maybe that's better said as the emotional energy it takes to cross the psychological barrier around the post office ... or maybe not). I don't understand the complexities behind this discussion. I just don't understand a writer that says "I think it's good enough, but I can't mail it." I told several people that the only thing I can get from that comment is that they really don't think it's good enough down deep in their heart. One new writer suggested that it was the fear of success. If anything, I think the opposite. Not mailing is the fear of failure. So long as you haven't been rejected, there is still that Schrodinger's statement that you're good enough. You know? A manuscript on the writer's desk can later be either accepted or rejected, and until the outcome is determined, it is both. Once the editor rejects it, then the new writer feels they are scum, and they've got the paper to prove it. I think this is probably the reason for most people who cannot or do not submit. I think this because when I would tell people that I hadn't submitted a novel I thought was publishable, and that I had kept it on my desk for many months, I received a thousand knowing nods of the head. "I understand," many invariably would say. "I can't let my baby go either." But then I would step back and say that, no, I wasn't holding it for any other reason but that I thought my career goals would be furthered if I had both a SF and a fantasy story ready at the same time. That would be the end of that conversation. Anyway. Don't be afraid of a rejection. Don't worry about response times, especially in the short markets. Just submit what you write, and write more. No pressure ...   Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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