a push in the right direction

i've been a bad blogger.  not because i haven't been posting. i only post when i have something to say. you're not missing anything if i don't post.  i'm a bad blogger because i'm behind on reading.  i promise to get caught up soon.  lots of fun stuff going on in blogland!

so i think i mentioned that i worked with a service that submitted my writing for me.  it's really a neat service, but pricey.  i only did one cycle because i couldn't afford another one at this time.  but they took one of my stories, formatted it correctly for submission, and proofread it.  they also prepared a cover letter to send to the editors and researched which journals to target.  then i sent out my story to 26 journals (print and online).

i've been getting rejection emails and letters on a regular basis for the past month or so (my submissions were done in february).  it's not surprising.  lots of famous authors had tons of rejections before getting that first acceptance.

but i've still been discouraged.

i know i also mentioned that i'm working with a writing coach.  we had our third session last wednesday.   i've been feeling discouraged because she has read three of my stories (one of which was submitted to 26 journals as mentioned above) and had a lot of criticism of them.  now, i don't disagree with a lot of what she said.  she made me see a different side to my stories and i do have a lot of work to do.  it's discouraging though, thinking that you've got three good stories all done and finding out there is a lot of work to do.  it's also discouraging to think about the money you spent to submit one of them (i jumped the gun so to speak).

so today...

i got an email this morning from one of the journals.  it was from the fiction editor.  he couldn't find room for my story in his current issue, but he felt that it showed a lot of heart and he respected it.  he would like me resubmit something soon.

OMG!

i have gotten so many form letters and emails that thanked me for submitting, but my piece wasn't a good fit.  here is an editor saying that he closely considered my piece, but couldn't fit it in.

it's like being a runner up.  so what if i didn't get the crown?  i am still a winner because he liked what i wrote and wants to see more!

so this gave me renewed strength to move forward with my project.  my last coaching session was actually more positive than the one before it.  she gave me an assignment and i've started on it (we meet every 2 weeks).  now that i know an editor wants to read another one of my stories, all the reason to get it done and make it the best it can be.

time to get writing...