Don't Give Up

As I look over my nonfiction submission log for Stories for Children Magazine, I see that a few writers received a rejection.  When I send a rejection, I give those writers ideas on how to improve their work.  Writers are encouraged to send their revision to me.  Yet, these writers rarely submit again.  And I can't figure out why.

Maybe they feel totally discouraged or they feel that it would take up too much time to revise. What they fail to understand that if an editor has taken time to make suggestions, they should try again.  Giving up should not be an option.  Writers have some choices. They can revise their article exactly as suggested.  They can use some of the editor's suggestions to make their work stronger.  They can submit the piece to a different editor, revised or not.   

Keep in mind that many times, rejections are subjective.  And, few writers are immune to them.  Famous authors like J. K. Rowling and Theodor Geisel had their share of rejections.  Rejection rarely indicates that your work is not good.  In some cases, a rejection just means the editor already has a similar piece on hand.  Other times, a writer might receive a rejection if the concept is too advanced for the intended age group.   A rejection might be given if the article has failed to meet the guidelines.  

The key to remember when you receive a rejection is: don’t stop writing.  Writing for children means you've got to persevere.   After the sting of rejection has worn off, get back to work.   Learn from the rejection, especially if an editor has offered ways for improving the piece. Strive to improve and submit your work again.   

Book Review: Writing Fiction

Writing Fiction: a Guide to Narrative Craft is now in its eighth edition.  The book, written by Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French and Ned Stuckey-French and published by Longman (an imprint of Pearson) belongs on every writer's shelf.

From the first inspiration to the final draft, Writing Fiction is a great guide for the novice writer.  Written in a personal tone, the book covers the writing process, place and atmosphere, summary and scene, story structure, point of view, revision, and characterization.  More, each chapter offers writing exercises and presents short stories which serve as examples and stress the importance of reading.

In an Amazon.com review, the book is described by having "excellent criterion, emerging from the author's decades of writing and teaching experience. This edition, like the seventh and sixth, engages and isn't too prescriptive."

Writing Fiction can come in handy when writing MG or YA.  The book will help you in developing character, setting, scene, and theme.  In addition, you will learn about the factors that comprise the crisis moments in a novel.  Specifically, readers want to experience everything in these moments—they want to see it, hear it, and feel it.  The authors of Writing Fiction explain that this difficult to accomplish because it can be exhausting to collect all of that emotion in its full intensity.  Still, writers must fully imagine that scene, place themselves in it, and emotionally experience it.

The book is an expensive purchase.  It usually costs close to ninety dollars.  But shop around and you may find one less expensive.  I bought my copy for under seventy dollars.  While this is probably one of the most expensive books I've ever bought for writing, its lessons are priceless.  My writing has improved; my confidence has grown.  Think of the purchase as an investment toward your writing career.  Writing Fiction will make your writing stronger.