Arts Entertainments

Publishing is a numbers game: how to beat the odds

I have to be honest: I hate blackjack. Poker? No thanks. Dices? Don’t even get me started. But what I do like is writing. Short stories, newspaper articles, feature film scripts … whatever, I’ve written it. But recently I realized that my love of writing and my disdain for the game must meet and make beautiful music together. Why? Because making your work known to the world and, better yet, publishing it is child’s play. To be successful, you have to play by the odds.

Being a writer means that your livelihood depends on sending manuscript after manuscript to a group of faceless names in distant cities. Why? So they can decide if they want to publish your words. Promoting yourself is a must. But what is the hardest thing to do for most authors? Submit your work. It is a depressing pain. I used to feel like this. I wrote a television show for Fox and wrote and directed two short films. Next, he wanted to conquer the literary world. Aim

Getting my book or article published in the next issue of Vogue seemed like a daunting task.

I wrote a carefully composed manuscript and thought that sending my precious baby out into the world a few times (okay, four) was enough. I assumed that some editor somewhere would see him and proclaim his genius to all the editorial staff. What I wasn’t thinking about was that on the other side of the submission queue was a huge pile of manuscripts written by people like me, who were just as talented as me, and most of whom would be rejected … just like me. .

Unfortunately, the reality of writing for publication is that you will be rejected. A lot. Remember, even Joyce Carol Oates is rejected. Mastering your craft is just one piece of the puzzle. Getting published is a numbers game. The only way to earn it is by submitting as much work as possible, as often as possible. Everyone starts at ground zero – no contacts, no posted clips, maybe

not even an MFA. As a writer, you need to prove yourself and build your relationships, experience, and reputation piece by piece. Although I realize all of this now, after a few years of submitting a hodgepodge of submissions, and without much constancy, I was frustrated. Then I had a writing epiphany. I realized that I was approaching the rest of my life — my finances, my apartment search, even my relationships — with the dedication I was not giving to the most important thing in my life: my writing career.

It’s not that I didn’t spend enough time writing. Rather, I did it for hours on end, literally using the “N” and “M” keys on my poor laptop. I had accumulated volumes of material, but success still eluded me. I thought about the time when I was applying for a job after college. I sent out hundreds of resumes at once, spending hours faxing, emailing, and following up. Job hunting became a reality at my job. Now, years later, it was time to treat writing with the same dedication and respect. But that’s the Timeless Writer’s Catch-22: I didn’t have time for another full-time job. Then the lightning struck again: what if someone took the monotony out of the submission process (aimlessly searching the internet, printing manuscripts, licking stamps) so that writers could get down to business? It would be a victory for scribes everywhere, because they could send more work than ever. An efficient presentation system is the Holy Grail that hard-working authors around the world have been searching for.

Take a writer like JK Rowling – it’s easy to forget that Ms. Rowling sent her to write for years, endured numerous rounds of rejection, and even received welfare for a time. Now she is literally richer than the Queen of England. Why?

Because he kept submitting his work.

He didn’t run out of strength after the fourth or even the fortieth rejection, he persevered. She endured. JK Rowling turned the odds in her favor and guess what? She won the jackpot. Big moment. And someday, you too.

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