Thursday, December 08, 2011

Own up to your writing

Whether it's selling or not, own up to your writing.
Whether it receives good reviews or bad, own up to your writing.
Whether a critique group likes it or not, own up to your writing.
When an editor didn't answer your query, own up to your writing.

Of course it's your writing. Why wouldn't you own up to it?

Actually, the hard part of owning up to your writing is stepping up when it's rejected and criticized. We have to admit when we're rejected 45 times that our writing still needs work. We have to admit that the accolades from our family are not valid judgment for a novel we hope to sell to professionals. When we lose contests, we have to admit that someone else wrote better, or a judge didn't find our work palatable enough.

In other words, we need to quit complaining about THOSE editors, THOSE judges, and THOSE publishers. Put a lid on the blame game. Learn to be solid enough in your own decisions and abilities to sift through the feedback, select the jewels that just might matter, and grow a little more in your effort. Same goes for queries. Sure, they're a pain, but they are a tool. They are the conduit between you, the needy, and the others, the providers.

Per Penny Sansevieri, in a recent Huffington Post:
Assuming success eluded you because of someone else's lack of interest or follow through might be undermining your campaign and you could be missing out on important data that could really help turn your campaign around.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this post. (And we should apply this practice of personal responsibility to ALL areas of our lives.)

D.G. Hudson said...

Thanks for the reminder that we own our work and should be proud of what we've written.

If we're not for whatever reason, we have to take off the dark sunglasses and get to work.

BTW - added your site to my list of 11 Writing sites for 2011. You offer advice and knowledge - that's appreciated.

Hope Clark said...

DG

Thanks so very much! I so appreciate it. Let me know the link!

Hope

D.G. Hudson said...

Hope, here's the link to the post of writer sites I recommend.


DG Hudson - Rainforest Writing- 11 Writing Sites for 2011

Your site always makes my list.

Tiffany said...

it's far less painful to blame other people than to get a clue and own it. but owning it is far more rewarding-so is making the writing better.

Hope Clark said...

Thanks, DG - I just Tweeted your list.