This morning on the way to work, I spotted something that made me want to clap my hands in girlish delight, the way heroines in old-fashioned novels always do. (I don't recall if I've ever really "clapped my hands in girlish delight.") I was driving through a scenic part of my route, a tree-lined, gently winding road, when a girl on a red scooter appeared in the lane next to me. A girl on a red scooter is cool enough, but on top of her cute mode of transportation, she had a hobo purse slung over her left shoulder for all to see. I do happen to be a handbag fanatic; but fanaticism aside, this was a truly eye-catching purse: pom-pom tassels dangled from the flap, which sported an adorable squirrel applique. What made it so adorable was its tail: a puff of bright magenta flocking that no one could possibly ignore, whether they loved handbags and hated squirrels or loved squirrels and hated handbags or didn't give a hoot about squirrels or handbags. I wondered if the girl had made it herself or bought it; and if it was store-bought, I imagined she must have found it at some thoroughly Austin-flavored little boutique.
Maybe this sounds blah and kitschy, but in the moment it was quite a serendipitous sight, like something from the movie "Amelie" - if it were filmed in Austin instead of in Paris. I thought of Cake's song, "Short Skirt Long Jacket"; the refrain played in my mind with the new words, "I want a girl with a squirrel purse and a reeeeed scooter." A wonderfully weird sight that made my morning!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
My best rejection ever
Sometimes rejection can be bliss. Seriously.
I know how much it can hurt. Like everyone else, I've experienced a healthy portion of rejection in various forms. But yesterday, I received a rejection that gave me the floating-on-clouds feeling.
After revising and submitting my short story to a new webzine last month (see previous post), I did my best to forget about it. And I did. My primary goal was simply to rewrite the story to my best ability, which I had already achieved. Of course I wondered every now and then if the editor had read my story yet, and if she liked it or hated it or even cared about it. But I kept busy with other things and didn't worry about the outcome. One of my favorite mantras is, "Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall never be disappointed."
So...yesterday I was minding my business as I had been doing for the past month - only at a more frenetic pace because suddenly I was getting really busy with schoolwork and work work all at once. And what should I discover in my inbox that afternoon but a reply from the webzine editor! I was pretty certain it was a rejection, as the premiere issue is scheduled for release this month and it would be rather last-minute to be receiving an offer for publication now.
Nevertheless, I held my breath as I opened the email. I sort of stumbled through it once in disbelief, and then pored over the words again...and again. This wasn't an ego fest. I truly couldn't believe I was seeing a generous dose of encouragement framing the more than civil rejection. The editor's reply was almost - dare I say it - friendly! Although she used one of the stock rejection phrases, something along the lines of "it was with regret that she could not use my story at this time," she also gave me some very positive feedback. She found my story "captivating" and said I had succeeded in writing "a protagonist [she] really cared for." And if that weren't enough to send me over the edge of writer's paradise, she invited me to submit to the webzine again. Wow!
If you're an aspiring author, or know anything about writing for publication, you know how rare it is to receive direct feedback from an editor or agent. The most common type of response to an unknown, unpublished writer's query is the form rejection, which is randomly generated from a library of about five stock phrases - all variations of "We don't want your manuscript. Have a nice day." I've received a few of these and have yet to shed a tear - I know rejections are part of a writer's life and I'm just starting my collection.
A positive, specific comment from a busy editor or agent is therefore a gem to be treasured - and invested. I will allow myself a little time to be deliriously happy; and then I will refocus on my schoolwork and work work; and then, as soon as I have a chance to write again, I'm going to try my hand at another story to submit to the webzine.
One more thing: I can't resist ending this post with a HURRAH!
I know how much it can hurt. Like everyone else, I've experienced a healthy portion of rejection in various forms. But yesterday, I received a rejection that gave me the floating-on-clouds feeling.
After revising and submitting my short story to a new webzine last month (see previous post), I did my best to forget about it. And I did. My primary goal was simply to rewrite the story to my best ability, which I had already achieved. Of course I wondered every now and then if the editor had read my story yet, and if she liked it or hated it or even cared about it. But I kept busy with other things and didn't worry about the outcome. One of my favorite mantras is, "Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall never be disappointed."
So...yesterday I was minding my business as I had been doing for the past month - only at a more frenetic pace because suddenly I was getting really busy with schoolwork and work work all at once. And what should I discover in my inbox that afternoon but a reply from the webzine editor! I was pretty certain it was a rejection, as the premiere issue is scheduled for release this month and it would be rather last-minute to be receiving an offer for publication now.
Nevertheless, I held my breath as I opened the email. I sort of stumbled through it once in disbelief, and then pored over the words again...and again. This wasn't an ego fest. I truly couldn't believe I was seeing a generous dose of encouragement framing the more than civil rejection. The editor's reply was almost - dare I say it - friendly! Although she used one of the stock rejection phrases, something along the lines of "it was with regret that she could not use my story at this time," she also gave me some very positive feedback. She found my story "captivating" and said I had succeeded in writing "a protagonist [she] really cared for." And if that weren't enough to send me over the edge of writer's paradise, she invited me to submit to the webzine again. Wow!
If you're an aspiring author, or know anything about writing for publication, you know how rare it is to receive direct feedback from an editor or agent. The most common type of response to an unknown, unpublished writer's query is the form rejection, which is randomly generated from a library of about five stock phrases - all variations of "We don't want your manuscript. Have a nice day." I've received a few of these and have yet to shed a tear - I know rejections are part of a writer's life and I'm just starting my collection.
A positive, specific comment from a busy editor or agent is therefore a gem to be treasured - and invested. I will allow myself a little time to be deliriously happy; and then I will refocus on my schoolwork and work work; and then, as soon as I have a chance to write again, I'm going to try my hand at another story to submit to the webzine.
One more thing: I can't resist ending this post with a HURRAH!
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