Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 250 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
This is my response
ReplyDeleteThe reading “What Editors Want” is a very helpful piece of reading to have read. The work you have to do to get published is no joke. I have always wanted to get published, and now I know the hard work and dedication it takes to get it done. I had no idea where to begin so I could start sending some of my work out. I have a lot of work to get done. Editors have a extremely hard job to do, and I had no idea they were that busy. I am taking the Gallery class this semester and we will be working on a magazine called the Gallery. I am sure most of my colleagues are aware of the magazine. Students are to send us their work poetry, art, short stories, and any piece of writing they want. I am super excited to read these submissions. This is going to be a new opportunity to be on the other side. I am not looking forward to rejecting work, but I know it's part of the process. When I would write a essay and receive the negative feedback it really killed me. Now after reading in the article how some get rejected more than twenty times I feel a little better. We can't give up just keep working and striving.
In the second reading Becky Tuch also gives some really great insight on what to send out, and really good tips. I think that sometimes we get overwhelmed with the thought of what is good work and what is bad work. At times I feel like nothing I write is good and when I have someone read it they enjoy it. I liked how Becky mentions in the reading to take a deep breath and just start from the very beginning. This is probably the best advice yet. Don't start off on a bad note like I usually do, oh this isn't good at all. Negativity won't get you too far. Just start and see where it leads you. Like Professor Moreira mentioned all work has room for improvement.
Lizette
For the entirety of 2016 I was quite obsessed with the editing world, picking up anthologies like The Best American Short Stories (and it’s companions Best American Mystery, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Non Required Reading, etcetera) and subscribing to magazines like One Story, Agni, and Asimov’s. I wished I had done Becky Tuch’s recommended research before subscribing to so many magazines though because I was selecting them almost at random.
ReplyDeleteI’ve tentatively looked at submission deadlines on various websites without every submitting anything. I always tell myself that none of my work is complete yet, that none of it is polished enough, that I don’t have the experience. I’m certain I’ll get many rejections. I feel now though that it was cowardly of me to avoid these rejections. Equipped now with a more specific plan, curtesy of both Tuch and Lynne Barrett, I plan on dedicating this year to a less haphazard study of literary magazines and to collecting my inevitable rejection slips. I can no longer avoid it, or I’ll never see my work published anywhere.
I do agree that spending time as an editor yourself is a great way to humanize the editors who will judge your own work. I took the Gallery class last semester and it was an enlightening experience. I wish there were more opportunities in the Valley where I could continue that line of work. I’d love to make a career of it: being an editor and a writer after I’ve graduated.
Andrea “Andy” De Llano
Upon reading these articles, I did not realize how much of a chore it was to submit your work. I never gave much thought into taking my writing to the next level by publishing it because I never really knew what steps to take when looking for a place to submit my own work. I also never felt as though my writing was up to par with other works in the journals I was reading. In fact, I wasn’t reading them to learn from them. I was reading these journals and magazines to compare it to my own work. This made me put off my writing as opposed to helping my work evolve. Reading other works and journals isn’t something I am consistent with in my writing regimen, but upon reading these articles, I am fascinated with studying my writing in a whole new form.
ReplyDeleteI often start to work on something and find myself wanting to get rid of it instead of taking time to mold and nurture that work. Becky Turch suggested to use your curiosity to guide you along. I am convinced that I shouldn’t be doubting my work. I need to trust it, question it, and have faith in taking risks no matter the outcome. Instead of saying everything is all wrong, I need to dissect it with questions that will help develop my work in a positive way. Rejection letters from different submissions should be welcomed as a way for me to keep morphing those works into different and better pieces of writing.
Victoria J. Vielma
The Submitter’s Dilemma
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article, it was quite refreshing to know that I have a similar issue as thousands of other aspiring writers when it comes to publishing your own work. As I started my education in the English field, I kept hearing professors throw the publishing word like if it was not a great deal. I mean every writer wants to be published, but just as the article stated, I had no prior clue on how to go about this predicament. In fact, I still don’t. Hopefully this course assists me in trying to figure out this jumbled mess. I feel like I’m behind since I couldn’t name you a publishing magazine besides the one that is on our campus. And even then, I have no recollection on how to publish your work for that journal. In addition, if you do get your work published at our university, is it the same caliber as publishing for another literary magazine? The article also stated that you should follow your favorite writers. Sadly, there is only one author that I follow, but he passed away. Thus, I’m sort of stuck in a shady place. Our stories are like our product and we are the salesmen. It’s important to pitch the idea to the right people.
What Editor’s Want
The most significant idea that I received from this article is that you have to put in the work and research in if you want to get published. Nobody but you is going to know what exactly you are writing. Essentially, there are people who will be willing to help you, but they are not going to be giving you the answers to your own set of inquiries. If my time in the school of business taught me anything, it is that you can’t necessarily make choices based on your gut, research and facts have to pave your path. It also seems that the first step in realizing where to submit your work is subscribing to literary journals and scope out the competition. Doing so will give you insight and a scope on what type of prowess you have to bring to the page. In addition, I found that rejection letters are not complete losses. In fact, based on the type of response that you receive, then the writer knows what exactly they need to work on to get published. Our downfalls are what helps us rise again.
Patricio "P.J." Hernandez
Reading “The Submitters Dilemma” was very helpful to me. I’ve never submitted something to be publicly posted before, but the thought of trying and branching out has always been there. This short article helped me out greatly with tips on what would be the best way to look for appropriate sources to apply for. The best advice the article offered was how reading magazines and knowing what they publish can be highly beneficial. By knowing and studying a magazines or article’s publishing’s you’ll have a better understanding for the editor’s taste and expectations.
ReplyDelete“What Editors Want” gave me a big insight into the journey a work takes till its publication. There are some things that many people, like me, usually don’t think about, like how an editor typically has to read stacks of submissions. Knowing these minor things and paying attention to them can give you an advantage to increase your chances of getting published. The reminder of knowing you have to entertain your editor from the million other pages he’s reading can be used as a constant reminder of what your goal is with your work. The article also gives helpful information as to how to deal with regular issues in a professional literary atmosphere. Sending an editor a “Thank you” is comparable to sending a thank you to a job interviewer, it makes a positive reflection on you and when it comes to getting a job or getting published it is always best to have a good image.
Jesus Pena
As a fairly new English major, but someone who has always loved to write, reading these two articles was very useful. I had no idea the work it takes to be published, nor had I given thought to entering contests as suggested by Becky Tuch in "The Writers Dilemma." This article was short, sweet, and precise. It stated suggestions that gave me ideas to think about once I start looking for journals in which to publish my work. The fact that there are over 600 literary journals is astounding, but it gives me hope that one of them will be willing to look at my work and actually like it enough to publish it.
ReplyDeleteThe second article, “What Editors Want,” really helped me see from an editor’s prospective. It gave me an eye-opening view of what they search for and how to react in different situations. The article reminded me of my yearbook class in high school in which I was in charge of a page and decided what went in it and what did not, but the yearbook editors had the final say. It was a lot of work, and honestly I feel that a literary journal is even harder to put together. I liked how this article gave tips on keeping records, the “Acceptance: Dos and Don’ts,” and when she advised us to try and be an editor, even if it is just with friends. Another thing that really helped was when Barret suggested to go out and do our homework. Research the journals, authors, and editors to see what type of writing they’d like instead of taking shortcuts.
Daniela E. Hernández
You know that saying actions speak louder than words? Well, I have always said I want to get my writing published, but have never done anything about it. My inexperience and fear of rejection has always stopped me from reaching my goal. Although I’ve done some research, there’s multitudinous journals and the pressure of finding the one that suits my writing the best overwhelms me. “The Submitter’s Dilemma” was truly helpful with ideas of how to look for the right journal to submit my work to.
ReplyDelete“What Editors Want” reminded me that only because I will someday receive a rejection letter doesn’t necessarily mean my writing sucks. Perhaps it is just not what the editor is looking for. This article was informative on the amount of work and dedication editors put into finding the right story for their journal. I tend to stop reading if the story doesn’t interest me by the second page. The fact that editors continue reading until their brain is unable to process anymore information shows that they care about the journal as much as a writer should care about their writing. Only because a story is submitted doesn’t mean you have to stop revising it. Revision comes in handy because the rejection from one journal will give you an opportunity to better your story before sending it to the next. I’m excited to continue molding my work as I thoroughly quest for the journal that will discover me.
Mayela Montenegro
Upon reading these two articles I realized two things: 1) The editor is not a machine and it is their actual job to sit and read though all the crazy stuff that gets sent in, and, 2) You don’t just send your work to everyone in hopes that by some miracle your piece gets chosen. I never knew that there was more to getting a piece published than just typing something up and shipping it off. I personally have never tried to get anything published other than the occasional competition that teachers force upon students at the end of the semester or for scholarships. I never really stopped and asked what the process for those publications were.
ReplyDeleteI love writing, but for me writing is ether personal or public enough to where only the teacher and occasionally a few friends read. I would love to put my writing out in the public but in reality I would react negatively to bad reviews. I have always been a huge believer of the idea that writing could always get better, however, that never lessens the blow of someone telling you your writing is not good enough. The fact that the article of “What Editors Want” by Lynne Barrett, speaks about the different types of rejections and how to handle them really allowed me to see that not all rejection is bad. Since to me this is a really big contributor as to why I am not publishing or making my work available to the public it was refreshing to see that there are different ways as to how you should handle the situation, and how that does not necessarily mean you should stop trying. It really just mans you have to work on the piece a little more and that that particular company or magazine was not the one for you.
Evelyn Lopez
I really enjoyed “What Editors Want” and “The Submitters Dilemma”. Both showed how much work goes into submitting a story to a literary magazine – and that it’s not all fun and games, kiddos. There’s a lot of work that’s involved – not just from the writer, but from the editors that work in these magazines.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I’ve heard many times that the sport of Boxing is considered to be “the hurt business”, and with good reason, but reading these pieces – as well as seeing others online – makes me think that perhaps the publishing biz should take on this title as well. A lot of heartbreak goes into publishing stories (and forget about novels, my blood pressure is rising just thinking about it!), that it really does seem that we’ve spent twelve rounds slugging it with Gennady Golovkin (as if we would really last twelve – sorry folks, most any of us in the class would only go is two, at best). Blood, sweat, and tears goes into writing just as much as any sport or other art (like dance and music, etc.) and to the average outsider it may seem useless, and we’ve probably been told many times before, but the best thing we can do is keep our head high, smile, and just wait so that we can kill them off in the next book – preferably in the most gruesome way possible; may I recommend skinning alive?
However, what I enjoyed most was the way Barrett played it close to the chest by showing how some of us writers really think: how some of us think we’re geniuses one moment, then morons the next. Truer words have never been spoken about this hurt business.
Chano Martinez
“The Submitter’s Dilemma” by Becky Tuch
ReplyDelete“What Editor’s Want” by Lynne Barrett
To be honest, publication has never been at the forefront of my mind. Of course, I’ve been aware of it throughout my college years, especially after taking Creative Writing 3351 a couple of semesters ago, and Creative Non-Fiction 3352 last semester, where my professor asked us to submit a piece of our work to “The Monitor” for potential publication as extra credit. Just the mere thought of submitting a piece of work to a newspaper felt distant and farfetched to me, giving me a plethora of thoughts like “My work is nowhere near ready for publication”, and “Who would publish my work anyways?”. For a while, I entertained the rather foolish notion that perhaps I was the only one among my peers to feel that way, since a couple of them had already published before, or were in the process of publishing a piece of their work.
Reading these two articles opened my eyes to both perspectives of the publishing world, in a concise and informative manner. Ms. Tuch’s article showed that showed that the sheer number of journals available to publish can easily overwhelm a first-time publisher, and gave detailed tips when searching for the correct journal for your style of work, and how to approach the practice of choosing publications to consider. Ms. Barrett’s article gave a perspective that I haven’t really given much thought to, and pretty much took ignored. Editors play a crucial role in the publication process, since they decide whether to publish a work based on the criteria they have for their journal/magazine. This article, with the extensively detailed list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to interacting with editors regarding your work and its potential publication, sets a rather humanizing tone, making them seem as people that want to see new talent spring up and be recognized, rather than shoot down all new work in favor of already recognized professionals, as I had believed before. I completely agree with the final advice given at the end of the article. Becoming an editor would surely give the greatest amount of perspective about what it means to be an editor, and the amount of work it takes to be successful at it.
Considering that I’m reaching a point in my career where publication is not some distant dream or illusion, I feel that these articles helped ease my doubts about the entire process, that publication is in fact a possibility. Of course, I won’t deny the hard work that goes into the ordeal, but now I look forward to that, and feel that sense of accomplishment at the end of it all when I see my work published and provoking readers a modicum of thought.
Pedro Cano
I loved the helpful tips in “The Submitter’s Dilemma”. They were short and easy to understand. For an inexperienced writer finding the right article to publish your work appears to be a daunting task, especially when your first beginning to test the waters. It made me consider looking for magazines that contain content I enjoy and consider sending them my own work for submission. I never thought about the work editors did, or how much effort and work it takes into putting together a magazine. “What Editors Want” showed me that not only are editors the brains behind magazine, but also the heart and soul. The work by Lynne Barrett humanizes the people behind magazines that most never think about. Barrett’s words about how to take on rejections are very comforting. One of the things that scare me the most, as I’m sure a lot of people do, is failure. I was impressed at how Barrett tells us that we shouldn’t be worried, that we should move on to the next magazine to submit our work. Any advice should be considered, especially since magazines usually send the same rejection letter to everyone. I did not know the process a magazine goes through to find the right work for them. The same was for the process writers go through to get their work published. The first step is certainly difficult, but once you put your name out there and your connections grow it will become second nature. One thing that got me curious is that Barrett puts a large emphasis of saving everything you send and receive, even rejections. She never really mentions why and I can make my own guesses, but I would like to have her say it.
ReplyDeleteFlavio Hernandez
The Submitter's Dilemma
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this text i felt a sense of confidence. I've kept ten journals of writing, but never seem to send out my work due to my lack of knowledge of where to submit. It's an independent world we live in as writers. The reading really brought to light the steps to publish and the drive to really get your work noticed, besides sitting on a bookshelf. Now I have a bit more knowledge on where to submit to and what their focus is thanks to this short reading. My next step would be to search and send.
What Editors Want
I'm taking a copying editing class and Gallery class, so I'm starting to get the feel of what editors are looking for. This reading was a boost to knowing that not all things will make the final cut, and it's okay if my work didn't either. Building a touch skin towards rejection is how you make it in the business of publishing. I also got to understand in depth how to get a publishers attention and which publisher would be good for my type of writing. My work is art, but also I need to know how to sell it, in order to get my name out or be successful.
Kassandra Salas
I think it was the rejection that hit me the hardest because I relate. I’ve only been rejected once, and I took it so personal, but I eventually took it like a mature person and moved on. I’ve only ever submitted my work once for a contest type-of-thing with Scholastic and was invited to New York for the accomplishment, so when STC’s magazine rejected my second submission, I felt ridiculed, but I feel it. I did such a horrendous job because I was not ready. I think that’s also an important factor of submitting your work, doing it when you’re ready.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I do want to publish my work one day, I’m not very sure when and neither am I sure to whom. But I’ll keep in mind everything they advised in the article because some information I didn’t think about before such as the submitting into literary magazines where the theme is similar to yours, basically all the research. That helps in maximizing your chances to be published. Currently, I’m writing a story about a syndrome, so when I saw the “look for theme issues” that struck me.
Also, I’m impatient, I’ve been holding on to some stories for years now, but I can’t give them up because I think that literary magazines are very small and no one reads them, but truth is mentioned in the articles behind the importance of publishing for a literary magazine. I mean, I imagine it to be difficult and a great accomplishment as any other.
Lizbet Cantu
I think I had never stopped and thought the way editors do. I always wrote for pleasure, but I never intended to publish them. The main reason is that I always looked at writing as a way of escaping the real world. After reading about all those literary magazines that you can submit your work to, I realized that I could try it out. I realized that I should try and send my writing if it gets accepted that's amazing, if not let's keep working. This articles opened my mind, and be more open about sharing my work in case they get published. And all of this helps to get more experience as a writer, to think like an editor can be a little bit hard but it's necessary to avoid frustrating those that are reading our work. Also because that way we'll write what they are looking for and we'll have more chance to get published.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to know that we are not the only ones sending our work, there are a lot of other people too, they maybe more experienced than us, or they may have been published before. We'll never know who we're competing with if we don't read magazines and research about their previews works.
Veronica Ruiz