Acceptance

I’ve written stories since I was young. I’d type them out on my mother’s manual typewriter. When I took a business class in high school to learn how to type, I’d stay late after school so I could use the electric typewriters to transcribe my newest story or essay. My first rejection was from the Boston Globe. Boy, I was confident in my teens!

You know who never once asked to read my work? My mother. She was an avid reader who probably read every single book in the Canton Public Library, but she had no interest in my development as a writer. You know who did? My first boss at the little market down the street where I worked when I was in high school. He had eight kids himself, but when he learned I liked to write, he asked to read my story. That was my first experience with critique. He gave positive feedback, but also showed me areas to edit. Thank you Ed Duffy, for supporting the young writer in me!

I’ve been in writing workshops for the past five years. In my bi-weekly critique session, our workshop leader Kelly DuMar always asks whether we've submitted our work and its status. Every time, I’d respond “still waiting for an answer,” or “got a rejection.” Kelly said, “I like to call these ‘non-acceptances’ rather than ‘rejections.’” She feels "non-acceptance" is a less negative term. She explained editors decline work because they are looking for something specific for their market segment, not because a piece isn’t well written. “There is a right place for your piece, and it will find a home,” she said.

Ah, that rephrasing of the negative, her belief in me and my abilities. It’s worth everything when you hear that after receiving non-acceptances.  

Having a mentor, family, friends, and accomplished writers in my circle who are willing to give honest feedback is so important to me. I’ve brought short stories I think are great to my critique group, but the group tells me the story isn’t working and provides feedback to get it to a better place. In one critique session, Kelly said my story was full of character tropes. Ouch! But you know what? She was right! There was nothing unexpected in that story. No interesting characters, just expected ones. Just a ho hum story. She knew I could do better.

I trust my critique group when they say, this one is working. Send it out. So I do. After receiving several non-acceptances, I opened my email to find my essay, “Listen to Your Body” will appear in the print magazine Thorn & Bloom! I will read this essay at an author event in late June. A week later, another acceptance! My short story Amber Glow started as a spark from one of Kelly’s generative prompts. I kept working on it and brought a near-final draft to critique and the feedback was positive. I sent it out to two literary magazines, where it was non-accepted by one (see my blog Rejection). The Pensieve has accepted this piece for an early December publication date. After explaining to my husband why I was screaming with joy at the computer, the next person I contacted was Kelly! Under her continued guidance, I am finding my way along this writing journey.

I have more pieces I’ve submitted out there, and I wait. Acceptance or non-rejection? You’ll be the first to know!