Last month, I submitted a story that was roughly in 2nd draft form–only having been edited for phrase, sentence, grammar–the same story I just posted about in the previous entry about workshopping.
Why did I submit for publication–a contest, no less–what amounts to an unworked-on piece? Well for one thing, I’m able, I think, to do better work in the first draft than I’ve ever before been able to manage. Secondly, I had really reread it quite a number of times and was evidently not seeing (or avoiding) what was flawed. Third, while it is foolish to submit to a highly regarded publication during a contest–it’s obviously when they get flooded with everyone’s best, it does serve a purpose. It produces an immediate deadline.
Yes, I do feel a little guilty sending out crap. But it’s getting to be better and better crap, and while I sympathize with the publication personnel, it is their chosen career, after all. Boy, I’d love to spend my days paid to read stories–there’s a lot worse ways to be making a living. I am also sure that they aren’t obligated to read something to the very end. These are professionals; they know early on in a story whether it’s something to be considered or pure tripe. On my end, I hadn’t submitted anything in close to a couple years. I needed the experience. Yes, that involved the physical requirements of polishing, the mental efforts of facing rejection, the whole ball of wax that makes you feel like a productive writer.
Do I feel ashamed of myself for sending in the story now that I see what it truly can be? No. I’ll only feel a whole lot better sending it out some more in closer to high standard form.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology