Writing Insanity

Einstein said Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It's one of my favourite quotes, and has been on my mind lately.

I've been sending out short stories for a while, without having much accepted for publication. On one hand, when I've looked at the rejected stories taking into account feedback, I've seen that the story needed more work, and I've reviewed it. At other times, I've looked at the story, and decided not to change it, and have instead kept searching for an editor who liked it or a more appropriate market. Sometimes it's taken years to find the right market. 

Knowing whether to change the story, or believe in it and persevere is sometimes not easy, and I'd find it hard to analyse how this is done, beyond to try and look at the story as objectively as possible, and consider the feedback. In some instances, it's clear it wasn't the right market because the rejection slips says so. It's worth bearing in mind that editors can be subjective in their views, and that time is sometimes part of the selection process. It's finding the almost magical alignment of a story with the right publication, and editor who likes it at a time when the editor wants that type of story. Some of the guess work can be taken out of this by researching your markets, and knowing what the editor likes, and the journal publishes. Consider whether there is an editor's wishlist, or any guidance in the submission guidelines that indicate upcoming themes or topics.

In light of the lack of recent success, I have re-evaluated, and decided it's time to do something different. I have decided that for a few months, I won't be submitting any more of my short stories. In that time, I am going to focus on the novel I'm finishing and the one I'm editing. I will also go back through all of my unpublished work, and see whether or not I want to change the stories any further. I want to take the time to identify new potential markets. Then I plan on submitting them in time for the Christmas issues, or early January when submissions tend to slack.

And if that doesn't meet with more success, then I'll step back, and re-evaluate again, and perhaps try a different genre.

Being a writer means you never stop writing.