The Fear of Submission
July 6, 2010
Most new writers (me included) have at one time or another suffered from submission-itis. What is submission-itis, and how is it treated?
Submission-itis is simply the fear to submit that comes over you as a writer because you think whomever receives your work will hate you, or think you’re stupid, or they’ll laugh at you. (This last one I’ve actually happen to me at a workshop so I know first hand it’s not fun.)
This fear paralyizes you and stops you not only from submitting but will overwhelm you and stop you from writing. Anyone reading this blog is a writer so to stop writing is like stopping breathing, then we die. Maybe not physical death but our spirit will be broken.
To find the cure for submission-itis we must discuss the root cause.
My fellow writers the root cause is FEAR.
Franklin D. Roosevelt summed up how crippling fear can be when he said; “the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”. Though he didn’t realize it, he was talking about writers who do not submit their work. How did he know?
Roosevelt knew that fear is a crippling affliction which paralyizes us into inaction in order to protect ourselves from percieved or real dangers. Sounds strange you say? How does this relate to writers? Humans are fragile beings and over coming rejection after rejection can be daunting and, if we let it, fear will take over and stop us from being emotionally hurt. Too often we have an emotional connection to our work that we very naturally want to protect.
Think of your submissions in terms of job applications (which in a sense they are) to prospective employers. Imagine how you would feel if you sent out a hundred job applications and all were rejected?
How do you overcome this fear? It’s really rather simple actually. Write the best story you can and mail it. Then write the next story and mail it. And so on and so on.
Now am I saying this work has to be prefect before you mail it? No, not at all.
Each story you submit will be the best you can do today. The next story will be better, and the ones after that will be better. Look at every story as practice.
Look at it this way, a gold medal winning Olympic athlete didn’t decide one day to ski downhill as fast as they could to win a gold medal. What athletes do is practice for years, and they have many failures before they win gold. Why would we suddenly assume we can write a saleable story the first time?
Yes, there are people who say this happens, but if you dig deeper I expect you’ll find there are reasons a writers “first book” was a bestseller. You will very likely find out various forms of practice were involved before the “first book”.
So were they luckier than you?
My view is there is no such thing as luck. To me a more valid interpretation of events sometimes explained as luck is when preparation meets opportunity. In other words you practice, study, and work hard first then when opportunity happens you are prepared to take advantage.
So what is the bottom-line for the new writer? Practice, mail, practice some more, and mail that. Keep all stories in the mail until they sell.
How do I know these things? Because this is exactly what I did and I’m selling some of my work. (Not all.)
Keep writing and stay positive.
If you have any comments or have stories to share on this topic I’d be pleased to hear from you.
Comments
7 Responses to “The Fear of Submission”
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Someone once pointed out to me that the worst thing that might happen as a result of submitting is that I wouldn’t be published- and since I already wasn’t published maybe that wasn’t so bad. It was what I needed to kick me in the pants.
Amen, brother!
Thanks, Marcelle.
So true, Eileen. Well said.
I think every writer goes through this to some extent. (Jeez, how come most of us are so insecure?) But the book won’t ever get published if you don’t send it out, right? Rejection always stings, though.
Could not agree more. I think the insecurity stems from our childhood for most of us. I believe the seed is unintentionally planted in us when we’re very young. A casual comment by a parent, or a friend, or even a teacher can plant self-doubt. How we overcome these doubts is different for each of us so unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all fix. Too bad, but we have to discover a way that works for us as individuals.
Thanks, Kaylea for commenting and I wish you many sales of your next book.
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Best wishes,
Terisa