Process, not Perfection
insights and reflections
Happy post-holidays, everyone!
I hope you’re out there enjoying this always-strange in-between place of major holidays and major new year coming just around the bend.
As a reminder (in case holiday festivities made your brain fall out of your ears, as was the case with me), we have an interview with Five Points Editor Megan Sexton this evening. You can learn about that and register to attend here. I’ll be skipping the news roundup next Monday, but I will be back to rounding up all the latest news in lit mags in January. We will of course have our mighty end-of-year Lit Mag Brag this weekend. And I will soon share the January schedule for interviews and info sessions.
We will also return in January with the regular Thursday columns of perspectives on lit mag publishing from readers, writers and editors around the world.
Today, though, I wanted to share something different. This video might not be for everyone. Some people might not be into it, like, at all. Look, I get it. The woo-woo just may not woo you.
But I do hope it is meaningful for some. I hope that if you are struggling, if you are feeling unsure, lost, beaten down by the writing and publishing experience, this video will give you a change in perspective.
I hope it offers just what we all need for the year ahead: inspiration, motivation, insight, compassion for ourselves, appreciation for all our own hard work, clarity of purpose, renewed dedication to the craft, acceptance of all our own unique and critically important places along the path, wherever those may be.
Being a writer is hard. Finishing projects is hard. Not getting bogged down with self-doubt, not comparing yourself to the apparent success of others, not questioning every single choice you make, not worrying about your own progress—hard, hard, hard. If you feel this way, you are not alone, I assure you.
The work of writing is hard. It is also, as many of us already know, one of the most meaningful, rewarding and life-sustaining acts we can possibly undertake. Let us all be grateful that we have such a gift in our lives. Let us all keep going.
Here’s to ringing in a new year with renewed belief in our work, in its possibilities and in ourselves.
Agree vehemently with Shifra that "success" (no matter what we say, the implication is publication, and book publication at that) comes to those who persist. It is simply not true, not a guarantee. There are many, many wonderful AND persistent published and unpublished writers I know who are finding traditional publishing increasingly inaccessible. For me, the first best change in my writing life came when I decided to stop submitting for awhile. I truly didn't care about publication, told myself there was a possibility it could never happen (I was focusing on children's publishing)...and asked myself, "Where does this leave me?" I connected with the joy, freedom, creativity, learning, and ability to self-edit that I'd never truly had. Repeated "failures" in attempts to publish polished and even award-winning manuscripts has helped me stay focused on the ultimate success—being the writer I want to be. Sure, I enjoy my lit mag publications. But that "success" feels quite transient. Would I love to see my children's work published? Sure. But when I reach the end of the line, my persistence, resilience, and spirit will be the ultimate success. Do I have to remind myself of this? Sure. But that's where I truly want to keep the focus.
This came at a perfect time, as I am in the process of sending out a finished novel and getting mentally prepared for countless rejection slips. Depression was starting as they arrived, knowing that at one time I had won several writing awards and even a scholarship; once told by the Chairwoman of the English Department at The University of Rhode Island that I was "the next Hemingway, " as they had me lecturing adult classes, etc. But bills and thus work awaited while any rejection stopped me cold, like a spoiled child. Now at 67 I've finally completed a novel that I feel great about, but I'm back to square one, jumping hoops to snag an agent. This video really drove it home and I'm back at it with renewed vigor, until every single agent and avenue has been reached. Thank you for a great Christmas gift and have a great New Year. Never give up, this video drives it home with no BS.