19 Comments

I'm going to put a plug in for Submitit and Erik Klass, who was interviewed by Becky earlier this year. As a sort of early Christmas present to myself, in late November I sent him a short story, which he had some excellent feedback on and I largely incorporated. He then ran the story through his algorithm and came up with a list of 10 journals where the algorithm showed there was a likely match with the type of story I had written (criteria include length, setting, whether it's dark, difficult, experimental, stylized, lyrical, etc). I found it tremendously motivating and was able to make all those submissions within two days! It's a very different feeling when you believe there's a good potential fit for a story vs. hours spent sifting through journals and kind of throwing a dart at a dart board. Here's the link if anyone is interested - I did the "Journals List Only." https://www.submititnow.com/ I'll find out in a few months whether the story has been accepted anywhere, then possibly move a list of less selective/more accessible journals. Thank you Erik!

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Thank you, David! My gift to myself, apparently, is taking the time to read these comments. I really appreciate this. I look forward to hearing about an acceptance with this piece, hopefully soon.

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Dec 24, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch

What an inspiring post! I want to send work to journals that sent me rejections inviting me to send them more work. I have at least 5 of those letters. Thanks for the encouragement.

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I double dare you to do it.

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I am gifting myself confidence and will take myself seriously as a writer. I have, up to now, refused to consider myself a writer because I don't have traditional credentials. Whatever.

“We are what we pretend to be.”

>Kurt Vonnegut<

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I'm giving myself consistent confidence which means, to me continuing to build writer friend connections. It will take confidence in my writing to train myself to do the hard work of both revision and completion, if that makes sense.

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Finishing is one of the hardest parts. You got it.

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Ah this! I’d like to give myself time! But time goes into my dancing. I’m 50 now. I’m dancing with good, serious teenagers. All hungry for different reasons, and the same reason. Dance is a greedy master. You work out to be fit for class. You take class so you can do what the choreographer asks in rehearsal. You rehearse for performance. The distillation of time -- Then for me: Dancing around the day job, writing around the dancing. Because that’s the most urgent. So yeah ... I ask the gods for time, time. Not to waste a second. Entropy’s a bitch.

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Dec 24, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch

As soon as I'm done ordering unicorn taco holders for all my besties, I'm going straight to my desk with a cup of coffee to write. Just staying in touch with my writing during the holiday whirlwind is a little gift to myself. Just kidding about the taco holders! Happy holidays all and thanks Becky for your humor and inspiration!

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My gift to myself is reminding myself to write for myself. I'm working on what was supposed to be a highly publishable (so I hoped) short piece of flash fiction, and in the middle of this highly publishable short piece of flash fiction (that every journal would be scrambling to publish—perhaps there'd even be a bidding war!), a story (within the story) presented itself and needed to be told, a story that is turning out to be much longer than the outer story, and is essentially unrelated to the outer story. No one reads this stuff anymore, I do realize, but I'm having too much fun with it. (Who knows? Maybe someday we'll see a return to the playful experimentation of postmodernism. Maybe we'll call it repostmodernism. Or prepostpostmodernism. Or something like that.) Anyway, that's my gift. (If anyone's looking for another gift, find and read Harry Mathews's “Country Cooking from Central France,” which does something similar. (There is nothing new under the sun. Postmodernism!)) Happy Holidays Becky and all.

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I needed this. Thank you! After a discouraging week of rejections, my journal overfloweths with doubt & dejection. I will try again! Goal: Submit to 100 journals by April 1st, the kickoff for poetry month.

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Dec 24, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch

Pretty simple for the man who has (almost) everything: To keep learning, to keep surprising myself, to keep listening to fine poets read and discuss their work.

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I give myself permission to have a right fit when editors send me a pro forma essay to inform me of yet another rejection and to buy myself a wobbly second-hand chair so I can at least look like a writer.

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Dec 24, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch

Becky, your email brought the precious gift of laughter. Thank you!

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I'd like to give the gift of a Golden Shovel class to other poets.

Having written dozens, I've become aware of how fast editors snap up these short novelties, publish, promote, and nominate 'em.

A Google search will provide merely a barebones description of HOW to write a Golden Shovel but exclude the meaty parts, e.g., how to use Golden Shovels as transition pieces in a full-length collection. Also which words should you avoid when choosing a line?

Preparing the course outline & examples & fun prompts interest me -- however, I hesitate when it comes to promoting a ZOOM class or corralling an audience. I wonder if there would be a dozen poets interested in the Golden Shovel form. And if there would be a presenter to facilitate.

Just a random thought to share.

"Giving back" + sharing knowledge with poets are some of my New Year's Resolutions.

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My gift to myself is to read 100 poetry books in 2023. Got them all lined up and ready to go.

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Dec 24, 2022Liked by Becky Tuch

Fabulous shopping ideas! I plan to give myself permission to write about those colorful relatives who offer character inspiration and are mostly already dead....without worry. Maybe.

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I'm giving myself the gift of what my friend calls "good input." I want to feed my brain the kind of nonfiction I want to write. But I also want to give my writing brain a rest and read schlocky novels without guilt when I'm tired.

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I am giving myself the luxury of sinking in to the books I actually already own and want to read this year, instead of books I think I should be reading. I’m giving myself the gift of reading slowly and deliberately, not chasing to increase my number of books read to top the previous year’s goal. Because reading slowly and deliberately the books I have already acquired and really want to read is deeply nourishing to my creative self. And I’m giving myself the gift of not planning in advance what I will attempt to create with my writing time this year, letting myself instead be led by the intuition that develops from that deeply nourished self.

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