Well, I heard from them.
The news was not good but reassuring.
I received an email a couple of days ago from the senior editor. She said that she couldn't use it, but it was an interesting piece. She even gave me clues on how to make it dynamic. So, Highlights blew me off.
I sent her a couple of reply emails thanking her, and she returned them with even more advice on improvements.
The piece will never be published by Highlights, but it was a reassuring sort of rejection. Because, I wasn't rejected via a form letter. Highlights is famous for their checkmark rejection slips, and I bypassed that. I received a bonafide rejection from a person with a name and an email address. She took the time to discuss improvements, so that tells me that at least I don't wholly suck at writing.
Writing for children was a new experience for me and I see now why people say that writing for kids is harder than writing for adults.
Will I stop?
No!
I intend on taking her advice and improving the piece. Then, re-submitting to another magazine. But, I'm gonna wait a little while. You see I saved her emails in my email folder. That way I can look at them and see that there is encouragement out there. I can see that all editors aren't born with teeth that would make a pirahna proud. They aren't out there to suck the life and livelyhood out of fledgling writers.
I'm going to wait though to work on my adult romance novel. I want to give the piece a little simmering time, and then try to approach it like I would imagine an editor might. I am afraid that if I try to do it now...I'll be careless and a little (or a lot) to proud and mess it up instead of helping it. Cause, I'm still sitting on my high horse right now. I made it past the form letters!
Well, my novel is getting finished while I'm writing something else...and my daughter currently has poison ivy all over her body and she begging for some more calamine lotion on all her itchy spots, and I assure you that there are several. :)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Highlights Editors
To all aspiring writers.
I don't know if you would be interested in writing for children, but if you are I suggest that you try Highlights for Children magazine.
I have had a very favorable time with them, and I think they would be an ideal place for any aspiring children's writers to start. Here's my situation -
I wrote a world culture piece that was written from personal experience. The first article was rejected. The rejection letter said that it was rejected for lack of bibliography. It would have made sense, but I didn't understand the reasoning behind a rejection on a personal experience piece. So- I emailed them. Right at the top of the rejection letter was an email address for the editors.
Within twenty-four hours someone emailed me back. I traded an email with them, and the editor that answered the email even went to ask the senior editor that I had submitted to! Within two emails the situation was worked out...they told me what I had to add to my piece and they even let me re-submit. Normally if a piece is rejected - that's it. It's over. There can be no more submissions to them with the previously submitted piece - unless you receive permission from them (the editors) to re-sbumit. (This goes for most submissions venues, not just Highlights)
I fixed the article and re-submitted with the same editor and followed the rules their email laid out. That was four weeks ago, and I still haven't heard back from them about their final decision. I'll let you know when I do, but I wanted it known that the editors at Highlights are a blessing to deal with and aspiring writers take note - they are a mainstream publication and would look terrific on any writers resume!
Happy writing!
I don't know if you would be interested in writing for children, but if you are I suggest that you try Highlights for Children magazine.
I have had a very favorable time with them, and I think they would be an ideal place for any aspiring children's writers to start. Here's my situation -
I wrote a world culture piece that was written from personal experience. The first article was rejected. The rejection letter said that it was rejected for lack of bibliography. It would have made sense, but I didn't understand the reasoning behind a rejection on a personal experience piece. So- I emailed them. Right at the top of the rejection letter was an email address for the editors.
Within twenty-four hours someone emailed me back. I traded an email with them, and the editor that answered the email even went to ask the senior editor that I had submitted to! Within two emails the situation was worked out...they told me what I had to add to my piece and they even let me re-submit. Normally if a piece is rejected - that's it. It's over. There can be no more submissions to them with the previously submitted piece - unless you receive permission from them (the editors) to re-sbumit. (This goes for most submissions venues, not just Highlights)
I fixed the article and re-submitted with the same editor and followed the rules their email laid out. That was four weeks ago, and I still haven't heard back from them about their final decision. I'll let you know when I do, but I wanted it known that the editors at Highlights are a blessing to deal with and aspiring writers take note - they are a mainstream publication and would look terrific on any writers resume!
Happy writing!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
One of the best...
books on writing is Stephen King's 'On Writing'. This part memoir part writing course is wonderfully written in a way which makes you feel like you're curled up on King's sofa with a cup of hot tea and he's telling you all about how to write.
The first part, is how he got started. Then he goes into grammar and writing...all the while sprinkling the text with a vividness that leaves you breathless.
As a writer just starting out, a seasoned writer, or a writer that has dabbled but now wonders if they got, 'the stuff' to make it in the big world of published writers....this is one book you should add to your library.
Read it, put it away for a couple of days then re-read it. Keep it handy at your desk for inspiration. Read it backwards, frontwards, even sideways---if you can do that, and if you can, could you tell me how you did that? I just got carried away with myself, I don't honestly know a single person that can read something sideways.
Those of you that are curling up your nose with the distaste at the thought of reading something not totally fiction...stop it! Stop it right now! Yes, the book is nonfiction, but its duly worth any discomfort you may have at the thought of forcing yourself to read non-fiction. This isn't a history book or a technical manual for that new thingymabob you just bought cause you though it was cool-but now that its home you have absolutely no idea what it is, what it can be used for, and how do you operate the dumb thing in the first place. This is a terrific manual, inspiration, and snapshot of a NYT Bestseller....people, he's sharing his secrets of success....take the hint. Okay? Ok, glad we got that clear.
'On Writing,' should be in every writer's bookshelves, no matter what their writing 'level' is. I would also suggest actually reading it...not just letting it sit there and collect dust.
Alright, I'm done preaching at least for the time being....
You shouldn't be sitting there reading this blog to start with...you should be deep in the folds of you word processor, with your creative thinking caps on.
The first part, is how he got started. Then he goes into grammar and writing...all the while sprinkling the text with a vividness that leaves you breathless.
As a writer just starting out, a seasoned writer, or a writer that has dabbled but now wonders if they got, 'the stuff' to make it in the big world of published writers....this is one book you should add to your library.
Read it, put it away for a couple of days then re-read it. Keep it handy at your desk for inspiration. Read it backwards, frontwards, even sideways---if you can do that, and if you can, could you tell me how you did that? I just got carried away with myself, I don't honestly know a single person that can read something sideways.
Those of you that are curling up your nose with the distaste at the thought of reading something not totally fiction...stop it! Stop it right now! Yes, the book is nonfiction, but its duly worth any discomfort you may have at the thought of forcing yourself to read non-fiction. This isn't a history book or a technical manual for that new thingymabob you just bought cause you though it was cool-but now that its home you have absolutely no idea what it is, what it can be used for, and how do you operate the dumb thing in the first place. This is a terrific manual, inspiration, and snapshot of a NYT Bestseller....people, he's sharing his secrets of success....take the hint. Okay? Ok, glad we got that clear.
'On Writing,' should be in every writer's bookshelves, no matter what their writing 'level' is. I would also suggest actually reading it...not just letting it sit there and collect dust.
Alright, I'm done preaching at least for the time being....
You shouldn't be sitting there reading this blog to start with...you should be deep in the folds of you word processor, with your creative thinking caps on.
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