A Line in the Sand

I remember towards the beginning of my writing efforts. It was only a few years ago, but I was beyond lost in how to proceed. Very quickly I learned that actually writing was only a portion of the work that goes into the profession. Yes, actually writing, actually improving is important and it’s the first thing you’ll do when you try your hand at it. But another part of it that, let’s face it, I was woefully unprepared for was the back end of the work involved.

Not only was I terrible at writing and had to spend a large portion of my time just throwing myself at it to see what stuck, but after all that was said and done, I didn’t know what to do with it. Those writings sat in folders for months without anyone seeing them. Part of me was scared to share. That if someone saw what I did, it would shatter the already fragile webbing that surrounded it.

Not too much time went by that I was able to move past that and understand that there would be no possibility for improvement without outsider help. So, I enlisted friends and kind writing forum users to tell me what I was doing wrong. Having that help has been the most effective and fast-tracked way for improvement, and even though I still have a long way to go, I can see the writings on the walls and understand what’s changed.

Past all that came an even bigger problem, though. After all was said and done, the drafts were done, edited and peer reviewed, I still was at a loss for the next step. I tried posting some of my early works to online forums, to little success. I tried sending them to publications, knowing that even if they didn’t get accepted, that at least I would know what to improve. But it was then that I realized how hard it is to depend on others to give you the hand you need.

Almost every publication I sent to had an average turnaround time of six months. Which sounds insane, but it’s just how things go. Going through that process was already kind of a stressful endeavor, but you do what you gotta do. Some, I heard back from in the form of rejections which I was prepared for that early on. Those didn’t sting so bad. The ones that never responded felt much worse. The thought of waiting and really trying to get these things going in a field that I had no prior knowledge of felt like a monumental task but add on that you aren’t only working against every other writer in the industry, but to some extent it feels like the publishing world knows that and actively encourages it.

Now, it’s not up to every publisher to read every manuscript they get and give a detailed account of their feelings towards it. But I guess what I’m saying is I can understand why so many people give up so early. The writing industry is not nice to newcomers, and you’ll be at a massive disadvantage from the get-go. I guess that’s partly why Lost in Translation exists. It’s a place where I don’t have to wait around for months and pay fees only to never receive a response. It’s a place where the effort never truly feels wasted, because even if a story falls flat and doesn’t reach the mark, at least it gets out there. Nothing’s worse than creating something and knowing that no one in the world will ever see it.

So, whether you love it or hate it, let me know. Just the knowledge that it got to you somehow is enough to keep going. I’m here for the long haul. I got nowhere else to be.