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This week — Monday through Friday — I’m talking about criticism.<\/p>\nThis week — Monday through Friday — I’m talking about criticism.<\/p>\n
Monday:<\/strong> The Benefits of Criticism<\/a> A few of the things I’ve heard people say before submitting their stories or articles to editors:<\/p>\n Some writers have a strange sense of entitlement. If you can relate to any of the statements above, you may want to reconsider your attitude and approach.<\/p>\n It isn’t an editor’s job to say or do any of these things. Let\u2019s take a look why that is.<\/p>\n “I just want somebody to tell me I suck!”<\/em><\/p>\n If you think you suck, you probably do. And you shouldn\u2019t be wasting anybody\u2019s time with your suckage.<\/p>\n Editors are busy enough without you adding to the pile, all in the hope to be told that you aren\u2019t ready for publication. It\u2019s also not fair to the countless writers who have taken the time to not<\/em> suck and have researched publications before submitting. It would make things easier for all professionals involved if you didn\u2019t add your sucky writing to the piles on editors\u2019 desks.<\/p>\n But you really don\u2019t want to be told you suck, do you?<\/p>\n It\u2019s been my experience that people who say they want to be told they suck are really building a wall before submitting \u2013 they are setting themselves up for an easier letdown. Rejection can hurt, but it\u2019s nothing personal. Rejection is part of being a writer. If you are not a confident writer \u2013 if you are just seeking validation from an editor — you have no business submitting your writing for publication.<\/p>\n Take the time to not suck, and when you submit your writing, submit it with confidence!<\/p>\n “They better not send me another form rejection letter!”<\/em><\/p>\n Many publications have no choice but to send form rejection letters. The pile on your average editor\u2019s desk is most likely a mountain compared to the pile of work at your day job that you think is huge. Most of the piles on editors\u2019 desks are comprised of writing that:<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t an editor\u2019s job to recommend other markets (especially when you send your vampire story to Redbook<\/em>), and it isn\u2019t an editor\u2019s job to tell you what kind of writing they expect to see.<\/p>\n Most editors love what they do. They love the industry and the writers they work with. They care about what they do, and the very nature of what they do makes good writing great. If they had time, I\u2019m sure many editors would<\/em> recommend other markets and offer hints about what can be done to break in to their publications. They simply don\u2019t have the time; hence, the form rejection letter.<\/p>\n Anybody who takes a form rejection letter personally needs to consider another line of work.<\/p>\n “They better tell me what I did wrong this time!”<\/em><\/p>\n No matter how much you may want to hear it, it\u2019s not an editor\u2019s job to tell you that you suck. It\u2019s not even an editor\u2019s job to tell you that you\u2019re good. It\u2019s not an editor\u2019s job to tell you what you did wrong<\/em>. (You may have done nothing <\/em>wrong. There are many reasons articles and stories are rejected: not right for the publication, the publication calendar is full, the publication already plans to run something similar to what you sent them.)<\/p>\n So what is<\/em> an editor\u2019s job? Here are just a few of the things editors do.<\/p>\n Editors are very busy <\/em>people. Their list of job responsibilities is even thicker than the pile of good and bad writing on their desks. (Just so you know, editors often have to turn away good <\/em>writing, too.)<\/p>\n It is not<\/em> an editor\u2019s job to give you feedback. It might be a nice thought, but it\u2019s not their job.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s stop talking about the editor\u2019s job and talk about our <\/em>job as writers<\/em>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s our <\/em>job to work hard and become the best writers we can be. And when we get there, it’s our job to keep going for more. If you suck and expect rejection, don’t waste an editor\u2019s time, or the time of the many confident writers out there more deserving of the chance than you.<\/p>\n If you submit your writing to editors and take their rejection or lack of detailed feedback personally, you haven’t done your job.<\/p>\n Tomorrow:<\/strong> The Best Critique I Ever Received This week — Monday through Friday — I’m talking about criticism. Monday: The Benefits of Criticism Tuesday: 5 Ways to Handle Criticism Yesterday: 5 Ways to Give Good Critiques Today: Criticism — It’s Not an Editor’s Job Friday: The Best Critique I Ever Received A few of the things I’ve heard people say before submitting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[3,59],"tags":[14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophergronlund.com\/blog\/tjw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em> Tuesday:<\/strong> 5 Ways to Handle Criticism<\/a>
\n<\/em> Yesterday:<\/strong> 5 Ways to Give Good Critiques<\/a>
\n<\/em> Today:<\/strong> Criticism — It’s Not an Editor’s Job
\n<\/em> Friday:<\/strong> The Best Critique I Ever Received<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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