Ok, yes. I know what you might think as you start watching this. Mr. Jiang is a person in the business world. Talking about his attempts at becoming a successful entrepenuer. But his talk should also resonate with many writers who experience the "no gift, no compliment" version of rejection (in a form email that indicated the editor maybe read a couple words of your piece and that was enough for them). We know whatof he speaks. We feel those feels. Regularly. 

Jiang's talk is funny and inspiring. I hope it gives anyone watching here the courage to keep building up that thick skin, keep pushing past the "no's," and keep chuggling full steam ahead with their dreams. The sin is not rejection. The sin is never trying, and/or never trying again. 

Peace and prosperity to you~~

It feels good to be off to a great start writing in the new year. 

And so far, two of my resolutions are checked off.

First, I wanted to write more blog posts, and although I did not specify and make any certain plans known in my original resoultion post, secretly I made a challenge to myself to write (and publish) a piece for three consecutive days. Today's post is the third. 

I'm not sure I'll be able to continue writing daily posts once I start working both jobs again (and, Goddess help me, I'm considering trying to start freelancing in editing and proofreading as a third job). But the challenge I have set for myself is at least one per week. 

The other resolved resolution was writing more creative fiction and poetry. My grandmother always said that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you will do for the rest of the year. So I worked on and completed a poem from my Priority WIP poem list (more on that in another post). I also started, but didn't finish, a new poem and some future blog posts. 

Today, I will begin fulfilling another of my goals for the year. I will choose a book on writing and editng craft from the five I picked out from my collection of books on craft that I was either given or bought, but haven't yet read. Everyday, I plan to read a chapter or two from each of the five books. Today, I have chosen to read the first chapter of a book that has been on my shelf since shortly after I moved into my current apartment four years ago. Revision and Self-Editing is written by James Scott Bell and published by Writer's Digest Press. I think I got it for some ridiculously low price when I subscribed to Writer's Digest.

There are also some upgrades to my resolutions. I intend to seek out opportunities for beginning my editing and proofreading career. I hope to save enough money to be able to have my first paying issue of The Were-Travler (information, here). I am hoping to soon sign on to a monthly membership of the gym at the high-rise office building where my new office at the public media company will be located. I want to keep losing weight and feel better. I plan on a long long overdue visit at the dentist (as soon as I get some decent dental insurance) and do something about these awful broken and painful teeth of mine. 

That's it, folks. Just a few excited lines of success in the first week of the new year. I am hoping to receive some long awaited news about some poetry and fiction submissions made in the past. A nice acceptance email would be a great harbinger of 2017. I would blog about that, for sure. 

I hope your pursuits will all be successful as well. 

Peace--
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A shorter clip of this was posted on Facebook earlier in the year, and it resonated with me. So I decided to watch the longer version of the YouTube clip of a commencement speech given by J.K. Rowling on the subject of the unexpected benefits of failure. 

The beginning of the New Year is typically the time we begin to re-evaluate the past year and make up our minds to better ourselves in the future. But we often have difficulty admitting defeat, even to ourselves, because in our modern society failure carries a negative connotation rather than a positive one. But perhpas it should be different. It's normal to feel some negativity and self-loathing after failing, but that should not last long. It should be soon followed by positive re-focusing of one's energies to strive to be better next time. Joanne nails these points in her own brilliant way. 

It's a little longer than the clip posted on Facebook, but well worth watching. The author of the famous Harry Potter series talks about the most valuable lesson she ever learned in one of the best commencement speeches I've ever heard. 

I've been meaning to post this talk of Joanne's for awhile now, but today it hits home more, so I'm finishing this post and sharing it with the world. Because sometimes you need silver linings when the rainbow fades to pale. 

​May we shoulder onward through our defeats and come out victorious in the end!

When you write stories and poems, write and actually submit them to magazines and anthologies, that takes a hell of a lot of nerve. Super-thick steel coated ones, if you get my drift. But submitting your work is easy peasy compared to what you go through after.

Next comes the Hard Waiting Time Game.

I have been waiting for news on five poetry submissions for over 130 days. I know that's long without sending a query, but at the time of submitting to this journal I read on their guidelines that it could take up to 4 months before hearing from them. I keep checking my Submittable account and it still says "In Progress" so I'm not going to sweat that one just yet. 

In the meantime, I should be hearing back in a few weeks about a major submission of a flash story to a well-known publication. I sent them my flash story "The ABC's of the Apocalypse" awhile back and got the news a month ago that the story made it through their first round of reading and was kicked up to the editor. The email said to expect a wait time (Hard Waiting Time Game Level 2) of about 8 weeks, so I should be hearing something about this one over the next week or so. 

I have other submissions in elsewhere and looking to put some more through over the Easter weekend. 

Just like gamblers say, especially about the lottery: "You can't win if you don't play," this modified adage holds true for writers: "You can't get published if you don't send it in." And I would add that you need to be patient. Getting published is a waiting game. Write, submit, be patient, and persevere. 

Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" gave an interesting TED Talk on creativity and failure that we watched in our Senior Portfolio class this past semester. 

I just went through an ordeal of having a big rejection lately. I had submitted 3 poems to the Sigma Tau Delta journal, "The Rectangle." I was hoping that at least one of the poems would be good enough to earn a spot in the journal, so I could use that publication as leverage to get into the grad school program I have my heart set on. I got the blessing of one of my professors, Dr. Hallock, who was acting as our advisor for Sigma Tau Delta and praised the poems. 

I waited with anxiety mounting every day for the news. Then, it finally came a few weeks ago. I did not get in. The form rejection email stated that they had over 500 submissions. While it was a little reassuring to know that there was so much competition, that thought alone did nothing to assuage the feelings of unworthiness that every writer feels when they get a rejection. 

As usual, I moped around about it for a few days. Then, I said to myself: "Maria, stiffen that upper lip, buttercup. You got a rejection? Big deal. You've gotten them before. Stop throwing yourself a goddamn pity party, get writing some new stuff, and submit those poems again somewhere else!" I resubmitted the best one to another poetry journal, which also earned me a rejection, albeit a nicer one. They actually told me my poem was well received by the editors of the journal, but it did not fit with what they wanted to do in their current issue. Hey, as a publisher/editor myself, I can identify with that. Plus, a personal and encouraging "No" is  better than a computer-processed form "No" any day of the week. So, I'm going to toughen up once again and resubmit it somewhere else. And on and on it goes. 

Keep trying. That's all we can do. I've been writing since I could walk. I'm sure as hell not going to stop now. 

I am a writer, and I must write...or die in misery, with all my angst piled over my bones like brittle dead leaves. 

Yes, I know that I have not blogged anything for nine months. If you are one of my faithful readers, I am sorry. Most of you know the reasons, however, I think it is time I start blogging again on this site and I shall begin with telling you all about the past year and how it ended for me. 

The best way I can describe 2015 is to say it started with a painful whimper, but ended with a triumphant Whoohoo! (at least academically). 

Finances were the core issue for me in 2015, and the cause of whimpers both in my personal and academic lives. I lived through the roughest months I’d experienced since my mom and hubby passed away, back to back, fifteen years ago. Due to a technical glitch, I was awarded a scholarship that wasn’t due me because I was no longer a member of the Honors College at school. I was facing not being able to register for the Fall semester unless I could clear it up. And I had no money.

I was burned out and just not mentally up to my usual good work in class. I am lucky I got through the semester with two A’s and two B+ grades. Everything fell to ruin those first few months of 2015. I was only working 5 hours a week and behind in all my bills. I searched and applied relentlessly for a second job, interviewed for many positions, but there was no joy. I got a little depressed, to say the least. 

Then, some miraculous and strange things occurred.  It was as if Mistress Fate had twisted her magic wand in my direction. 

First, a friend told me I should check out a crowdsource funding site, like Go Fund Me, to see if friends or acquaintances in the social media world would help me to pay off my school debt so I could register for the Fall semester, the only term left to complete my bachelor’s degree. I worried that it would come to nothing. And my pride is such that I have a hard time asking for help from even my closest friends. I didn’t think that my online friends would themselves be in any position to just give me money to help me. I was wrong. I swallowed my pride and made a Go Fund Me account and my online writer friends jumped to help. They donated and shared the link. They shared the link when they could not donate. They not only helped me meet the $500 debt I owed to the university, but the donations exceeded it to the point I was able to put the remainder toward getting the tablet  I needed to be my light note-taking and writing device for two of my three final classes. 

As for the second job, a non-profit company that I had a great interview with in March and never called me back right away…did call me back at the end of June to offer me another position, that of overall traffic coordinator for PBS and NPR throughout the state of Florida. I accepted it and this position has been both an incredible challenge and a dream job for me.

I started the year depressed, depleted, and anxious over money and school. I ended it with a great job and a diploma.

See that picture below. That’s me on the left end, smiling with my friends. 

2015. Hard, but worth every minute of it. 

I want to say a great big Thank You to all my friends, writer nakama, USFSP professors, and other kind people who helped me during the hard first half of the year with money or with words of encouragement. You all know who you are and I would not be where I am today without you.  

Thank you, too, Mistress Fate. 
​