Be honest, you really opened this one for the alliteration, didn’t you?

Yes, friends, believe it or not, we have made it to September. The slow drudge of March 2020 has finally made it to September of 2021. I regret to say that my writing has had to take a back seat to a few things: a new job, finding a new apartment, and working on my mental and physical health. It’s been a busy time these past few months and my writing has suffered because of that. Not that I haven’t been writing or editing–I’ve been doing that almost daily since we were first told to stay home to help other people. But the work you never share never sees the light of day. Yes, I’m talking about submitting.

Whether your submitting a short story, flash fiction, or a novel, the process of submitting your work is daunting. It’s one thing to post my short little fiction pieces here so that people can get a taste of my writing, but presenting my work to an agent or editor with the sole purpose of them deciding if the piece’s worth? It’s terrifying! That being said, the easiest way to win at poker is to hold as many cards as you can. I know that’s against the rules, but that’s the thought behind the September Submission Scramble.

Every day this month, I will submit one thing to an agent, magazine or contest. I have a long backlog of things that have been rejected and edited, but I so rarely send them out for round two. Why? Fear, maybe. But that’s the point of the Scramble: submit with reckless abandon. If you get a rejection, I tell myself, you’re no worse off than if you don’t submit. If someone bites, you put your effort into it. So, I’m in the act of submitting as much as I can over the next month. Rejections, Acceptance, or Non-Responses: when there’s only three options? It doesn’t feel so bad. Try, Fail, Try Again, and Fail Better.

If you write, how are your submissions going? We’re entering magazine season again, so if anyone wants to join on, let me know! Part of the Scramble is to encourage each other to try.