Aww, thank you, Steve! I love that you're still hanging in here.
Part of me wants to make sure I've ready everything J.B. wrote before I venture a letter to her highness, but that's probably just me procrastinating more than anything else. I'll see what happens. 💜
It sounds like that teacher’s a genuine muse. I didn’t even know that was allowed, and that’s after the grad school circuit. I hope the exercises remain a quality sanity anchor.
More importantly, I’m glad you have perspective on the Metrics Demon. I’m not even sure that label’s a joke or hyperbole.
She's pretty musey. There's still a good chance my first novel hemorrhage was a fluke, but we'll see what cooks this summer/fall.
Metrics of that variety are quite literally the Devil. I'm generally more concerned with packing the house at my eventual funeral than eliciting millions of half-hearted screen taps while I'm still kicking. This is my marketing Achilles heel, of course.
OMG I just wrote the world’s longest comment and then accidentally erased it 😭 But in a nutshell: Meg, you are so inspiring. All the posts. The award!! (Congrats!.) The podcast. All those SS recs, DAMN. I can barely squeeze my creative juices / time management to get a post or two out a month! Ha. Keep going! You’re coffee in human form!
It should comfort me that even while feeling like a bucket of dirty dish water, I can still read like "coffee in human form."
YOU ARE INSPIRING! You're doing such amazingly brave work here and I'm sure that connecting with all of your fantastic subjects takes TIME! I keep waiting for you to delve into a topic that I can speak to personally, so we can chat! In the meantime, keep up the awesomeness. 🔥🔥🔥And thank you for your support!!!!
I think it was around year two or three of my Substack when I burned out (my own fault, trying to do too much) and had zero desire to write anything. Fortunately, a large backlog of stories allowed me to keep posting even though I wasn't writing. It took a full year before I really felt like writing again. I had to reevaluate, and now I write for enjoyment and fulfillment.
I know I need an audience for my creativity, and I have a small but active one here. I enjoy getting comments and making writer friends. That is my reward for writing. I quit thinking about earning money from my writing. It only ever bought a few burritos, so why stress about it or put so much effort into it?
Good on you for being proactive and taking that writing course.
Thanks for sharing that part of your journey, Mark. I'm okay parting with the "making money" piece of the puzzle, but I'm still pretty dang hungry for that "notoriety" piece. I don't think I'll be satisfied until my books are searchable in library catalogues and resting on bed tables. So ... I've still got some work to do. 💜🙂
If anyone's deserving of those accolades, it's you! 🥹🙌🏾 Seeing them listed out like that must've felt insanely good while you were reflecting. So proud of you, Meg!
It is so important to reflect - and even more important to REMEMBER to reflect more frequently than twice a year. 😂 I really should start a journal where I do this self-worth dance weekly. It boggles the mind how quickly I forget how much I actually DID while feeling like I wasn't making any progress.
Love this. All of it. Thx for sharing your angst and discovery. There's nothing like a class with a kick ass teacher to pull us out of the doldrums. I hope you know the teacher reaching out was also a sign from the universe warning you not to quit.
The Netherlands? Out of the entire world? Hehe. Curious as to why?
My hubby's entire extended family lives there. We visited two summers ago, and we just loved it. It's so green and everyone bikes and walks everywhere, and, in the summertime, it stays light outside until like 10pm. Plus, they're water geniuses, and they make all the world's flowers and raise more farm animals than people. That last one may not be true anymore, but I think it was once.
I think it was a universal error that I wasn't born in Europe.
Hi Meg, to answer the questions you posed, it started when you were born. You were meant to write. Simple as that. You have obvious talent, and I would read anything you write - I'll only add one more thing (which I already commented on months ago) please don't ever, ever change that pic with the girl smoking. Best pic on substack, hands down. - Jim
You ARE awsome, Meg! Keep on trucking’ lady… it’s a stroke at a time👍
I understand your plight and the challenges therewith… you DO have time. It’s true, all we can do is take it “a day at a time.”
I’d like to share a recent rejection to underline what we writers are up against…
This is from an editor of a sci/fi fantasy print/online magazine publisher when I voiced the frustration of not getting feedback from a submission. I said I’d like any reaction, even if it was, “your work is shit!” She replied:
“Basically, this was a first-round rejection – that means it didn’t grab my attention enough to continue reading past the first page and that means I really don’t have any real feedback to give on it.
I’ve had authors get angry over that type of feedback calling it cruel so now I basically use a form rejection for most of my rejections.
The thing to remember as an author is that magazines and anthologies are based on an editor’s personal preferences – just because your story didn’t work for me – doesn’t mean another editor won’t absolutely love it.”
How the FUCK can any one outside of Supergirl get an honest feel about an 8,000 word story after reading ONE PAGE? That’s the mentality we find ourselves facing with every heart felt submission.
I did reply to that brainless comment and I’d be happy to add it in another reply…
Please feel free to share this note to your followers, et al…
“Understood. However, a single page will not reveal the true essence of a work. My story is in line with the space opera genre, it is rich on imagery and depth of emotion… it makes a point where so much I read is pointless.
I think it’s fair to remind you that your pitch included a requirement to include a “strong” female” character… my story has two! “Doowta Teragram” is the power within my piece and the cause of actions that define the conflict. “Mother” is literally the resource that makes everything possible.
With all respect, I think I have net your challenge, (editor’s name here).
I've never bothered to engage with gatekeepers in this way. I'm aware of just how oversaturated their inboxes are - to which I would suggest, why not cap submissions more often so you have the time to give each one the attention it deserves - but again, their job, not mine. This is why I've started submitting work in waves with breaks in between, because it does feel painfully futile when I spend all of my energy trying to play to the preferences of total strangers. There's is so little in our control in these transactions. The best we can do is continue to be brave enough to submit our work on the micro-chance we'll hit an editor that speaks our language while simultaneously catching them at the precise moment they want to read OUR SPECIFIC story. Piece-o-cake, right? 😉
You go, Meg! I really enjoyed and felt privileged to read this confession. I think you’re a great writer (and miss your fiction:) ). No amount of awards or acceptances you ever get will change my opinion of you very much. That is to say, you’ve already won me over. Keep fighting the good fight!
I've been delinquent in keeping up with your work lately (along with every else's), but know that every time I see you and the others publishing something new it inspires me to keep going. I'll find my stride again. Just need to trust in the ebb and flow and try not to get too down when things aren't clicking.
I have written and received responses from some of my favorite authors: Aimee Bender sent a postcard, George Saunders sent a quick and funny email (the first time) and a comforting email (the second), Chuck Palahniuk sent a homemade necklace, and Stephen Graham Jones has replied on Twitter! Each response has meant the world to me. None of them commented on the quality / profundity / worthiness of whatever I wrote to them.
Meg, thank you for sharing all of this and for being such a wonderful writing pal these past couple of years.
I have to admit: I felt the same burnout over the past few months. To the point where I stopped interacting and engaging with the newsletters I typically read and respond to.
I think there were a number of stressors in my life that led me to this point, and at the end of the day(s) I felt like I had nothing left to give, especially in terms of creative energy. Thank God for summer…sparks are starting to catch again.
Good for you for taking that class! It sounds like perfect timing and just what you needed to help you through this. I’m excited to try the exercise you shared with us.
Your "burnout" experience sounds so similar to mine. I am starting to feel a bit more energized creatively, too. I just spun a story at the fire (as you know) and I started writing a scene/story/something yesterday that I spent most of today thinking about and actually WANT to return to and finish. There's probably a lesson in here somewhere about trusting our instincts when we choose or feel compelled to step away and regroup.
I'm so happy your summer is providing the "spark" you've been missing.
Meg, you’re one of the first authors I discovered when I signed up with Substack almost a year ago. If not the very first, and the best. I will always root for you. Now go get ‘em!
I think #20 would be good material for your next post...And write it for you, not for "us", whoever that is...I always love reading your stuff!
Aww, thank you, Steve! I love that you're still hanging in here.
Part of me wants to make sure I've ready everything J.B. wrote before I venture a letter to her highness, but that's probably just me procrastinating more than anything else. I'll see what happens. 💜
It sounds like that teacher’s a genuine muse. I didn’t even know that was allowed, and that’s after the grad school circuit. I hope the exercises remain a quality sanity anchor.
More importantly, I’m glad you have perspective on the Metrics Demon. I’m not even sure that label’s a joke or hyperbole.
She's pretty musey. There's still a good chance my first novel hemorrhage was a fluke, but we'll see what cooks this summer/fall.
Metrics of that variety are quite literally the Devil. I'm generally more concerned with packing the house at my eventual funeral than eliciting millions of half-hearted screen taps while I'm still kicking. This is my marketing Achilles heel, of course.
❤️🥰❤️
💜
OMG I just wrote the world’s longest comment and then accidentally erased it 😭 But in a nutshell: Meg, you are so inspiring. All the posts. The award!! (Congrats!.) The podcast. All those SS recs, DAMN. I can barely squeeze my creative juices / time management to get a post or two out a month! Ha. Keep going! You’re coffee in human form!
Ha! Thank you, Tolly! 💜
It should comfort me that even while feeling like a bucket of dirty dish water, I can still read like "coffee in human form."
YOU ARE INSPIRING! You're doing such amazingly brave work here and I'm sure that connecting with all of your fantastic subjects takes TIME! I keep waiting for you to delve into a topic that I can speak to personally, so we can chat! In the meantime, keep up the awesomeness. 🔥🔥🔥And thank you for your support!!!!
I think it was around year two or three of my Substack when I burned out (my own fault, trying to do too much) and had zero desire to write anything. Fortunately, a large backlog of stories allowed me to keep posting even though I wasn't writing. It took a full year before I really felt like writing again. I had to reevaluate, and now I write for enjoyment and fulfillment.
I know I need an audience for my creativity, and I have a small but active one here. I enjoy getting comments and making writer friends. That is my reward for writing. I quit thinking about earning money from my writing. It only ever bought a few burritos, so why stress about it or put so much effort into it?
Good on you for being proactive and taking that writing course.
Thanks for sharing that part of your journey, Mark. I'm okay parting with the "making money" piece of the puzzle, but I'm still pretty dang hungry for that "notoriety" piece. I don't think I'll be satisfied until my books are searchable in library catalogues and resting on bed tables. So ... I've still got some work to do. 💜🙂
Dream big. I think you are talented and ambitious enough to see it happen.
If anyone's deserving of those accolades, it's you! 🥹🙌🏾 Seeing them listed out like that must've felt insanely good while you were reflecting. So proud of you, Meg!
Thank you, Malayka!
It is so important to reflect - and even more important to REMEMBER to reflect more frequently than twice a year. 😂 I really should start a journal where I do this self-worth dance weekly. It boggles the mind how quickly I forget how much I actually DID while feeling like I wasn't making any progress.
Thanks for sticking with me! 💜
Love this. All of it. Thx for sharing your angst and discovery. There's nothing like a class with a kick ass teacher to pull us out of the doldrums. I hope you know the teacher reaching out was also a sign from the universe warning you not to quit.
The Netherlands? Out of the entire world? Hehe. Curious as to why?
Thank you, friend!
My hubby's entire extended family lives there. We visited two summers ago, and we just loved it. It's so green and everyone bikes and walks everywhere, and, in the summertime, it stays light outside until like 10pm. Plus, they're water geniuses, and they make all the world's flowers and raise more farm animals than people. That last one may not be true anymore, but I think it was once.
I think it was a universal error that I wasn't born in Europe.
I've never been. Sounds fabulous. And you'd have instant community. 🥰
Hi Meg, to answer the questions you posed, it started when you were born. You were meant to write. Simple as that. You have obvious talent, and I would read anything you write - I'll only add one more thing (which I already commented on months ago) please don't ever, ever change that pic with the girl smoking. Best pic on substack, hands down. - Jim
Roger that, Jim.
I may need to write that smoking girl a story.
Thank you for your support!
You ARE awsome, Meg! Keep on trucking’ lady… it’s a stroke at a time👍
I understand your plight and the challenges therewith… you DO have time. It’s true, all we can do is take it “a day at a time.”
I’d like to share a recent rejection to underline what we writers are up against…
This is from an editor of a sci/fi fantasy print/online magazine publisher when I voiced the frustration of not getting feedback from a submission. I said I’d like any reaction, even if it was, “your work is shit!” She replied:
“Basically, this was a first-round rejection – that means it didn’t grab my attention enough to continue reading past the first page and that means I really don’t have any real feedback to give on it.
I’ve had authors get angry over that type of feedback calling it cruel so now I basically use a form rejection for most of my rejections.
The thing to remember as an author is that magazines and anthologies are based on an editor’s personal preferences – just because your story didn’t work for me – doesn’t mean another editor won’t absolutely love it.”
How the FUCK can any one outside of Supergirl get an honest feel about an 8,000 word story after reading ONE PAGE? That’s the mentality we find ourselves facing with every heart felt submission.
I did reply to that brainless comment and I’d be happy to add it in another reply…
Please feel free to share this note to your followers, et al…
Your dedicated fan… Conrad
For what it’s worth, my reply:
“Understood. However, a single page will not reveal the true essence of a work. My story is in line with the space opera genre, it is rich on imagery and depth of emotion… it makes a point where so much I read is pointless.
I think it’s fair to remind you that your pitch included a requirement to include a “strong” female” character… my story has two! “Doowta Teragram” is the power within my piece and the cause of actions that define the conflict. “Mother” is literally the resource that makes everything possible.
With all respect, I think I have net your challenge, (editor’s name here).
I will continue on… thanks for your reply.”
Take that, lady!
Thanks for sharing this, Conrad.
I've never bothered to engage with gatekeepers in this way. I'm aware of just how oversaturated their inboxes are - to which I would suggest, why not cap submissions more often so you have the time to give each one the attention it deserves - but again, their job, not mine. This is why I've started submitting work in waves with breaks in between, because it does feel painfully futile when I spend all of my energy trying to play to the preferences of total strangers. There's is so little in our control in these transactions. The best we can do is continue to be brave enough to submit our work on the micro-chance we'll hit an editor that speaks our language while simultaneously catching them at the precise moment they want to read OUR SPECIFIC story. Piece-o-cake, right? 😉
You go, Meg! I really enjoyed and felt privileged to read this confession. I think you’re a great writer (and miss your fiction:) ). No amount of awards or acceptances you ever get will change my opinion of you very much. That is to say, you’ve already won me over. Keep fighting the good fight!
You too, Andrei. 💜
I've been delinquent in keeping up with your work lately (along with every else's), but know that every time I see you and the others publishing something new it inspires me to keep going. I'll find my stride again. Just need to trust in the ebb and flow and try not to get too down when things aren't clicking.
Do #20 now!
BUT WHAT WOULD I SAY????? 😱
I have written and received responses from some of my favorite authors: Aimee Bender sent a postcard, George Saunders sent a quick and funny email (the first time) and a comforting email (the second), Chuck Palahniuk sent a homemade necklace, and Stephen Graham Jones has replied on Twitter! Each response has meant the world to me. None of them commented on the quality / profundity / worthiness of whatever I wrote to them.
What I’m saying is she would probably welcome a simple “you’re awesome!”
Imagine you were her and she you. Wouldn’t you want to know your words had moved her?
Point made, dear friend. 💜😉
!!!100 things in 5 years!!!
Love this exercise, thanks so much for sharing. And for the rest of your reflections, too. Ebbs and flows, always.
And agree, Holland is literally the most perfect place in the world.
Thanks for checking in, Kara! 💜
Kudos that none of those first 20 are exercise related ;)
Those start at #31. Shows where my priorities are. 😂
Meg, thank you for sharing all of this and for being such a wonderful writing pal these past couple of years.
I have to admit: I felt the same burnout over the past few months. To the point where I stopped interacting and engaging with the newsletters I typically read and respond to.
I think there were a number of stressors in my life that led me to this point, and at the end of the day(s) I felt like I had nothing left to give, especially in terms of creative energy. Thank God for summer…sparks are starting to catch again.
Good for you for taking that class! It sounds like perfect timing and just what you needed to help you through this. I’m excited to try the exercise you shared with us.
Be well, my friend! 🌞 😊
Thank you, J.D.
Your "burnout" experience sounds so similar to mine. I am starting to feel a bit more energized creatively, too. I just spun a story at the fire (as you know) and I started writing a scene/story/something yesterday that I spent most of today thinking about and actually WANT to return to and finish. There's probably a lesson in here somewhere about trusting our instincts when we choose or feel compelled to step away and regroup.
I'm so happy your summer is providing the "spark" you've been missing.
See you around!
Meg, you’re one of the first authors I discovered when I signed up with Substack almost a year ago. If not the very first, and the best. I will always root for you. Now go get ‘em!
🥹THANK YOU!
Get them I shall. With your compliments. 💜