WRITING WELL 15 - sunrise

by Susan Weber

This will be my denouement to Writing Well, a series of non-fiction and short fiction pieces I’ve shared here since January. A creative writing prof has suggested that a bona fide publisher may not be interested in a story I’ve already posted online. It’s hard to resist self-publishing, because newsletter devotees like my stories. And who wants to disappoint her readers?

But there are two things I want to do for my once and future readers: keep writing, and understand why I want to publish. There is no point to the arduous climb up a mountain pass strewn with rejection letters, unless there’s a solid reason to attempt it.

Writing is the easy part. Getting at the why of publishing involves a bit of sculpting. My cluttered life with its complex challenges make up the sculpting stone before me. I’ve had success before with a whittling knife. I’m game to wield it now, before proceeding.


Photo by Heris Luiz Cordeiro Rocha CC BY-SA 3.0