3 Reasons You Should Leave a Publication

Breaking up is hard to do but may be in your best interests

When you write for a publisher, there are some days when the relationship isn’t working out anymore and it’s time to cut ties. Sometimes the relationship isn’t working out for you and you need to leave fast. I won’t lie, I have cut ties with several publishers this year because they were holding me back.

I like how I write. I don’t like it when a publisher tells me to fix my work to suit their needs. Yes, the publication has standards but I have my own standards. I’m sure you do as well.

If it’s a minor change, I can work with that. But big revisions really change my story. The same feeling won’t be there anymore that I want the story to have.

As a writer, you need publishers who already have a large following. When you write for them, their writers will see your work. It is an easy way to get a bigger following.

Here are three reasons why I choose to leave a publication.

• Ask you to change your format to fit their guidelines
• As a publication, they spend very little time to promote you
• When editors change, you are no longer the favorite student

Ask you to change your format to fit their guidelines

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

Mahatma Gandhi

Publications have guidelines and that makes sense. This gives their readers and editors a format to expect. On the downside, it’s kind of like school again. The editor is your teacher correcting your work.

If the guidelines are not too strict, then writing for the publication is not a problem. However, if the guidelines are too restrictive, then it doesn’t make writing fun at all. This makes it feel like they’re suffocating you as a writer.

One publication kept rejecting my submissions. I thought the articles were very good and fit their audience. The editors however disagreed. They wanted me to rearrange or add/delete a number of sentences to suit their publication.

At first, I thought to myself I could make the changes they want to see. I tried doing that and made changes but still kept getting rejected. After a certain point, it felt like going back to school and the teacher pulling out their red pen all over your work.

After submitting three or four articles, I finally gave up. I said to myself, this publication isn’t for me even though they had thousands of other writers. With little thought, I hit the eject button and left the publication.

As a publication, they spend very little time to promote you

Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!

P.T. Barnum

When you write for a publication, you should look for the publishers to promote you in some form or fashion. The publisher may send out emails to their members. Or they may promote your work on social media such as Twitter. Are you following me there?

It is a lot of work for publishers to review your work and then to promote you as well. I know this is a tough task and many times it is voluntary for the person who is running this. They don’t owe you anything when they do take on this role.

There are good publishers and there are bad publishers. Maybe the bad publishers will get better over time. If a publisher is not new and running the same process week after week, sometimes you need to sit back and think. Yes, I know you’re writing but you have to do some analysis yourself if you want to be a great writer.

When the publisher is not promoting you in some form or fashion to their own group, you need to ask yourself if that publication worth writing for? Sometimes you have to end that relationship. Not all relationships are worth keeping.

The publisher may be a nice person, but they may suck as an editor. It’s true. Not everyone is made to be a publisher. They may be a good writer but they never took the class to be a publisher.

When editors change, you’re no longer the favorite student

The ideal editor will hold you to the best piece of yourself in the piece.

Alexander Chee

If you’ve written for a publication for some time, the editor knows who you are. They know you’re writing style. The editor knows what you write about. In a sense, you have become the favorite writer on their platform.

When editors change, there is a chance you have to earn their trust just as you did with the previous editor. The editor doesn’t know you and you are literally a complete stranger to them. You have to pretend you are going on a job interview and introduce who you are. In a sense, you are starting all over with the publication as well as the new editor even though you may have written for them 50 times before.

Sometimes you have to start over with the publication and earn the trust of the new editor. This isn’t a call for you to leave the publication but may be time to analyze if this hangout still works for you or not. Even though you’re a writer, you have to do some analysis as well. A little deep thinking is required along with your writing.

Summary

Change happens in life as well as for a writer. You can’t expect things to remain the same forever. You need to remain flexible and adapt to the changes as needed. Nothing in life stays constant.

You think of yourself as a writer but you need to be a chameleon. You need to blend in with the sudden changes in your environment. You’re a special breed in the human race since you’re a writer. Not many people can compose the work of art that you put together. Somehow you manage.

Don’t let a publication diminish your talent. There are many publications to choose from. Don’t be afraid to leave a publication if you don’t see eye to eye. Breaking up may be the best thing to do.

Have you left a publication before?

See these other articles for more writing tips.

Tom Handy is a top writer on Medium, former Quora writer, and father of two kids. He retired from the Army and sits on several non-profit boards. You can find him on Twitter @tomhandy1 and his publication Life is Like a Game.