Do You Want Actual People to Read Your Work or Just Your Mom?

Deciding whether or not to submit to publications

“Hmm … I’m brand new here and not sure whether it’s better to self-publish my work for a while or submit to a publication. Any opinions?”

NOTE: If you are on the fence, don’t even consider submitting to Better Marketing. You need to read Better Marketing.

I’m not sure why this is a head-scratcher, but I’ve been seeing several new writers agonize over this. If you are one of them, I want to make it easy for you to decide by using an metaphor.

Let’s pretend your writing pieces are glasses of lemonade. Ya with me? Good. Let’s put up a stand and start selling it.

*Cupping my ear*

What’s that? You don’t want to really sell the lemonade because you hand-squeezed the juice and that’s not really pulp floating around — it’s pieces of your heart — and you can’t put a price on it, huh? You want people to taste it and love it and that’s all. Anything more would be like a gnat floating around with the ice. It would cheapen it.

Okaaaay. I get it.

In your mind, you don’t want or expect to make any money off the work you did which required ripping your heart out.

Is that so?

But, when you bust your butt at your day job, you get a little salty when your direct deposit paycheck is five minutes late?

The fact you place a higher premium on your ass than your heart is truly none of my business and a totally different article.

Let’s continue.

Okay. We’ve got some fresh squeezed lemonade here (your first article) and now we’re going to put it out there to the world. Let’s just get our spacesuits on and rocket past the moon and past a few galaxies … Yeah, this looks like a nice deserted spot. Kind of like a new writer’s profile page that has zero followers. Perfect. And now we wait … and wait … and wait …

Eighteen hours later …

Hey, look! Our first visitor! It’s your mom!

Boy-oh-boy, sitting out here is super-exciting!

After convincing you to go back to Earth, you eye your lemonade nervously. It’s like you don’t trust it anymore. Maybe it’s not good. What if people don’t like it?

Yeah, let’s think about that. Um … this isn’t the only batch of lemonade you are ever going to make, right? The next one will probably be better, maybe a little less tart or a little less sweet. We’re never going to know until you let someone try it and get some feedback.

No. Your mom doesn’t really count. She’s a nice lady, though.

I pull you kicking and screaming to a dirt road. There’s hardly any traffic, but it’s better than being out in some unnamed galaxy feeling like a giant asteroid. (Think of this country lane as a publication with hardly any followers.) A vehicle goes by every now and then. After we sit here on the side of the road and wait, breathing in nothing but dusty air for a week, I finally convince you to pack up. We look at the stat sheet. We’ve had 11 visitors and 3 drinkers.

Well … rooty-toot-toot!

*eye roll*

Alrighty, then. I’m not going to bitch about progress. But for the love of the written word, could we maybe, at least, go to a paved road? One with actual traffic? (This is a small to medium-sized publication.)

Now, isn’t this better? Some people passing, not only stop and take a sip, but they finish the whole glass. A few actually want to chit-chat. Hey, we’re making friends here! Isn’t this fun? Hell, yeah, it is! Cheers!

I look over at you, my chest bursting with pride. Your confidence has grown by lightyears since the vacant galaxy days. Now, you’re so enthusiastic about making lemonade, you’re cranking out a batch every couple days. No longer shy, you approach people on the street and ask them if they want a taste of what you’ve got. You are so ready for the big time. Let’s go to Vegas, baby! (Think Startup, Better Marketing, GEN, etc.)

I have to keep an eye on you, so you don’t get run over. People are flocking to your stand like seagulls on a French fry. They can’t get enough of your product. They’re telling their friends about you, they say they’ll follow you anywhere. For two days, you feel like the most popular kid in fifth grade.

It. Is. Thrilling.

Two days later, no one in Vegas remembers who you are or what you used to sell. You sort of long for the paved road days where people hung out a little longer. Oh, but Vegas is such a rush! Decisions, decisions.

Nothing says you can’t travel between Sin City and Little House on the Prairie!

What about those outer space days, you know, where someone would have to be lost in order to find you?

You shoot me the side-eye and call me Uranus. Then you go back to downloading that fancy new enhanced stats app.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. If you’re new to the platform and want to write for your mom, definitely self-pub.

If you want to improve and grow as a writer, get valuable feedback, engage with other writers, and build your writing resume, please give publications a chance. There’s hundreds to choose from and there’s something for everyone.

NOTE: If you really want people abuzz about your lemonade, I suggest adding a generous pour of top-shelf vodka. You’re welcome!

Here’s some more of Tracy’s twisted brand of humor: